Ukrainian Orthodoxy		Orthodoxie ukrainienne

The Power of Suffering!

Very Reverend Ihor Kutash kutash@unicorne.org

(Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost)

Today`s Gospel (Luke 16:19-31) talks about a whole range of subjects. It can be seen that they all deal with power.

First of all it speaks - by implication rather than directly - about the concrete acts of love and concern that ought to proceed from God`s children, we whom He has created in His image. This is implied by the lack of such acts on the part of the rich man, whose insensitivity to the suffering of others seems to have led him to his present state of torment beyond the grave. God had given him the power to change his course by putting the beggar Lazarus beside his very home. To his credit, the rich fellow was not cruel. He could have had Lazarus driven off - he did not. He merely ignored his presence (do not we all too often do the same when we see suffering?). People need to be seen - we all need personal attention. God knows each one of us by name! By simply acknowledging Lazarus’ presence, by speaking to him the rich man would have shared some of his power with him and this might have saved him.

The Parable we are reading in today’s Gospel also shows that there is power in suffering. Lazarus seems to have gained a place in Abraham’s bosom (a symbol of Paradise) not by any good deeds he did, but simply by the fact that he suffered so much while he was in this world. His suffering opened the gates of a Paradise created by a God who cares, a God of compassion. Yet the rich man’s suffering, even though it came after he had died, had power as well it seems. It was when he realized that there was no way out of torment for himself, that the fellow began to think about others! He wanted to help his brothers avoid coming to this place of torments.

Is such an awakening of character possible after death? That is debatable - but there does seem to be a consensus among Christian teachers that such a thing could happen only if the person who died was already on the way to such illumination. The time we have on earth is crucial for setting the direction in which we are heading. Thus the hope that Christ gives us of the possibility of continual transformation is intended to make us turn towards God by turning towards His needy ones on this earth not after we have died, but TODAY!

Let us not ignore the power of suffering to help us attain the illumination that can transform our lives! Each one of us has something that weighs heavily upon our lives. We ought to pray about such things and do what we can to alleviate our own suffering as well as that of others. But we can also benefit greatly by acknowledging our suffering, by accepting it and by learning the lessons it offers us. For example we can realize how weak and needy we are. This can help us rise above our cold self-sufficiency and reach out to others for the help they would often be happy to give were they not troubled by the thought that they might hurt our pride. We can also reach out to others who have hardships similar ours.

The Parable also shows us that ultimately everything is set aright. Suffering well -endured has its rewards and indifference, alas, has its own consequences as well. Lets wake up! Lets learn from Christ’s lesson instead of spending a lot of time complaining about things not being fair.

[ Home ] [ Articles ] [ Prayer ] [ Saints ] [ Theophilus ] [ Q & A ] [About Us] [ ]