Concordia TheoBLOGical Seminary

In last Sunday’s adult Bible class, our pastor was talking about the meaning of suffering. In philosophy, the problem of evil/suffering is called theodicy. For religiously oriented folk, the question is really about the nature of God. Here are three propositions which orthodox Christians hold to be true:

• God is perfectly good
• God is omnipotent (all powerful)
• There is suffering in the world

The dilemma centers on explaining how all three of those propositions can be equally true simultaneously. Any two of them together can make sense, but all three together seem to defy reason.

There have been many writers over time who have engaged this tantalizing subject. As a pastor, it is one of the most relevant discussions imaginable. I think that “why” is the largest word in all of human language. But rather than trying to offer a “solution” in this format, I want only to make an observation.

The other evening, I caught a bit of a show on TLC called Miami Ink. If you’re not familiar, it’s a reality program about a tattoo parlor and it’s clientele. In a recent episode, a young man (20-something) came to get a lotus flower tattooed to his upper back. As far as I recall, he’d had some recent personal tragedy or loss and, in his anguish, he found solace in the teachings of Buddhism. Hence the lotus tattoo, a significant Buddhist symbol.

The lotus flower is rooted in the mud and the stem rises up through the murky water to present a beautiful blossom above it all. So, according to Buddhism, can the soul rise out of suffering to a state of bliss by means of certain teachings and practices.

The young man explained that his upbringing offered him no meaningful way to deal with the problem of suffering. Furthermore, it seemed to him that Buddhism was the only world religion that focused on overcoming suffering.

I felt very sad that this young man’s religious upbringing was so vacuous that a godless philosophy appeared to be the answer. The truth is that Christianity addresses the problem of suffering in the most direct way imaginable. Instead of mind tricks to fool the self into a state of serenity, God in Jesus Christ, immerses Himself in human pain, even to the point of death itself. Further, he takes upon Himself the root of pain which is sin. Jesus became an object of the Father’s wrath precisely to deliver us from all evil. Serenity/peace/wellness/shalom is not just a state of mind for the Christian. It is, in fact, a status awarded to us on behalf of the sacrifice of Jesus. A status you will, in the glorious resurrection, experience bodily and not just mentally or spiritually.

Significantly, because we are not slaves to that cruelest of philosophies, Karma, Christians have addressed the suffering of others very differently than adherents of eastern religions. We address it with acts of mercy.

But here is my exhortation to you. Be a doer of the Word. Love your neighbor in deeds and not words only, like God does. John 3:16 [show]John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (ESV)
does not say that God loved the world so he had a warm and fuzzy thought about us. He did something, something hard.

At times, I am troubled by the talk of an “invisible” church. Does that mean that there are invisible Christians? I know that we cannot see the condition of a person’s heart and in that sense, faith is unseen except only to God. Nevertheless, you can’t say that you love humanity, unless you love actual people. With works of mercy.

To those who seek transcendence, the only way to rise above it all is to be raised with Christ, joined to his resurrection AND ascension by the washing of Holy Baptism.