Abbey-Roads2

First, let me say that I believe Jesus came to suffer and die for our sake so that we might have eternal life.  By His cross and resurrection he has set us free from our sins, he atoned for our sins, made satisfaction for our sins.  Having said that, many people wonder why pain and suffering continues to afflict humanity, and they desperately attempt to understand its meaning and purpose, or to avoid it at all cost.  Jean Vanier has a beautiful reflection on the subject in his book, “Befriending the Stranger”: 

“Our spontaneous reaction to suffering is repulsion.  We are frightened of pain: the most common response to the existence of pain is to be scandalized by it and to seek to eliminate it…but Jesus brings a whole new meaning to pain.

Jesus did not die serenely but in agony…

Jesus did not come into this world to explain suffering nor to justify its existence.  He came to reveal that we can all alleviate pain through our competence and compassion.  He came to show us every pain, every hurt we experience can become an offering, and thus a source of life for others in and through Jesus’ offering of love to the Father.”  - Jean Vanier of l’Arche

I think the sufferings of Jesus also speak to the fact that suffering is inseparable from earthly existence - all creatures on the face of the earth suffer - we cannot avoid it.  Yet Jesus shows us how to suffer, and in our own pain, He helps us to compassionate others who are also in pain.  In suffering, we can either seek alleviation and consolation through selfishness, which leads to bitterness and anger, or we can be present to others, either spiritually or corporally, in order to alleviate their pain, or simply to console them in their pain.  Compassion means “to suffer with” - one is devoid of compassion when one seeks only oneself - which in the end is a very bitter medication to take.