Sacramental Pain

Perhaps one of the most disconcerting issues for Christians is how they are to address pain and suffering. We find promises in Holy Scripture about how God blesses His children with health, long life, wealth, and respect. At the same time we find the stories and psalming cries of those who suffer and are yet faithful to God. How is this to be reconciled?

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to preach on the story of Abraham and the Three Visitors and Romans 5 (using the lectionary readings). And without re-preaching, let me summarize to say that God uses suffering in a redemptive way. Suffering, as much as it seems to contradict what God expresses as His benevolent desire for our good, can be a wonderful opportunity to grow as we walk in genuine trust. Jesus Himself bore the tremendous grief of torture and crucifixion, and with that all the agonies we each endured, are enduring, or will ever endure--all out of love for us.

The truth of God's redemptive experience and permission of suffering can seem carrion comfort at the time. But if we allow God's love to become our focus, realizing that God Himself is present in our pains, manifesting grace often in a way mysterious to us, we open ourselves to receiving that pain sacramentally. It's then we begin to see the process St. Paul describes of moving from faith, to perseverance, to character, to hope, to its fruition in eternal life--and God's loving grace, His very presence, is there with us each step of the way.