GOD AND HUMAN SUFFERING.

February 7, 2021
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time - B.

Readings: Jb 7:1-4, 6-7; Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6; 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23; Mk 1:29-39.

A French proverb says, “A man who is afraid of suffering suffers from fear itself.” And a Japanese proverb adds, “Only through suffering and sorrow do we acquire the wisdom not found in books.”

Where is God when it hurts? Why does God allow suffering? One thing that is far from many people’s understanding and that we always hardly accept is the reality of suffering. We accept all things from God but we refuse to suffer. Mankind dreams of a cross-free life. We always question, where is God in the midst of tragedy and suffering. Many have been questioning the whole of the year 2020, where is God in the midst of the COVID-19 tragedy that has turned into a pandemic? As someone sang it, we love roses but we fear its thorns. We all love life, but we hate suffering. But then, can we dissociate suffering from life?

May it be very clear for all: there is no divine purpose in suffering whatsoever. The idea of a God who sees some use in people being in physical pain, or traumatized emotionally, or having their lives wrecked by natural disasters such as typhoons, earthquakes, or pandemics such as HIV, Ebola, COVID-19, or by the acts of fellow human beings is warped theology. And the self-inflicted suffering, except the cases of ascetism, is even worse. God has not created us to suffer. We suffer because of our choices and the choices of our world.

Nonetheless, there is a great pedagogy and philosophy behind the reality of suffering. Let’s take just the image of a tree. It grows from hardships to hardships. Without suffering, the seed does not become a plant. Without suffering the plant does not turn into a tree, and without suffering the tree does not bear fruits. And that is the normal circle of life for the tree. So too, must we see human life. We grow and become more human through the sufferings we go through. He who refuses to suffer does not reach maturity and misses the purpose of his life.

The liturgy today offers us an opportunity to reflect on the pragmatism of suffering and our relationship with God. Why does the Lord allow human beings to suffer? The book of Job, with the mythic character of Job, is a great theology of human suffering. It explores the difficult question of God's relationship to human suffering and invites us to trust God's wisdom. While all lament about Job and his sorrows, the hero of the book sees in his unfortunate fate the normal course of human life and the pedagogy of the wisdom of God. He reaches the beautiful conclusion that human life belongs to God and is just a breath. Therefore, all that we go through should be accepted as part of God’s Pedagogy. One thing is sure in Job, it is his great Hope. Job firmly believes that the Lord will never forsake human beings forever in suffering. Therefore, human suffering should be seen and accepted as a means of discipline and it should remind us of our intrinsic dependence on God. Somewhere, in Job 2:10, the wise man said, “We accept good things from God; should we not accept evil?”

Suffering is part of human life. It is also part of God’s wisdom and our mission. St. Paul, in that sense, can see his whole existence and his hardships and trials as a fulfillment of God’s plan. To preach the gospel is the reason for his being. To fail to do so, should thus be a motif of punishment for him. Saying so, Paul counts with his hardships and all the tribulations he endured for the sake of the Gospel and Christ. Among the Apostles of the Lord, St. Paul has a special experience because of all that he went through for Christ’s namesake. But as says the Apostle of the Gentiles, “I should be punished if I did not preach the Gospel.” For Christ’s sake, he accepted willingly to become the slave of all. In so doing, he reached the greatest freedom. His sufferings won for Christ many people.

Jesus is the divine answer to human's and creation’s struggles. The Lord Jesus, in the Gospel, came to give God’s answer to our suffering humanity. He is the answer Christians have for the problem of human suffering. For, Jesus knows. Jesus cares. Jesus has compassion. And Jesus heals the sufferings. We read from the narration of St. Mark, that the Lord Jesus “cast out devils and cured many who were suffering from disease.” Though suffering is part of human life, God is never silent in front of our tribulations. He wants to save us all, to heal and release the whole of humanity from any kind of darkness and tribulations. The list of miracles the Lord performed in the Gospel is very evocative: the mother-in-law of Simon, the sick and possessed of the town… But then the Lord does not limit there. “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.” Jesus came to give the Good News of God’s compassion to anyone who is in need, may it be spiritual as well as corporal need. God’s compassion is for all. He answers all who suffer without any exclusion or discrimination.

Besides, there is a beautiful element about Jesus: his unwavering intimacy with his Father. For, despite his fully loaded timetable, he finds time to go aside in a private place and pray. This should also teach us. That, no matter what we do of the day, no matter our sufferings, tribulations, heavily loaded schedules, and activities, we should never forget God. Because without him we are nothing. And because our lives are just a breath, we should keep firmly rooted in God to live. For, without him, our sufferings turn into a tragedy. To suffer with God, opens man to hope. But to suffer without God leads him to Hell. For suffering without God is hell, while suffering with God is pedagogical and therapy of the soul. When the power of love will overcome the love of power, the world will know peace and then suffering will end for man.