Learning through Suffering

Christ learned obedience through what he suffered.
Hebrews 5:8

As we begin the penitential season of Lent, scripture teaches us the important truth that suffering is never an end in itself. To suffer for the sake of suffering is a psychosexual disorder known as masochism. Christ learned obedience through suffering, and the value of what we suffer, whether during the season of Lent or in the normal course of our lives, is measured by what we learn from it.

The mystical theologian who lived around the year 500 and is known to history as Pseudo-Dionysius writes of one of his teachers that "he not only learned divine things but also suffered them." The theme of knowledge through suffering pervades Western literature from Aeschylus to the Tristan and Isolde legend.

The knowledge in question is not abstract or theoretical but personal and concrete. I remember years ago visiting an elderly priest in hospital. What he said to me then has always stayed with me: "I have learned more from these weeks of lying here in hospital than I have learned from all the retreats I have ever made."

The learning acquired by the mind alone has many uses, but it is not transformative. It does not change us or bring us closer to the goal for which we were created. During the season of Lent we follow Christ as he undergoes the transformative suffering which will reach its climax on Good Friday.

Although historically Jesus was a layman, without any connection with the Jewish high priesthood, his sacrifice makes him a priest in the eyes of Christian faith. Christ did not make himself a high priest but was appointed by God, through the words of scripture: "Thou art a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek" (Hebrew 5:6).

In Christ we have a high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses, since he has been tempted like us (Hebrews 4:15). He does not expect anything from us which he himself has not undergone a thousandfold. That is why, in scripture's words, we can approach with confidence the throne of the heavenly grace (verse 16).

Here at Good Shepherd we are an aging congregation, and, as has often been said, old age is not for sissies. Last month I visited a member of this congregation who was recovering from a stroke, and I was struck by the patience and trust which he showed. No sane person chooses to suffer, but when suffering comes our way and is embraced in the spirit of faith, it can become almost sweet.

In today's first lesson we hear of Jacob's years of service to Laban, for the hand of Rachel. The final verse reads:

So Jacob served seven years for Rachel,
and they seemed to him but a few days,
because of the love he had for her.
Genesis 29:20

Suffering without love is unredemptive and produces only bitterness. Suffering for the sake of the beloved brings us into union with our heart's desire.

March 9, 2003