An Invitation into Suffering: A Deacon’s Reflection

By The Rev. Matthew Simpson, Deacon

A number of times in my sermons I have quoted my diaconal mentor, The Venera-ble Dr. Pamela Nesbit, who told me during my formation that “Christianity is an invitation into suffering. And you won’t see that on outside church message boards.” Perhaps some context is helpful: at the time we were in the car driving to a Deacon Class, and we were talking about the modern issue of “Church as En-tertainment.” She was instructing me that our culture’s contemporary paradigm of people seeking religious spaces that simply make us feel good is the precise oppo-site of our faith’s spiritual wisdom. Religion that never has us question ourselves or our ideas is problematic. I remember her saying, “Proper Religion doesn’t re-inforce your ego; it breaks you open; it takes you apart, and then it offers a divine way to be put back together.” 

Obviously, those lessons and what she said have always stuck with me. And with those lessons I have adjusted the lens through which I see our faith. Jesus, The Gospels, and The Epistles all now are seen through the lens of suffering as redemptive. We see that God in Jesus Christ certainly does not avoid the world’s suffering. Indeed, in Jesus we see God jump right into the middle of it all to the point of hu-miliation and death on a cross. And if that were not enough, we get the uncomfortable words of Jesus: “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.” The invita-tion to follow Jesus is an invitation into the world’s suffering. It is also an invitation to the Great Triumph of the Resurrection but always to suffering as well. Indeed, the triumph of Resurrection is meaningless without the agony of Crucifixion. However, seeing the suffering of so many people around us, how can we say that pain and suffering are redemptive? 

This February I will start to teach a series that attempts to address this dilemma of suffering and evil we have in our faith (see page 12.) If God loves us, why is there so much suffering in the world? If God wants us “joyful in the Lord,” then why the invitation to suffering and poverty? Through nine weeks, we will journey through The Old Testament; reflections on ancient and modern horrors; and how our Christian Scriptures attempt to ap-proach this ancient and modern problem. A word of caution: the material covered will be at times severe and upsetting, so please use discretion. But, for those who want an opportunity to dig deeper into darkness to see if the Light of Christ still shines there…you are most welcome to join.