The Suffering Jesus

As I completed the novel Hannah Coulter this week by Wendell Berry, I read a paragraph that startled me with both its simple and profound meaning. It reads, "You can't give yourself over to love for somebody without giving yourself over to suffering . . . It is this body of our suffering that Christ was born into, to suffer it Himself and to fill it with light, so that beyond the suffering we can imagine Easter morning and the peace of God . . . . "

I know that for myself I sometimes forget that we don't have to suffer alone through our illnesses, natural tragedies, or financial problems. Christ's humanity, and humility, allows Him to suffer with us in order to imagine a new day where there will no more suffering. Just today I walked over two miles on one of the neighborhood paths in the crisp air and sunlight of a late January morning. Arkansas, our state, was hit by one of the worst ice storms in years early in the week, forcing thousands of people to lose their power (our house in Farmington was one of those). Many people had to flee to shelters for food and warmth; several people died because of the storm either while out in the elements or in their homes trying to keep warm with generators or fireplaces. Yet the promise of today is for sunshine and temperatures in the mid-sixties. It is almost as if Easter has arrived early with its promise of a resurrected spring soon to arrive.

God tells us that our hearts are not to be troubled by the problems that beset the world. He will, after a long day's journey into night, bring light once again.