ALONE IN MY SUFFERING?
The Crucified God knows the same...
We often feel alone when hard times come.
This is natural if we are having physical pain with the depleted energy or change in movement patterns. A migraine headache destroys the inclination for attending a party! Emotional pain can affect us in the same way. A profound loss and the subsequent grief can bring withdrawal from normal activity for weeks. We feel wounded and must focus our emotional energy on healing.
Most of us will experience some degree of support as time goes by. The family will accommodate physical suffering with caregiving, such as giving a quiet space to recover from the migraine or helping us limp along with a boot protecting the foot injury. In times of emotional suffering, we may have trusted friends who will gently push past our reluctance to bring our favorite coffee or offer a phone call to really listen as we tell the story of loss.
Persons of faith can suffer spiritual distress that brings a different kind of pain. It is the pain of wondering where a loving God can be when we hurt so badly.
Where is God when we suffer? In his seminal work, German theologian Jurgen Moltmann broke with classical Christian doctrine to answer the question. Instead of talking about God’s role in human suffering from a philosophical basis, he focused on the suffering of Jesus in the crucifixion.
The Gospel of Mark, the earliest theological narration about Jesus, ascribes to him a suffering far deeper than the terrible wounds of crucifixion. Jesus cries out in spiritual distress, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”[1] Whether this is a reliable eyewitness report or a theological connection to the lament of Psalm 22, it can be taken as a valid experience of a crucified man who had dedicated his life to God, only to die an unjust death. In Mark’s account, suffering blasted apart his faith like it can do to us.
Moltmann knew suffering in a profound way. Drafted as a Nazi soldier, he defended Hamburg on the night where Allied bombers destroyed the city and 40,000 of his hometown citizens died. He surrendered to the Allies and spent three years in various POW camps. While in Scotland, a chaplain gave him a New Testament, the first he had ever owned. At a camp in England, he was befriended by several Christians. Reading the works of fellow German Reinholt Niebuhr, he encountered God. He wrote, "I never decided for Christ, as is often demanded of us, but I am sure that, then and there, in the dark pit of my soul, he found me."[[2]
Moltmann finds in the tragedy of the cross the truth of God and our suffering.
He writes,
“When God becomes man in Jesus of Nazareth… in his death on the cross enters into the situation of man’s godforsakeness… the crucified God is near…to every man… there is no loneliness and rejection which He has not taken to himself and assumed in the cross of Jesus.”[3]
No one is alone in suffering. God the Father has always known the suffering of every creature. In the suffering of Jesus this pathos reaches a crescendo. We are shown that the Divine knows our suffering… and responds. The Gospel of Luke places on the lips of Jesus the words of trust from Psalm 31, “Into Your hands I commit my spirit.” [4] Jesus found in his suffering the presence of God so real even impending death could not sever it. He was not alone!
We do not suffer alone. We can turn to God in our loneliness and receive the Presence of the One who has known our journey. We may find it in the care of a friend, the nuzzling of our pet, or the mystical dream that turns our hope to the future. “I will never leave you,”[5] is the promise of God. It’s true.
Thanks for reading. I welcome your Likes, Shares, and Restacks. Share a Comment, too! The Paid subscription offers exclusive bonus Posts, a monthly audiocast, and discounts for upcoming products.
Sign up for my weekly newsletter, TRACKS EXPRESS, for the latest information on spiritual development, positive psychology, culture insights, relationship building, and more!
Join the Facebook Trackers Community for discussion of vital topics.
All my resources for well-being are available through the website of the TRACKS FOR THE JOURNEY NETWORK.
[1] Mark 15:34
[2] Jorgen Molgmann, The Source of Life. Fortress Press, 1997.
[3] Jorgen Moltmann, The Crucified God, 40th Anniversary Edition. Fortress Press, 2015. P 414. Italics added
[4] Luke 23:46
[5] Hebrews 13:5