Hardly a day goes by without bad news, whether on a global scale, a personal level, or anything in between. Unless you lock yourself in a bubble or live under a rock, you are constantly bombarded with reports of political upheaval, wars, catastrophes, and natural and man-made disasters. Alongside this relentless stream of negative news, we also hear about the problems faced by our friends and loved ones while struggling with our own challenges. After the Russian attack on civilians in Ukraine last Palm Sunday, I came across an article in the newspaper that presented several individuals, sharing their names and stories in the same vein as we have seen in this country after terrorist attacks. Yet, many more victims of violence and suffering remain nameless, their stories untold and unknown to us. Why should we care about the story of torture inflicted on a Jewish man some two thousand years ago? Many had been tormented before him, and many have suffered since. His persecution wasn’t the most shocking or brutal in the history of humankind, whose inventiveness at inflicting pain on fellow human beings seems limitless. It’s not the severity of his torture that makes it unique. It’s the profound meaning behind his torment.
In the broadest sense of the word, we would rather avoid suffering at all costs. When it occurs, it provokes and foments a great variety of emotions, all of which we can classify as negative. When suffering arises, people naturally pose questions, trying to understand it; some doubt God’s wisdom or love for humankind. Some use the existence of suffering as evidence against the existence of God, as portrayed by Christian faith. All this is understandable when we examine suffering in isolation: it makes no sense and has no purpose. That is precisely what the death of Christ did: it turned suffering into something that can be transformative, redemptive and purposeful; in other words, it made sense of the senseless.
Most of us here are old enough to have significant life experience. Many of us have gone through a lot. Look at yourself: would you be so strong and resilient if you had lived a pampered, comfortable, trouble-free life? I doubt it. Almost from the day of our conception, we have fought against the odds and, in the process, have become stronger in many aspects of our lives. Your immune system developed while battling hard against microbes hell-bent on killing you. The massive increase in allergies in developed countries is at least partially linked to higher levels of hygiene, as the body’s immune system, significantly deprived of exposure to serious pathogens, goes into overdrive against relatively harmless pollen or substances. These days, we hear a lot about young people’s mental health problems, unable to deal with the challenges of adult life. It’s a growing, serious societal problem. It can be at least partially linked to well-intended, great efforts to protect children from any harm. So, we provided them with a “happy childhood” and delivered them an “anxious adulthood”. The last example is the growing popularity of extreme sports, where people put their lives at great risk, seeking an adrenaline boost and the thrill of danger. Strikingly, it’s a development common in developed and safe countries. You hardly ever hear about people from poor countries doing it. Living in conflict zones, struggling for food and water, massive unemployment and so on – these are their “extreme sports” they must practise by necessity rather than by choice.
Then there’s another, societal aspect of suffering. It offers a chance to move out of our shells, our too self-centred and selfish lives, in two ways. Firstly, it puts our own troubles, problems, and challenges into perspective. “First-world problems” is a phrase coined as a sarcastic statement when such perspective is missing. Secondly and far more importantly, it presents opportunities to practise the love of neighbours. This can be done on a big scale when we donate to various appeals dealing with disasters, or when we care for our ailing loved ones, and anyone else in between. We look to the tortured and crucified Jesus not as a victim but as an inspiration. He purposefully sacrificed himself for the sake of you and me. The first reading presented it in a very poignant way:
“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement
that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.”
In a couple of minutes, we will bring our whole world to that source of redemption in the Solemn Intercessory prayer. Then, having unveiled the crucifix, the instrument of our salvation, you will have a chance to symbolically leave your problems, challenges, troubles, difficulties, pain, and everything that burdens or saddens you at its foot by laying down your palm cross. The chants we will sing will help us make this meaningful, as we will sing, “Into your hands, Father, I commend my spirit,” the words with which Jesus offered his ultimate sacrifice to God.
Image by congerdesign from Pixabay
