By Lucia Lloyd, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Heathsville, VA
Margaritaville
Luke 21:5-19, Isaiah 65:17-25
We’re talking about suffering today, and some of it’s going to be a downer for a while, but bear with me; it gets better in the end. People ask, “why do we suffer?” In some ways, it’s an unanswerable question. It is not uncommon for a clergyperson who is asked that question to start unfurling all sorts of fancy theological concepts, when what the suffering person really needs is a hug. I have made that mistake myself.
At other times, though, people are genuinely looking for a real answer to that question. It seems to me that there are three causes of humanity’s suffering: one is fallen suffering, two is natural suffering, and three is Jimmy Buffett suffering.
The first, fallen suffering includes the suffering that results from cruelty, abuse, exploitation, greed, corruption, human trafficking, prejudice, injustice, humiliation, torture, genocide, and all the other forms of sin and evil that exist in our fallen world. When we come face to face with the horrifying ways in which human beings can victimize and destroy people, we do get the sense that something demonic is at work. Across the world, there are plenty of examples of people who suffer intensely because of the sins of others. Those who have the courage to speak out on behalf of those who suffer are often those who are martyred in the process. That suffering is also the result of sin and evil in a fallen world.
In addition to fallen suffering, we also have natural suffering. This is the kind of suffering that is not the result of evil or sin. It is the kind of suffering that just happens because we live in physical bodies, and physical bodies are subject to injury, illness, and mortality. God has given us souls that are durable enough to last forever, but our souls are dressed in temporary bodies that wear out like clothes. This is true of every part of our body. We often talk about the interactions between the mind and the body, and it is easy to lose sight of the fact that our brain is not just something that interacts with our body; our brain is a bodily organ itself. It is an organ in which precise electrical impulses and complex chemical reactions often function in stunningly intricate and exquisite balances, but it remains a bodily organ that is subject to chemical imbalances and to the effects of the aging process, just as every other bodily organ is. When any part of our body is subject to injury or illness, it is certainly painful and sad, but natural suffering isn’t anyone’s fault. The answer to the question “why me?” is “because you are part of humanity.” Some people experience natural suffering earlier in life, some later. While we see some people whose suffering in life seems milder than our own, it is also helpful to keep in mind that there are many people whose natural suffering in life is far, far worse.
After fallen suffering and natural suffering, the third kind of suffering is the one described by Jimmy Buffett in the final line of the song “Margaritaville”: “Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame, but I know it’s my own damn fault.” There is some suffering that we cannot blame on the sin of others, or on the forces of nature, because we realize we have brought it on ourselves. It seems odd to be looking for deep theological meaning in the gratuitous use of mild profanity in a drinking song. However, I think the phrase “it’s my own damn fault” conveys pretty accurately a sense that we got some kind of cosmic punishment because, well, we deserved it. The use of the word “damn” there seems pretty much on target. At the beginning of the song we hear, “some people claim that there’s a woman to blame, but I know it’s nobody’s fault,” then in the middle we hear, “some people claim that there’s a woman to blame but I think that it could be my fault” and the realization “it’s my own damn fault” doesn’t come until the very end of the song.
It is not always immediately obvious which of the three causes of suffering is at work. Is it fallen suffering? “Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame.” Is it natural suffering? “I know that it’s nobody’s fault.” Or is it the Jimmy Buffett kind of suffering? “I know it’s my own damn fault.” Sometimes, of course, there is more than one cause at work in a situation.
So all of that brings us to today’s gospel passage. Jesus is talking about suffering and he is telling his disciples, “You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name.” Are there times in which Christians endure betrayal, hatred, and persecution because of their faith? Yes, there certainly are. Those are examples of fallen suffering, that comes as a result of evil and sin in the world. Does that mean that every single time a Christian is hated it is because they are suffering for their faith? Of course not. Sometimes people who are convinced that they are rejected because they are being persecuted for the sake of truth and righteousness and all that’s holy are, in reality, being pompous twits. And I say this as someone who has been a “righteous” pompous twit myself quite a few times. Things can go the opposite way too: we can carry heavy loads of guilt or inadequacy for years thinking that we deserve the treatment we get, when in reality the mistreatment is the result of the other person’s meanness or other sins. Or the harsh treatment or destructive behavior may be caused by something that is not a sin, but simply something gone awry in the person’s physical body.
So today’s scriptures contain reassurance that suffering does not always mean that there is something deeply wrong with you. Today’s scriptures contain reassurance that the suffering of our physical bodies does not last forever. And the good news of the gospel is that even in the times when suffering is our own damn fault; God offers us something far better than damnation.
11/20/10
Note: If you are still confused about how a gay Christian can feel they are 'right' with God I encourage you to read the section of the web site entitled "Gay and Christian? YES!"