As the world suffers, God suffers. It is not hard to find suffering in the world. All one must do is to turn on the television, open a newspaper, surf the internet, or simply check a social media app. The world seems to be drowning in pain. The church must be a community where pain, suffering, loneliness can be transformed by the Grace and Love of Jesus.

There is an obvious suffering in the world and there is a quiet suffering. The obvious suffering takes the form of war torn countries, the form of hungry children, or the form of injustice in the world. It is on the news at night and in the newspapers in the morning.

The quiet suffering must not be overlooked as a lesser form of suffering. It is the suffering from the loss of loved ones. It is the suffering of feeling excluded in the world. It is the suffering of that humans bury deep within themselves so that world cannot see. This type of suffering is as important to address as the obvious suffering of the world. As a community of believers, the church must address all forms of suffering.

Community has been vital to the development and survival of the humankind. By coming together in small communities, early humans were able survive the dangers of their world and to thrive. Towns developed into cities, and those into states. Nations developed into the current global community that is more connected than ever.

As the world becomes ever more connected, people are more disconnected than ever before. People from all backgrounds suffer depression, anxiety, or loneliness. Suicide in the United States continues to rise as more people are feeling lost and abandoned. People have turned to alcohol or prescription pills to ease the pain.

The Harvard Study of Adult Development has determined that good relationships keep us healthy and happy. People who are more connected to their family, friends, and community are physically and mentally healthier than those that do not. They live longer, more productive lives. “The surprising finding is that our relationships and how happy we are in our relationships have a powerful influence on our health,” said Robert Waldinger, director of the study.[i]

Humanity’s need for community is greater now than ever. The church must create Spirit-filled and Spirit-led communities. Jesus did not gather a group of individuals together to instruct them. He gathered a community of believers around him. It was community of people from different walks of life, from different religious backgrounds, from different social classes. His community was for anyone and everyone who believed in God, or more precisely, anyone who loved God.

“Another central function of the church is that it exists for the sake of the world. It does not exist for its own sake. It is grounded in God who “so loved the world,” not God who so loved the church and Christians in particular. The church is to be a mediator, and instrument, of God’s passion for the world’s well-being.”[ii]

God’s passion for the world’s well-being is demonstrated in the life of Jesus. Jesus calls his followers to heal the sick, to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, and to befriend strangers. He calls for the unclothed to receive clothing and for the lonely to be visited. This is God’s passion for the world.

This is the world that the church must work towards but changing the world is a daunting task. Instead of changing the world, the church should focus on making a dent. Instead of trying to create a world where everyone has enough food to eat, the sick are healed, and the lonely are comforted, then the church should create communities where everyone has enough food to eat. A community that heals their sick and comforts the lonely. A community that is built on inclusion and not exclusion.

The church needs to be foundation of these communities. It needs to embrace all those that suffer in this world. It must reach out beyond those that sit in the pews on Sunday. The church must go beyond its walls and into the community. “The practice of compassion and justice is important both within the internal life of the church and in the world beyond the community of the church.”[iii]

The church needs to be the Spirit-filled community that Jesus has called it to be. It is the place where pain, suffering, loneliness are transformed. Let the church be a radical community of believers, who believe in the overwhelming power of friendship, of family, and of the importance of a community that is both Spirit-filled and Spirit led. Let it be that very vocal majority that preaches compassion, justice, and peace to a world that is desperate need for some comfort, a world who knows loneliness all too well, and a world that delivers tough weeks one after another.

 

 

[i] Liz Meno “Good Genes are Nice, but Joy is Better”, Harvard Gazette, April 11, 2017

[ii] Marcus Borg Jesus: The Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary (HarperOne, 2006)

[iii] Marcus Borg, The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith (Kindle Location 3172). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.