Theological reflection on the passion and ultimate death of Jesus Christ brings into sharp focus the suffering being endured by many across the planet. There is physical and emotional suffering and suffering caused by broken relationships and a general sense of alienation and estrangement that many are experiencing at the core of their being. There is a sense of loneliness and abandonment on the part of many. This is particularly true of earthquake-ravaged Haiti, the people of the Congo and in areas of the Sudan and Nigeria where political, ethnic and religious rivalry have resulted in bloodshed and the loss of life and property.

The intractable global recession that we are all experiencing has not helped. If anything, it has only exacerbated an already bad situation. The bad deeds of a few have heaped unnecessary suffering on the many. I would not be surprised that many of those who caused the mess are some who wear religion as a cloak of respectability on Sundays but return to their nefarious ways once they hit the boardroom come Monday. As long as the dollars are flowing, there is often a gulf fixed between personal morality and the guide of conscience and what has to be done to swell the bottom-line “in the interest of the shareholders”. The point I am making is that the suffering that we are often called upon to endure is not an isolated matter, but is often a function of calculated greed.

Often we are made to suffer as a result of our own actions as adults. Thoughts lead to actions, which in turn reap consequences that are often unintended. In such cases, suffering is not purposive or redemptive. It becomes even worse when we fail to take responsibility for the consequences of our choices and when we try to fob off such responsibilities on to to others or seek to excuse them, blaming everyone other than ourselves for our discontent. If we must suffer for any action, then we must be sure that there is some purpose to that suffering; that it will have the characteristic of bringing the greatest good to the many. In other words, it is not selfish suffering intended to bring attention to the sufferer or suffering that has as the endgame the enhancement of personal prestige.

This is the point I believe St Paul was making when he reflected on the theological importance of Jesus’ death on the cross in his letter to the Philippians (2:5-11). There were obviously those in the church who were driven by personal ambition and who were trying to promote their own interests above those of others. By doing this they were dividing the church. This is true of any organisation where people, seized by a sense of their own importance, pursue their own prestige no matter the negative consequences on the growth of the organisation. Paul pointed these fledgling Christians to the suffering Christ as the supreme embodiment of redemptive suffering that he knew. He urged them to have the mind of Christ and to develop the attitude that Christ demonstrated, for this is the attitude that will make suffering redemptive if one should be called upon to suffer for a cause.

For suffering to be redemptive it must be characterised by humility. It could never be said that throughout His brief life on earth Jesus was anything other than humble. People had seen His power in the miracles that He performed but at no time did He use his powers for personal aggrandisement. He should be a great example to those who seek, get and exercise power over the lives of others. There is no indication in the Gospel narratives or in any other literature that He sought to profit from the power that He had. A misuse of power would have thwarted His redeeming mission in the world. He refused every attempt by people to exalt Him. He understood His role as the suffering messiah. He was not naïve about His suffering but knew exactly what had to be done to successfully accomplish His mission.

Finally, His humility was born out of his self-understanding that he was a servant. Servanthood is central to the concept of redemptive suffering. In it is contained the essence of obedience and self-denial. As Jesus had taught, a life of purpose is not lived by those who only seek to live as if they are the only people on the planet. Jesus warned that if you live your life like this you will surely lose it (Matthew 16:25). There is no escaping the reality that the life worth living is that which is lived with care and concern for the welfare of others. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the great 20th century martyr of the church, noted that the church truly becomes the church when it exists for others. There is the urgent need for the church to recapture this self-understanding, for there is too much happening in the Body of Christ that tells us that we are fast losing sight of what the church ought to be about. One hopes that as the church becomes more cognisant of the power of redemptive suffering exemplified by its Lord, it will experience the resurrection of a new attitude in its service to humankind.

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www.drraulston.com