Stephen
Terry, Director
Struggling
With All Energy
Commentary
for the August 6, 2022, Sabbath School Lesson
"Are
they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I
have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more
severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from
the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I
was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a
day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger
from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger
from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at
sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have
often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone
without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily
the pressure of my concern for all the churches." 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, NIV
Greek mythology gives us the
story of Sisyphus, the first king of the city that became Corinth. He is famous
for escaping twice, first from Thanatos and then Hades. Finally, fed up with
his deceptions, Zeus condemns him to Hades with the task of rolling a boulder
to the top of a hill only to have it always roll back to the bottom before he
can reach the top, no matter how much effort he put forth. He became emblematic
of the struggle to complete an endless task without the reward of ever seeing
it accomplished.
Sometimes the Christian life
echoes that sentiment. Like Paul, we can struggle against never-ending
challenges. We may experience the assaults of chronic pain and illness. We may
face relationship conflicts with those opposed to the lives we live in Christ.
We may face danger in random, unexpected situations that put life and limb at risk
both accidentally and intentionally through the malign actions of others. We
may suffer from seeing hurt and loss felt by others close to us. As we grow in
Christ's love, we may also weep for the suffering in the world at large that
all must face because of the brokenness that is everywhere. That brokenness can
seem so overwhelming and the struggle against it so Sisyphean, we are tempted
to despair at ever making a difference in the world. It can paralyze us into giving
up and allowing things to pursue their downward course despite the ensuing pain
and suffering. The Bible tells us everything will be fine in the end. Wouldn't
it be easier to just wait until then? God will fix it. Why didn't Sisyphus just
take a seat and let Zeus put the boulder on the mountaintop since he is the one
who wants it there? Why should we seek out suffering for a task that isn't ours
to complete?
This is the way much of the
world thinks. Why challenge the status quo when it complicates life so? Isn't
there enough suffering in the world without our going to seek it out? But the
life of Paul is a rebuke to that thinking. He spent his life trying to make a difference.
Despite ongoing opposition from religious and secular leaders as well as from
his peers, he nonetheless continued to carry the gospel to much of the Roman
Empire. At the end of that road of suffering, he was beheaded with a Roman
sword, condemned to die by a profligate emperor who cared little about the
lives of others, especially if they challenged his own lifestyle. If that
happened to us today, we would question the impact of our struggle to accomplish
anything, but with the perspective of time, we see many churches that are named
after Saint Paul in recognition of his efforts to bring the story of Jesus to
the rest of humanity.
But this does not give us a
complete perspective. It has often been said that if the possibility existed of
only saving one lost soul, Jesus still would have given his life on the cross.
If Paul's sufferings derived from that same spirit, he would have endured it
all even if only one person decided to receive Jesus into his life. That kind
of love does not define success in the number of churches raised up or the
number of accretions to existing churches. It is like the kind of love that a
man or a woman shows for their spouse when, despite the flaws they each may
have, the relationship endures for life. In such a relationship, when one
suffers, the other takes upon themselves as much of the burden as they can because
that is what love demands. Each of us has that opportunity for every one of us
is flawed. When we flee the relationship over those flaws and deny our
responsibility, we deny our own flaws. This is also true if we are abusive and
drive others to flee over the imperfections we feel they have.
When we see the flaws of others
and fault them for those flaws, it is easy to overlook our own failings, and
maybe that is why we do it. We can find it easier to love ourselves, despite
our flaws, than to love those around us who make bad decisions and even cause
us pain. Most would understand our wanting to have nothing to do with that. But
into that milieu a still, small voice troubles our hearts with a whisper from a
Galilean mount where a sermon changed the world two millennia ago, "Love your
enemies." How can we do that if we are disengaged from them? We might even make
the argument that if God does nothing to relieve the suffering around us why
should we? But the Bible makes a compelling case for God's intervention in this
world for righteousness and not evil.
The metaphor of Creation, Eden and the Fall tells us that God's plan all along
was for us to oversee the Earth. We were to be the image of his love for the
planet and all its inhabitants. But we abdicated that responsibility and
continue to abdicate it today. Like irresponsible stewards, we do what we deem
necessary for our own comfort while ignoring the needs of all other life on the
planet, including humanity. Some find it too much of a burden to even plant a
tree in their yard and tend it to provide oxygen for themselves and their
neighbors. Some will run their vehicle unoccupied to power the heater or the
air conditioning without regard for other life or the environment to avoid a
vehicle that is uncomfortably cold or hot. While this has not been a
possibility for much of history, it shows the lengths we have gone to so we could
ensure our own comfort while the earth suffers. We have become all about avoiding
suffering in every way we can, even those minimal annoyances that can barely
rise to the level of suffering. We have become so obsessed with our own well
being that we no longer have the time to consider that of others. The sad truth
is that this obsession does not get us to the point of being free of suffering.
By definition, that is unattainable in a flawed world. The more we focus on our
own suffering, the less likely we are to end world suffering.
Paul knew that the only real
hope of ending suffering was to endure it now so he could direct people to the
only genuine answer, Jesus Christ. When we are confronted by the ministry of
Christ, we are drawn by his love, and that love compels us to take up the cross
of suffering and follow him in his love for humanity.[i]
When we imagine ourselves surrounded by a comfortable cocoon of insulation from
suffering, choosing to suffer in Christ can be terrifying. We want to be in
control. We want to tell others what to do. If we loved them, we might be
tempted to see them as equals instead of ordering them around as inferior to
us. Instead of being in control, we find ourselves moved by the Holy Spirit to
a path of humility and service. That path is often scorned by those who are
frightened to follow it. Paul well knew that from experience. Nonetheless all
his energy went to guiding others to a better path, and multitudes followed the
light Paul revealed about Jesus with his ministry.
We should not make the mistake
that simply suffering is proof we are on the right path. Our world has become
so broken that suffering touches us all, but as Jesus pointed out, few find the
path to salvation.[ii] It is found not through
the suffering we endure, but in the suffering we are able to relieve for others.[iii] We
may be called upon to endure similar suffering in our attempts to relieve it.
While we may be reluctant to do so because we question their worth or their choices,
our response to their suffering says more about us than about them. It reveals
our true nature. When they suffer and look at us, do they see flowers or thorns?