Paul, Suffering, and the Coronavirus
Dear Friends,
It’s been a while since I’ve posted, I know. It’s been hard to be away from you all, but my current call at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church (Mpls) — which has been the absolute delight and privilege of my career — has made it hard to find the time to keep up the weekly discipline of writing on the upcoming RCL selections (particularly as we’ve moved to a narrative lectionary pattern — more on that, perhaps, in a later post).
But… given what we’re all facing together, and because I am not spending quite as much time commuting(!), I thought I would try to resume that discipline. Today, actually, will not be a commentary on this week’s upcoming lection, but instead a devotion that I’ve been writing each Monday for my parish, hoping it also speaks to you. On Tuesdays I’ll try to — “try” being the operative word 🙂 — post something on this week’s preaching passage. And, if possible, perhaps on Thursdays post something related to what I am learning (present tense, active!) about leading in uncharted times.
I’m grateful to be part of a community with the staff and resources to continue connecting with our people. This Monday devotion is part of a three-times-a-week pattern of communicating with our people. Wednesdays we post a short video reflection/devotion/homily from one of our pastors, and on Friday’s we share a “musical devotion” that is comprised of an anthem or piece of music with a brief introduction and the invitation to listen to that piece in the hope of gaining a sense of peace amid the storms of the day. And, of course, we’re recording and sharing a modified version of our Sunday worship. Should you be interested, all of these resources can be found at a dedicated page on our website called “Together @ Mount Olivet.”
Enough by way of introduction. Here is the devotion sent to my folks today:
We also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. – Romans 5:3-5
I’ll be honest, the idea of “boasting in our sufferings” does not come easily to me. Like most of us, I tend not simply to avoid suffering but, when I am suffering or even struggling, for that matter, I prefer to hide it. I’m suspect there are a number of reasons for that – not wanting to burden others (a good Midwestern value!), not wanting to admit even to myself that I’m struggling, not wanting to appear weak in a culture that defines strength in terms of power rather than vulnerability or suffering. Yes, lots of reasons.
But the Apostle Paul doesn’t seem to share any of them! Rather, he believes that suffering is part and parcel of our life in this world and that, when approached from the point of view of faith, can actually lead to growth in faith and confidence.
But – and this is super-important to notice – that does not mean Paul is advocating suffering for suffering’s sake or that he believes God intends for us to suffer. Far from it! Rather, Paul asserts that we worship a God who surprises us by showing up to meet us right in the midst of our vulnerability, pain, and suffering. This was a surprise to his first-century audience – and is likely surprising to his twenty-first century audience as well – because we tend to think about God in terms of strength and power and might, and so we assume that’s what God looks for in return.
Truth be told, that’s likely what Paul believed for much of his life also. That the best way to meet God was through spiritual discipline, or strict obedience to God’s laws, or by displaying the kind of faith that can move mountains. But when Paul – who began his career by persecuting the early Church! – is confronted by the crucified and risen Christ, all of his ideas about who God is and where we can expect to meet God are turned on their head. God’s messiah showing up as a convicted criminal? Put to death in the most awful of ways? Surrounded by two-thieves? Suffering as weak and pitiful a death as one can imagine? That thought simply astounded Paul and forced him to think about God differently.
God, it turns out, is not waiting until we become good enough, or strong enough, or righteous enough, to come to us. Rather, God comes to meet us in our weakness, struggles, and vulnerability in order to comfort us, strengthen us, and equip us to comfort and strengthen others.
Two brief “take-aways” related to Paul’s conviction in light of our circumstances.
First, if you are feeling anxious or stressed or frightened, not only are you not alone – this is a pretty normal set of responses to a pandemic! – but you are also not somehow falling short or failing others. Rather, you are being honest, facing what is difficult and being truthful about the dramatic and challenging nature of our circumstances. Brené Brown, one of my favorite researchers and authors, regularly confronts us with the fact that courage is not the absence of fear or vulnerability, but rather is the ability to persevere in the midst of fear and vulnerability. She has challenged more than 10,000 people in the various presentations she’s given to come up with a single example of courage that did not entail vulnerability… and to date, no one has been able to offer one. Similarly, Admiral James Stockdale, a Medal of Honor winner for valor during the Vietmann War – during which he as tortured more than 20 twenty times while being held prisoner for seven years – once said, “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end – which you can never afford to lose – with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever that may be.” So, dear people of Mount Olivet, we will confront the challenges and hardships of this pandemic together, welcoming the fears, concerns, tears, and more as honest expressions of both the vulnerability and solidarity we share.
Second, we’ll remind each other that God chooses to meet us precisely in our weakness and vulnerability so that we know that God alwaysloves and accepts every part of us– even the parts we have a hard time accepting and loving. This, I think, is what Paul means by saying that suffering can lead to endurance, and endurance to character, and character to hope. Because when you realize God is with you and for you – that God is alwayson your side – then you find a way not simply to survive challenges but even persevere and flourish. Sometimes, in fact, it’s only when things are most difficult that we recognize God’s presence most powerfully. And so we, dear people of Mount Olivet, will continue to gather digitally in worship, continue to reach out to each other in the variety of ways possible, and continue to support each other in the confidence that, indeed, “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”
We will get through this. And we will get through it together. And when we do, we may be surprised that we have grown in our faith, confidence, and awareness of God’s abiding grace!
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Lose
PS: I’ve shared BrenĂ©’s incredible first TedTalk before, but if you haven’t seen it yet, it is totally worth the 20 minutes it will take.
thank you so much for these much needed words….you have been missed
David,
I have been receiving “In the Meantime” in my inbox since you started sending it. I have always gained something positive from your words. The post that you made most recently is very timely. As a retired Anglican priest in Canada, I am struggling greatly with being told to stay at home, to keep a distance from not only my friends but from my family, too. We “clergy types” are always in the thick of it and when we are told to step back, it’s like telling a bird not to fly or a fish not to swim. Even in retirement, we continue to be, in one way or another, on the front lines.
The difficulty for me in these times is acknowledging, just as you said, the suffering that I feel from being healthy and yet being isolated. I am blessed to be surrounded by loving and caring people, who together, are helping each other wade through these chaotic times.
Thank you for your honesty and your reminder that God is with us. We sometimes forget that, even as clergy.