The Pain of Easter
“To live is to suffer and to survive
is to find meaning in that suffering.”
- Viktor Frankl
No life is spared from some form of suffering. Whether it be a young child falling after taking its first few steps, an older person experiencing the pain of abody “feeling its years” or any of the rest of us in between - we all can identify with pain at some level.
In addition to physical pain, there is emotional, psychological, and spiritual pain, which can be equally, if not more difficult to deal with.
Fortunately, the Christian faith helps us to face our suffering in a way that need not overcome us, but that brings us to deeper meaning and humanness. Let us be clear about our faith. It does not remove or alleviate our pain, it equips us to hold fast to that which is larger than our little lives and not succumb to suffering.
“Jesus will be in agony until the end
of the world.”
- Blaise Pascal
As we approach holy week and the passion of Christ, we look to the cross and see the face of One who knew suffering at the deepest levels. And yet, doom and gloom were not the final words. Redemptive love lives today even as it did on that first Easter morning!
Sometimes it is difficult to see in this world of ours - it requires eyes of faith. For our faith proclaims One who cares intimately for all. Just as a parent feels the pain of his or her child, so does God feel our pain - only more so.
In a very real sense we meet Christ in one another. To know that every life is touched by suffering is a helpful reminder that beyond our own pain comes theopportunity to share the compassion of Christ with each person we come in contact with. It is then that our own suffering is transcended and we embrace Easter presence.
“You will have found Christ when
you are concerned with other people’s
sufferings and not your own.”
- Flannery O’Connor
When we have been touched by Christ in the midst of our pain we are transformed to share his care and concern and love with those around us. That’s what it means to be part of a community of grace, a community of compassion, and a community of love!
In that Grace, Compassion and Love,
Rev. Dr. David D. Young
Senior Minister