No one experiencing temptation should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God is not subject to temptation to evil, and he himself tempts no one. Rather, each person is tempted when lured and enticed by his desire. Then desire conceives and brings forth sin, and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death.
Six centuries before Christ, the Buddha had taught that all suffering is born of desire. Because we want things different than as they are we suffer physical, psychological, and spiritual pain. When we stop resisting we find peace. The ultimate peace will be the annihilation of will, when my personal consciousness dissolves into the consciousness of the universe as it is. My pain along with my memories and experience will be forgotten because they were never real. It makes sense to a lot of people.
A Christian variant on the same principle might say of suffering and death, "It's God's will." Be it the death of a young mother or the loss of one's life savings to a scammer, "God willed it."
Job's passivity before the loss of family and fortune speaks to that: "We accept good things from the Lord. And should we not accept the bad as well. The Lord gives; the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21 and 2:10)
Accepting this doctrine and integrating it fully into one's consciousness should make suffering go away. That's the theory. When I wish for nothing I'll not be disappointed; when I strive for nothing I'll not be frustrated.
Sometimes it does help to quit trying and see what happens.
This eastern philosophy is nothing new, nor is it newly discovered. It was known in the Mediterranean cities of the Roman empire as much as it is known in the western world today. Jesus certainly heard the teaching and disagreed. It didn't fit his experience of God his Father, nor did it belong in his Jewish tradition.
Our Christian faith, born of our Jewish ancestors and their long history with the LORD, takes a different tack. We recognize the reality of suffering; it doesn't go away by wishing it would go away, nor by wishing for nothing. It comes with being human, and we share it with non-human creatures. They too suffer pain, physical soreness, and emotional sorrow.
We recognize the sorrow of God as described in the Old and New Testaments. The LORD who is Father, and the LORD who is Jesus and the Holy Spirit, complains about the sins of Old Testament Jerusalem and New Testament Christians. God knows we can do better and expects more of us.
No. We were there. We saw his pain; it was very real. The Holy Spirit will not let us forget. Nor will the Spirit let us forget his present suffering amid his beloved people. Saint Matthew insists, "When you did this to the least of my people you did it to me." Saint Paul was horrified when he heard the Lord speak to him, "Why are you persecuting me?" His training as a Pharisee had not supposed God would personally suffer from his violence.
Saint Paul finally taught us another way to experience suffering in his letter to the Colossians (1:24).
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church...
Accepting the reality of pain and suffering, we accept them as gifts received and returned to the Lord with our heart and soul. Suffering with prayer becomes an oblation, a sacrifice worthy of God.
Ordinary human life shows us how this world's sorrows often become blessings. The discipline of a stern teacher becomes mastery as the disciple becomes proficient. The sacrifices of parents are rewarded with their children's affectionate fidelity. The psalmist observed of farming: they go out to sow weeping; they return with the harvest rejoicing.
As we trust in God we accept the sacrifices we must make even when there seems no point to them. Their reward is beyond the horizon and yet we continue on the same road. The Resurrection of the Lord might find us weeping, but it will find us.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.