Episode 18: Christians and Suffering

We sincerely hope and pray that this episode is helpful, and particularly so for those of you who are going through your own season of suffering as you listen. Know that you are not alone; the Body of Christ walks beside you and Jesus Himself knows your pain intimately and never forsakes you.

Some of the resources we mention in this episode are:

Scripture:
Hebrews 4:15
​John 11
Isaiah 53:1-6
Isaiah 42:3
James 1:2-4
Romans 5:3-5

New York Times piece:
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/03/25/opinion/sunday/after-great-pain-where-is-god.html?smid=fb-share&referer=http://m.facebook.com

Other things that come to mind:
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/practical-faith/how-suffering-saved-my-faith
written by co-host Shannon about her own experience discovering a theology of suffering
http://velamag.com/superbabies-dont-cry/ 
"We want a SuperRace because we want to eradicate absolutely everything that terrifies us. We want SuperHumans so we can transcend that thing we are: human. But a SuperHuman would lack that crack in everything through which, as Leonard Cohen sang, the light gets in. There’s something in our suffering that we need. We’ve known this for millennia, and we make it clear in the stories we keep telling. The Buddha gave up his palace and meditated beneath a tree for a week. Jesus of Nazareth said yes to a cross. Our ache is our unfortunate, undeniable doorway. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, says the copper lady with the torch. When we walk into our pain, we sometimes find ourselves on the other side, freed of what we once thought we needed to feel free."


Wishing you a Holy Week full of intimacy with Christ and an Easter full of hope,
Shannon