I found this story on the internet: One evening, Batman and Robin decided to go camping. They set up their tent and were fast asleep. A couple of hours later, Batman woke up his faithful friend and said, "Robin, look up at the sky and tell me what you see."
Robin, who was used to these midnight lessons, replies, "I see millions of stars."
Batman asks, “What does that tell you?”
Robin ponders for a minute, then says, “Astronomically speaking, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Chronologically, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, it's evident that God is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you, Batman?"
Batman is silent for a moment, then speaks: "Robin, you're an idiot, it means somebody stole our tent while we were sleeping."
I see a parallel story that looks like this:
The preacher, who was used to these pontifical lessons replied, “I see many streets with cardboard boxes that have people living in them.”
The Bishop said, “And what does that mean?”
The preacher pondered for a minute, and then said, “Theologically, I see a world of brokenness and sin that makes God unhappy. Ontologically, I see the absence of God in places where suffering seems most intense. Anthropologically, I see how human groups separate themselves from those who are not like them. Philosophically, I see there are those who simply find no meaning in life. And psychologically, I see that it is difficult for people to raise themselves up when they are scraping the bottom of the barrel. What does it tell you, Bishop?”
The Bishop was silent for a moment, then speaks: “Preacher, you’re an idiot. It means people are still hungry and cold and suffering in the richest country in the world.”
To me it says we make religion too much about what is in our heads instead of what it is in our hearts.
Our Christian calling is to relieve pain, and hunger, and suffering in the world. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately (according to the apostle Paul), what we do for Christ will bring a different kind of suffering.
There are two kinds of suffering. One is the kind that comes from injustice, from treating certain people as lower forms of life because of the color of their skin, because of the country of their ancestry, because of their gender, because they are not in the same economic bracket as them, or because of the political party they vote for.
People find all kinds of reasons to separate themselves from others. They malign the integrity and worth of others and find ways to treat them with disgust. That’s called human nature. That’s called being of the world. When you contribute to suffering in the world, you are of the world. It doesn’t matter if you belong to a church. To contribute to suffering and separation is to be of the world.
On the other hand, when you and I attempt to relieve suffering brought about by the world, we are no longer of the world but we are in Christ. Yet, we need to be aware that as we begin the work of relieving that suffering, you and I will experience the suffering of the cross of Jesus Christ. The cross we bear for Christ is to fight so that all people can have food on the table, and clothes on their back, and a roof over their head, and respect as unique creations of God.
The world will fight, tooth and nail, to continue the injustices that bring pain, and hunger, and imprisonment, and inequality because Injustice is the demon who doesn’t want to disappear. Our call in baptism is to follow Jesus into the world, and to change a world that thrives on inequality, and unequal treatment of people. When we fight injustice, we should expect to suffer for it.
Jesus said in his sermon on the mount, “Blessed are you when you are persecuted for doing what is right, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven” (Matt. 5:10-12).
The hard part about all this is that you can only know the joy and the peace this brings after you’ve already arrived. Maybe that’s the reason more people don’t attempt it. They can’t understand that being persecuted for doing the right thing is beneficial to us. The only way to get there is to trust what Jesus and St. Paul said. We have to live by faith that the cross will bring life and peace.
God’s special rewards come after we exercise faith and trust, which can only happen when we don’t know the outcome. One of those wonderful rewards is peace. A peace in your heart. A peace that passes all understanding. You see, that, too, you can’t know until you’ve arrived.
C. S. Lewis once said that the most frequently spoken word in heaven would be, "OH." As in, "Oh, now I understand." Or, "Oh, now I see what God's plan was." Or, "Oh, now I see the reason for the trial I went through."
Jesus endured his suffering because he had faith in his Father. Suffering was heaped upon him for doing his Father's work. Pharisees said his power came from Baalzebub when he relieved the suffering of others. This suffering brought the endurance that made it possible for him to live at peace with himself, while at the same time, accomplishing the work that had been set before him. Suffering produces endurance; endurance produces character, and character produces hope.
Our desire for peace does not necessarily ensure peace. But it gets us started in the right direction, toward following Jesus Christ, and continuing his work of relieving suffering. Suffering in this way is not to be feared. For this will bring you endurance, and that endurance will produce character in you, and that character will bring hope…not just hope for you, but it will bring hope to those who are outcast, and rejected, and scorned by the world.
You will be following Christ into the world. You will be Christ in the world, and yours will be the kingdom of God.
Peace - PWM
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