"Oh there been times that I thought couldn't last for long,
But now I think I'm able to carry on,
It's been a long time comin',
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will"
Sam Cooke, had a seven year period of making music. Seven years was all he had before he was shot dead outside a Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. But his song, "A Change is Gonna Come" might as well have been written today, for all I know.
I'm at a point in my life, and others are too, young and old, where something has to change. Unemployment is still high, people are getting sick without receiving the help they need and all around those who need help the most are being ignored. Why?
In a used book store I saw a book that was titled something along the lines of "Why God is Irrelevant." It was titled underneath that as "or why we can't answer why we suffer." That has long been an issue with Christianity and Religion as a whole. Why do people suffer so much? Why are people killing one another? Why are there bullies? Why aren't the people in power helping anyone, and if they are, why are others trying to stop that help?
I can't help but keep listening to Sam Cooke's song. I can't help thinking, "this new year, things will be different." Will they? That has yet to be determined.
Christianity, historically, was about change. It was about changing the system. It was about introducing a new way of thinking at a time when things were bad for those who practiced Judaism. Real bad. The Romans were breathing down their necks. They needed a messiah. And, according to Christianity, they got one. In a big way.
We today, young and old, 25 and 65 and 13 and 2 need that change. And a Change is Gonna Come, oh yes it will.
The theological study of "the problem of pain" is theodicy. One of the world's leading theologians in this area is The Rev. Marilyn McCord Adams (she is also a priest associate at our church). You might enjoy a book she just published of prayers and collects that are pretty raw. Check it out Ms. Barnes and Nizoble.
ReplyDeleteI've been reading a little Dalai Lama, and finally think I get the Buddhist notion of "accept suffering". It doesn't mean, be miserable and do nothing. On the contrary, the Dalai Lama believes we all have a right to happiness. First, we have to accept the fact that everyone suffers, and that our suffering really isn't unique. He tells a sort of parable of a grieving woman who wants some elixir to bring back her child. The monk tells her he will make it, but she has to find the ingredients. They are common, but she has to find it at a home where no one has had a death. Of course, she can't find any. She realizes she isn't alone in her suffering. Second, we are all connected. Finally, and this is a critical point, we must be compassionate. Compassion means to be aware of others pain and trouble, and the desire to help them in some way. It's empathy plus action, which I love. Compassion is the foundation for understanding, justice, and peace. It sounds very much like "love others as I have loved you."
MLK had some great quotes about interconnectedness and compassion (serving others). I used them liberally (ha!) at the kids' MLK event at church.
Love, Molly