So, what is the Christian response to horrible tragedies? Was it God’s will that children would die in a tornado in Oklahoma? Why didn’t God stop the Sandy Hook school massacre? What is to be said to high school students grieving the loss of their friend through some tragic accident? (This has been an all too common scene in my town for the last few years.)
I’m the type that wants to tie up theological loose ends
with clever logic. As an engineer, I
value the simplest answers as they tend to be the most elegant and
correct. I love it when a complex math
problem boils down to a simple solution.
I’ve wrestled with these questions, occasionally thinking I had found an
elegant solution to this problem of evil.
I know I’ve at some point expressed one of these ‘solutions’ to a
grieving friend. If you were the
recipient of this from me (or some other well meaning theologian), let me say
to you now, “I’m sorry.”
Truth is, there are no elegant or clever answers. The most concrete statement we have is “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Of course this comes from the Beatitudes where Jesus is telling us who is going to be the most at home in the Kingdom. The best aid we can provide is to mourn alongside those affected by tragedy. When we attempt to explain, we run the risk of being the kinds of friends Job of the Old Testament had when faced with terrible trials and tragedy.
So, I’m guessing you are with me so far. Perhaps I’ve provided a good reminder, but I imagine I haven’t rattled your cage yet. Let’s take this a step further then.
We’ve been looking at this in cases of clearly undeserved loss. Clearly nobody (other than a few radicals) would claim that the victims of a tornado in Oklahoma or a school shooting in Connecticut were deserving of the tragedies that beset them. But what about the drug addict whose addiction broke up his family? What about the broker who slid too far down the slippery slope of corruption and lost everything? Are we to mourn with these in their loss as well? Are we to provide comfort to these people?
We really have two ways to interpret Jesus’ beatitude. Either we can read it as “Blessed are those who mourn for any reason” or as “Blessed are those who mourn for situations which they did not bring upon themselves.” If we take the first interpretation, we have no right to pick and choose whom we should comfort. If we take the second interpretation, we ultimately can bow out of providing comfort to any sufferer, acknowledging that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” and thus justly receiving their penalty. We even might take it to the next level of picketing funerals just to make sure these mourning receive no comfort.
I submit that the correct interpretation is the first, the one which we are called to comfort those mourning for any reason. In Les Miserables, I think Jean Valjean’s comforting of Fantine after her desperate turn to prostitution is much more beautiful and Christ-like than Javert’s advice, “Honest work, just reward, that’s the way to please the Lord.”
The problem of evil, or Theodicy, is certainly a complex topic. It’s certainly a noble task to work to untangle it. Great headway in this endeavor can seemingly be achieved in well informed discussions. I completely support having those discussions. You may even catch me engaging in a Theodicy discussion on occasion. However, when it comes to application, comfort without judgment is always the right answer. Oh, and try not to explain your Theodicy theories to the mourning. If this actually helped, Jesus would instead have said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall have explained to them the reason.”
I doubt many have found me particularly comforting in their times of mourning. Lord, help me to be comfort to those who mourn.
Is it difficult for you to provide comfort, without regard of whether the suffering is somehow ‘deserved?’ How have you grown in compassion for the mourning?
Truth is, there are no elegant or clever answers. The most concrete statement we have is “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Of course this comes from the Beatitudes where Jesus is telling us who is going to be the most at home in the Kingdom. The best aid we can provide is to mourn alongside those affected by tragedy. When we attempt to explain, we run the risk of being the kinds of friends Job of the Old Testament had when faced with terrible trials and tragedy.
So, I’m guessing you are with me so far. Perhaps I’ve provided a good reminder, but I imagine I haven’t rattled your cage yet. Let’s take this a step further then.
We’ve been looking at this in cases of clearly undeserved loss. Clearly nobody (other than a few radicals) would claim that the victims of a tornado in Oklahoma or a school shooting in Connecticut were deserving of the tragedies that beset them. But what about the drug addict whose addiction broke up his family? What about the broker who slid too far down the slippery slope of corruption and lost everything? Are we to mourn with these in their loss as well? Are we to provide comfort to these people?
We really have two ways to interpret Jesus’ beatitude. Either we can read it as “Blessed are those who mourn for any reason” or as “Blessed are those who mourn for situations which they did not bring upon themselves.” If we take the first interpretation, we have no right to pick and choose whom we should comfort. If we take the second interpretation, we ultimately can bow out of providing comfort to any sufferer, acknowledging that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” and thus justly receiving their penalty. We even might take it to the next level of picketing funerals just to make sure these mourning receive no comfort.
I submit that the correct interpretation is the first, the one which we are called to comfort those mourning for any reason. In Les Miserables, I think Jean Valjean’s comforting of Fantine after her desperate turn to prostitution is much more beautiful and Christ-like than Javert’s advice, “Honest work, just reward, that’s the way to please the Lord.”
The problem of evil, or Theodicy, is certainly a complex topic. It’s certainly a noble task to work to untangle it. Great headway in this endeavor can seemingly be achieved in well informed discussions. I completely support having those discussions. You may even catch me engaging in a Theodicy discussion on occasion. However, when it comes to application, comfort without judgment is always the right answer. Oh, and try not to explain your Theodicy theories to the mourning. If this actually helped, Jesus would instead have said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall have explained to them the reason.”
I doubt many have found me particularly comforting in their times of mourning. Lord, help me to be comfort to those who mourn.
Is it difficult for you to provide comfort, without regard of whether the suffering is somehow ‘deserved?’ How have you grown in compassion for the mourning?
Ooo... Interesting discussion. I sometimes have a hard time showing compassion to people that have done it to themselves. I also struggle with showing compassion to people that asked me for advice and then did what I said NOT to do. When they come back to me in despair, I try to comfort them but it's hard. I really want to say told you so.
ReplyDeleteI see others with a very compassionate heart and they always have the right words to say and are encouraging. I want to be more like that.
You and me both. I was writing this for myself as much as anyone else.
Delete