"Why Are You Terrified?"

Jesus and the Apostles were out at sea. Jesus was catching up on some well-deserved sleep when a violent storm hit, so violent that the boat began taking on water. Jesus kept right on sleeping - until the Apostles woke him, screaming, "Don't you care that we are perishing?" Jesus rose, "rebuked" the wind and sea and then spun to face the Apostles, "Why were you terrified?  Do you not yet have faith?" (Mark 4:40).

After having been with Him, after seeing Him heal and cast out devils, after hearing His proclamation of the Father's great love for them, Jesus was shocked by the Apostles' abject terror. They had yet to look at the world through His eyes and to understand that nothing outside of them had the power to snatch them from the Father's hand - not even death. They would not understand until Jesus had been raised and the Spirit poured out on Pentecost.

In the light of Christ's Resurrection, the Apostles finally saw the world as it was: under the Lord's dominion. Nothing is outside His power. Yes, men can commit gross evils, but only because God allows them to exercise their freewills. And, the divine power can turn evil back upon itself with a simple command. The rulers of this world crucified the Lord Jesus; but the Father raised Him and Christ now sits enthroned at His right hand, ready to judge the living and the dead (Acts 2:23-24, 36). That is reality.

Our culture is disintegrating. Our brothers and sisters in the Middle East and Africa are persecuted and killed, and some form of persecution seems to loom on the horizon for us (in addition to that already occurring in academia and the court of public opinion). But I hear the Lord say, "Why are you terrified?"; and I remember the reality to which Jesus witnessed to before Pilate, and Peter and John before the Sanhedrin:

[Pilate said,] "Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:10-11). 

[The Sanhedrin] called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:18-20).

We follow Jesus, Who had power to lay down His life and take it up again (John 10:18), and Who has promised to raise us up, too (John 6:40). What do men and women who have been promised a resurrection from the dead have to fear?  I hate to insert Star Wars into such a serious post, but Obi Wan Kenobi's words to Vader at their final duel capture this truth perfectly: "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."What can possibly terrify a Christian? Nothing, except allowing ourselves to be robbed of that transformation and eternal treasure. We must continue praying for the grace to persevere and not give into a fear of pain. We must pray, so that

...we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal (2 Cor. 4:16-18)

This reality should fill us with a deep, authentic joy. Thank You, Lord. 

Book Review: "The Mystery of Suffering" by Hubert Van Zeller, O.S.B.

This is a tough review for me to write... because it is impossible to do justice to what is clearly a modern classic. Accepting the fact that God allows suffering into our lives - and means to make use of it to perfect us - is what separates "real" Christianity, lived Christianity, from the false gospel so prevalent in American culture. I have been meditating upon this subject for several years; and yet, as I leaf back through this book, I seem to have highlighted at least one or two sentences per page (and there are over a hundred pages).

Dom Hubert Van Zeller, the Benedictine monk, author, and sculptor, departed this life in 1984; but he bequeathed many valuable treasures to the Church militant before doing so. His The Mystery of Suffering is a frank, profound, and sympathetic discussion of the most difficult reality we human beings face. Van Zeller writes in such a way, though, that you read his words and think, "Of course." Let me give an example:

"The truth is that in this matter of religion, and more especially in this matter of the perfect service of God which is here envisaged, the really important things come to us disguised. The more important, the more disguised. Obvious examples would be the ways in which our Lord comes to us disguised as an ordinary baby, as a prisoner hanging on a cross, as a piece of bread. So it is hardly to be expected that the cross, which is such an essential part of religion, and of perfect service, should proclaim its nature with a neatly printed label...The quality of hiddenness is certainly present in the matter of suffering." (p. 16-17)

What can you say after that, except "Amen"?

Van Zeller's approach is balanced. Our goal is love - to love God in the midst of both suffering and enjoyment. (One of the happy surprises I experienced while reading this book was an increase in my thanks to God for life's "simple" things.) Van Zeller reminds us that suffering can be a corrective punishment, but that it is usually just part and parcel of our living in a fallen world. What changed with the coming of Christ, however, was that we have the opportunity to unite each discomfort to the sufferings of Christ crucified and thus, to invest them with meaning and value. (By entrusting ourselves, with Christ, to the Father, we simultaneously grow in supernatural faith, hope, and charity, and increase our likeness to Christ.)

I need to read this book several more times. There is truth here - so great and so at odds with this fallen world and the patterns of thought we all share, that I will need to return to it again and again to better acclimate myself to Reality. I appreciated the foreword supplied by Al Kresta. He first read the book while suffering through the loss of a leg to flesh-eating bacteria, and, as a result, is able to offer real world testimony to the power of Van Zeller's insights.

Allow me to close with one more quotation:

"Our darkness may be as nothing compared to the saints - just as theirs was nothing when compared with that endured by Christ when he cried from the Cross, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' (Mt 27:46) - but the chances are we shall be floundering about and unable to see our way through to the other side. Darkness cannot be fought: hitting out at darkness gets you no results. Nor can darkness be argued into light: you cannot think your way toward God in suffering. The only thing that helps is prayer." (p.15)

The Mystery of Suffering (Ave Maria Press, 2015)

The Die is Cast ...

Watching the news these past few days, and thinking back over the past year of headlines, I feel a tremendous sadness.  We head farther and farther away from God, with many openly thumbing their noses at Him in internet comboxes.  I think my sadness is that of Jesus as He approached His beloved city:

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" (Luke 13:34-35)

He saw the choices she had made, could read the ones she was about to, and knew how it would end.  And yet, He continued to speak out - and He charged the Apostles to continue speaking out after His Resurrection.  In the end, you and I will not be judged on how successful our efforts were; but upon our faithfulness to the call.  And the only way I can see of remaining joyful is to keep our eyes fixed firmly on the Prize that has been promised, knowing that in the midst of the Trinity all the trials and persecutions we suffered in life will melt immediately away.  More than that, God will look upon our endurance of them as beautiful expressions of our love.

"Redemptive Suffering" in Christianity's Earliest Writings

Being sick this past week has given me additional time to re-read Ignatius of Antioch's seven epistles (c.110 A.D.).  They are easy to locate online (free of charge). I have really profited from Dr. Kenneth Howell's new translation and commentary, Ignatius of Antioch & Polycarp of Smyrna.  One of the elements I have found most intriguing in his analysis of Ignatius's epistles is the presence of what later theology terms redemptive suffering.  

By "redemptive suffering," I mean the belief that the sufferings God allows into our lives, when accepted and lived with trust in His love for us, participate in the sufferings of the Crucified; and the grace we receive to participate in Jesus' sufferings are of benefit not just to us, but the entire Body of Christ.  In the past I shared my conviction that this belief is found in the writings of St. Paul and witnessed to both in our Eucharistic belief and our Blessed Mother's earthly life.  

Dr. Howell helps us follow this thread from Paul through the Church's earliest days.  Chapter two of his book is devoted to Ignatius's theology of martyrdom.  I have read two other translations of Ignatius's epistles, but no one before Dr. Howell pointed out the literal translation of Ignatius's Greek term, antipsuchon - "substitute soul."  To put it in context, here is Ignatius's usage in his epistles to the Smyrneans and Polycarp, respectively:  "My spirit and my bonds are your substitute soul"; "I and my bonds that you love are your substitute soul in every way."  Listen to Dr. Howell's commentary here, "[Ignaitus's] sharing in the passion of Christ serves to advance the spiritual welfare of those to whom he writes since he is their 'substitute soul' (antipuschon).  Since in his mind Ignatius's martyrdom began while still in chains, he is conscious that it is for more than his own salvation" (p.13-14).

I should also note how Ignatius witnessed to a "give-and-take" within the Communion of Saints, with all grace flowing from Christ Jesus, "Now pray for me as I need the love [emanating] from you in the mercy of God to make me worthy of the lot which I am set to obtain.  Pray that I may not be found unapproved."  And this truth extends beyond earth into the life of heaven, "My spirit makes you pure not only now but also when I attain to God" (Epistle to Polycarp).  

St. Ignatius of Antioch, participant in the sufferings of Christ on behalf of the Church (Col.1:24), pray for us!

A Palm Sunday Parallel

It is a snowy Palm Sunday, and I just finished re-reading the Martyrdom of Polycarp (written c.155 A.D.).  After the Acts of the Apostles' recounting of the martyrdom of Stephen, MoP is the earliest Christian writing focused on the martyrdom of an individual.  Polycarp was an amazing figure by all accounts - instructed and ordained bishop of Smyrna by the Apostle John, he spent over half his life in ordained service to the Church; and he finished strong.  

When told that his life would be spared if he but swear by Caesar and curse Christ, he responded, "Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?  ... You threaten me with fire which burns for an hour, and after a little is extinguished, but you are ignorant of the fire of the coming judgment and of eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly. Why do you hesitate? Bring forth what you will."

Polycarp's courage at that moment was a participation in Jesus' own when facing the Cross - and God did not want the Church or the world to miss that truth:  the magistrate who had Polycarp hunted and taken into custody bore the name Herod, and he had Polycarp led into the city on a donkey - like Jesus entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

Thoughts (Some, Goofy) from the Sick Bed

I have felt worse this past week than I have in years.  On Sunday, I thought I was a little worn down; so I spent the day on the couch.  By that night the croup-like cough kicked in and then by Monday afternoon it was full-blown fever, chills, body aches - the whole shebang.  It's Thursday now, and I am finally fever free; I still sound like I am going to cough up a lung, but I am fever free!  And in the spirit of pushing off (for at least another 10 minutes) the arduous process of wiping down the house with bleach and Lysol, here are some of the thoughts/realizations I've had this week:

1. As appealing as becoming a hermit may sometimes seem, I need human contact way too much to make a go of that.
2. The ring of the telephone is not always a bad thing.
3. St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote about redemptive suffering and the Communion of Saints way back in 110 A.D.
4. My pain tolerance is pitiful.
5. If it's a choice between watching Dr. Phil, Ellen, or Wendy ... just turn off the television.
6. When you're awake at 3 a.m., anxious over all of the tasks piling up at work and home, the Rosary might not put you back to sleep; but it will give you peace.
7. I am not nearly grateful enough on the 350-some days of the year when I feel "middle of the road" - those days are tremendous gifts.
8. It is possible to miss working out. 
9. Sickness isn't a waste if we tell Jesus that we want to join our discomfort to His on the Cross; it turns the sickness into a prayer.
10. Did I mention how hard it is to watch daytime television?
11. It's good to ask God for help, and it's good to pray for one another.
12. When you feel bad, it helps to stop and intentionally place yourself in God's Hands.  Get a clear picture of it in your mind.  When we're sick for a length of time our perspective becomes skewed, and we need to remind ourselves of reality.  
13. There are countless brothers and sisters dealing with so much more than me - "God, please help them."  

  


 

0.34 Seconds - That's All It Takes

0.34 Seconds - the time it takes to blink your eye; that's as quickly as everything can change for the better.  When I prayed the Rosary this morning, I meditated on Jesus' Resurrection, putting myself in his tomb.  One second He was there, wrapped in His shroud.  And in the next second, with a brilliant flash of light, the shroud lay flat on the stone slab; He was gone.  That's how quickly God can change defeat into victory.  

We have little glimpses of this throughout life.  Think of those times when the phone has rang with a surprise invitation, or you ran into someone you hadn't seen in months; or you got an email out of the blue.  One moment everything was moving along as ho-hum as usual and then boom - you're like a rocket shooting into the stratosphere.  Life is not just one long struggle, carrying the Cross up Calvary; it's also shot through with these experiences of the Resurrection -and we never know when the Lord will surprise us next.

What we know for sure is that each second brings us closer to that instant when "we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed" (1 Cor. 15:51-52).

That Tight-Lipped Jesus ...

So here is a stream-of-consciousness post for you.  Stay with me though, there is a point:

On the drive to work today I was praying the Rosary and meditating on the Lord's Resurrection.  I was thinking of the women at Jesus' tomb.  Nothing could have prepared them for the absolute shock of the empty tomb - and definitely not for their encounter with the Resurrected Jesus.  I was struck how you and I are often so completely in the dark about all of the good things that God is doing behind the scenes, completely surprised when they break out into the light.  God seems to work in silence; He doesn't make us privy to His plans - just shocks us with their awesomeness.

Wait, that's not quite right.  Hadn't Jesus told His disciples, over and over, that He would be rejected by the chief priests and elders and be raised on the third day?  Yes, He had; but they didn't understand.  Jesus had told them exactly what was going to happen.  His crucifixion shouldn't have come as a shock - and neither should His Resurrection!

And here is what Jesus says to you and me.  We should listen closely so that we're not caught off-guard:

“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (Jn.16:33).
  
Fore-warned is fore-armed.  We will suffer the Cross.  And if we stay united with Him, we will experience His Resurrection.

Shepherd in the Rearview Mirror

I have been reflecting upon the great people the Lord brought across my path early in life.  One of the most influential, to whom I return again and again in my mind, was Paul Masek.  He was an extraordinary mentor; if you read The God Who is Love, then you already know how he offered me encouragement and direction at critical junctures. 

I was reminded of Paul again at Mass this past Sunday, when the music leader performed a version of Psalm 23, "The Lord is my Shepherd." When I was starting high school things were pretty rough.  I had seriously committed my life to Jesus about a year before and was heading into high school with a reputation of being seriously over-religious.  (Translation: I read the Bible and was very excited to share what God was doing in my life.)  In 1987, even in a Catholic school, that put you on the outside of a lot of social groups. 

I had been introduced to Paul, a young, Catholic youth minister, about a month before freshman year; and we became fast friends.  When I shared my struggles at school with him he reminded me of the final line in Psalm 23, "Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever" (23:6), and then he broke it open for me:  "The psalm says that goodness 'follows' us all the days of our lives - but have to turn around to see it.  Often times, in the moment, we cannot recognize the good that God is bringing about.  It's only after time passes and we look back, that we're able to see it."

And he was right.  God was deepening my commitment to Him by letting me experience resistance.  He helped me to understand, from the start, that committing yourself to following Jesus - what so many people imagine as "playing it safe" - is the most radical, revolutionary thing a human being can do.  Looking back I wouldn't trade those early days for anything.  God walked with me and held me incredibly close throughout.  And in the end, high school turned out to be a good experience - both spiritually and socially; but those are stories for another time.  "We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose" (Rom.8:28).  That is true for every one of us, even those who leave this world as martyrs.

Paul Masek is a guy worth getting to know.  I highly recommend checking out his blog, book, and the amazing retreat team he heads up, R.E.A.P. (of which yours truly was blessed to be an original member a couple of decades back!).

"He Must Increase; I Must Decrease"

Those were the words of John the Baptist when his disciples came to him concerned that Jesus had started to attract larger crowds than John.  It's such an awesome thing to say, "He must increase; I must decrease" (Jn.3:30) - so incredibly noble.  It sounds so spiritually "romantic" ... but then you yourself are called to live it, and all of the air goes out of the tires.  

Each of us is going to experience times, probably many times, in our efforts to serve God when all of our plans come to nought.  As best we can tell, our hearts are in the right place; and we are using our abilities as we believe the Lord wants, but our efforts do not appear to meet with success.  But when we look around at our brothers and sisters we see just the opposite - their efforts to tell others about the Lord Jesus and to be of help to others are flourishing.  We have to beware of the Enemy at moments like that; he would love nothing more than to encourage a spiritual jealousy in our hearts.

St. Paul encouraged the us to keep our heads on straight, guarding our thoughts with "the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph.6:17).  And what does the word tells us?

• “My son, when you come to serve the LORD, prepare yourself for trials. Be sincere of heart and steadfast, undisturbed in time of adversity.  Cling to him, forsake him not; thus will your future be great. Accept whatever befalls you, in crushing misfortune be patient; For in fire gold is tested, and worthy men in the crucible of humiliation. Trust God and he will help you; make straight your ways and hope in him.” (Sir.2:1-6) 

• Not to say that any of us find ourselves in this position, but when other Christian preachers were trying to outshine Paul in proclaiming Christ, his attitude was, "What does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice" (Phil.1:18)

• "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mt.20:28)

• "So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty." (Lk.17:10)

It's not our kingdom that we are building.  It is not our names that we wish to magnify.  The trials we face, the setbacks are not truly defeats; they create opportunities for us to persevere in loving the Lord, in expending ourselves for love of Him.  These are the moments when He grows our souls, transforms them to be more like His - poured out on the Cross for love of the Father ... and us.  Trials in our efforts to serve purify us.  They provide opportunity to overcome, to burn away, any residual desire we have to build our kingdoms, to make a name for ourselves, with the Fire of Love - the Holy Spirit who made saints of John the Baptist and Paul.

Come Holy Spirit, 

Love of the Father for the Son,

Love of the Son for the Father,

Soul of the Mystical Body,

Font of Life,

Fire of Love,

Sweet Anointing from Above.

When life takes that "wrong" turn ...

Every person reading this, at one time or another, has had some very specific way he or she believed they were meant to serve God ... only to find out that they were mistaken.  It may have been a career you felt sure you were called to, or some great ministry idea that never took off.  Life went on and perhaps you later found yourself carrying out the work you felt called to in a different setting or as part of some other role you took on.  Whatever it was, that experience of discovering you were mistaken on the specifics  is disappointing as well as bewildering.  I've sure been there and, so too I believe, has our Blessed Mother.  

Ivanov Alexander Andreevich's The Annunciation (1850)

If we read Luke's account of the Annunciation carefully, Mary asks what should strike us as a strange question.  A little background first:  Jewish marriage was a two-step process - 1) the legal-binding of the couple, and then after about a year; 2) the wife left her family and settled into married life in the home of her husband.  Mary and Joseph had already passed through step one when Gabriel appeared to her (Lk.1:27) with the announcement "you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus" (1:31).  At that point, Mary, an already legally married woman, asks a strange question?  "How will this be, since I do not know man?" (1:34)

Huh?  A married woman still in the dark about the "birds and the bees"?  The Bible has other accounts of angels announcing the birth of children, but none of them record the mother needing a lesson in the facts of life.  I don't think Mary did either, and I'm not alone.  A long line of biblical interpreters have understood Mary's question as revealing a decision on her part - a vow to God - to remain a virgin, even after she went to live with Joseph.  If that was the case then her question to the angel makes sense.  "I have consecrated my virginity to the Lord, I have made my life a virginal offering to him.  How can I conceive a child?"

Gabriel's response is one of my favorite verses in the whole of Scripture, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called the Son of God" (Lk.1:35).  Only God could conceive of a way of serving Him in which physical virginity and physical motherhood can exist side-by-side.  It wasn't the way Mary had conceived of in serving Him.  She had heard the call to consecrated virginity, never imagining that there could be a subsequent call to Motherhood!  How could she imagine something like that?  Naturally speaking it makes no sense!  But God is above nature.

He is above nature, and He is above you and me.  When life takes a "wrong" turn and our plans to serve God seem in shambles, take a step back.  It's possible that you heard incorrectly, but it's also quite possible that the Lord has only revealed a small portion of the larger work He intends for you.  Rest assured, nothing is wasted.  Even the sins committed against us have been woven into God's plan (Gen.5:20; Rom.8:28).  Take your Mother's hand, throw yourself into your Father's arms, and be at peace.  ("Hail Mary ..., Our Father ...)

Baptized with the Spirit and Fire

Praying the Rosary and meditating on Jesus' Baptism by John took a different turn this morning. My attention became focused on John's reaction to Jesus. "I need to be baptized by you" (Mt.3:14). Now, of course John recognized Jesus' superior holiness, but there is something else we ought to recognize: Part of John's preaching was how the Messiah would offer a baptism superior to his.   John had told the crowds, "I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Mt.3:11).

The baptism offered by Jesus, the Sacrament of Baptism, changes us in the deepest parts of our humanity.  We are given sanctifying grace, meaning that are damaged souls are repaired and renewed as the Holy Spirit rushes in and takes up residence in them.  We still retain however inclinations toward old patterns of behavior that need to be undone - "burned away" you could say, and that is an ongoing process, one that God wants us to take part in.  It can hurt.  On some rare occasions God may seem like an old-fashioned doctor using a piece of white-hot iron to cauterize a wound and prevent further infection!  It takes faith to recognize God as a Father, Who always has our eternal best-interests at heart.

“My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord

or lose heart when reproved by him;

for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;

he scourges every son he acknowledges.”

Endure your trials as “discipline”; God treats you as sons. For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline?  If you are without discipline, in which all have shared, you are not sons but bastards.  Besides this, we have had our earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not [then] submit all the more to the Father of spirits and live? They disciplined us for a short time as seemed right to them, but he does so for our benefit, in order that we may share his holiness. At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.

So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed. (Heb.12:5-12)

I rather like the way C.S. Lewis paraphrased this in Mere Christianity.  I do not have my copy in front of me but if memory serves, he wrote,  "God loves us now, just as we are; but He loves us too much to allow us to remain the way we are!"

"Jesus said this to test him"

The title of this post comes from today's gospel reading on Jesus' multiplication of the loaves and the feeding of the five thousand.  Seeing the massive crowd coming upon them Jesus looked at the Apostle Philip and asked, "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?"  And the very next thing we're told is how Jesus "said this to test him, because He Himself knew what he was going to do" (Jn.6:6).  Now Philip, like the vast majority of us, took stock of the situation and mumbled, "Over 200 days worth of my pay wouldn't be enough to give each of these people a mouth full!"

Jesus used the sight of the approaching crowd as an opportunity to draw out an expression of Philip's faith, and he uses a variety of intimidating circumstances in our lives to do the same thing.  Most of the time we respond like Philip.  What I want us to focus on is how Jesus already knew what he was going to do.  Philip was surprised by the predicament they found themselves in, but Jesus had already seen it coming and already knew how He was going to respond.  Philip had the opportunity, when Jesus asked the question to respond, "I don't know Lord, but You do.  How do You plan for us to feed them?  Tell me, and I'll do it."  

Next time we're caught off guard by a situation, and tempted to fear or despair, lets put the lesson from today's gospel into practice.  Recognize it as Jesus asking us a question, trying to draw out our trust in Him.  Lets answer Him directly in prayer, "Lord, I'm completely caught off guard, devastated by this; but You saw this moment coming long before I was ever born, and You know what I need to do to move forward.  Please show me, and I'll do it.  St. Philip, Blessed Mother, and all you angels and saints please ask Jesus to make his direction plain for me to see."  I'm not saying that the Lord is going to respond by multiplying loaves.  That was His answer to the situation on that particular day in Palestine.  But He does have an answer for you, even if it is to bestow the grace of martyrdom.  And His answer will build your faith and that of the crowd (family and friends) around you.

"How Far We've Come"

What a great song:
"I believe the world is burning to the ground
Oh well I guess we're gonna find out
Let's see how far we've come (right now)
Let's see how far we've come
Well I, believe, it all, is coming to an end
Oh well, I guess, we're gonna pretend,
Let's see how far we've come (oh yeah)
Let's see how far we've come"

It's truly apocalyptic; it's about "revealing," about pulling back the curtain to see what's really taking place. And that's what we Christians get with suffering. (No, I'm not done with that theme yet.) God is all about using the things that go wrong in this world, to the benefit of His Beloved. It's when things fall apart, when we're stripped bare, that we found out who we really are. Do you keep your kind tone with the kids when you're head is throbbing? Do you fight to overturn Roe vs. Wade, even when it means electing someone who might cripple your family budget even more? Do you still love and desire good for your spouse (angry and hurt as you might be) when they demand a "no fault" divorce? Is God still an "Awesome God" when your body is riddled with cancer?

It's easy to have Faith when everything is going well -but Faith is proved, and reinforced, and deepened when we live it in the midst of suffering. To be real, it has to be lived! And living it gives a union with God, even now, that carries us through. Give these verses a couple of minutes:

Jesus in John 16:33, "In this world YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

1 Peter 1:6-9, "For a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

James 1:2-5, "Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."