the power and the glory

this is a bit of a long one, which i've been working on for a while...

i’m currently reading mark strom’s brilliant book reframing paul: conversations in grace & community. one of the many things it’s given me to think about is the subject of suffering.

a lack of suffering is, i believe, one the symptoms of the general malaise that i see afflicting the western church at the moment. this might sound strange in light of the fact that one of the most popular christian movements at the moment holds to what has been called a prosperity doctrine, a philosophy which seems to preclude any notion that suffering is to be expected for believers, but holds that it is instead quite the opposite – a sign of sin or, at best, a lack of faith (which is often seen as more or less the same thing). to my mind, this is a remarkable return to an old testament way of thinking, so it is maybe not surprising that the scripture verses used to support this doctrine are almost entirely from the old testament. while it may have been the pattern of the old covenant for the signs and proofs of god’s blessing to be the health and material prosperity of the people of god here and now, we are now living in the era of the new covenant, which is radically different – to the point of being diametrically opposite. the new covenant is a covenant of spirit, not of flesh. it is a new way of being in which we participate in the new creation in our hearts and minds (and occasionally among other believers), while living in a world still ruled by sin. the riches we now have in christ are spiritual, not material, while we wait for the new physical creation to break forth.

i’m not suggesting that the church or individual believers should go out looking to suffer (and many who do suffer, needlessly bring it on themselves by intentionally and unhelpfully provoking others), but that suffering would be a clear sign that we are following and obeying jesus, and so its apparent lack indicates to me that we aren’t. instead, christians are generally not differentiated from the rest of the population in terms of lifestyle, material wealth, privilege or opportunities. in fact, evangelical christians on average are better off than others – in sydney, for instance, the bible belt is on the north shore, which is one of the most affluent parts of the city.

its just as true for me personally. while my life isn’t a complete bed of roses (though in many ways i’m incredibly privileged, especially from a world average perspective), none of the mostly trivial hardships i go through have anything to do with the fact that i’m a believer. i’m not a cultural sheep by any means – in fact i dislike and disagree with many aspects of australian culture and way of life – but from the point of view of a casual observer, I wouldn’t be seen as substantially different from any other slightly counter-cultural-yuppie type, many of whom would have vastly different belief systems to my own. so what sets me apart?

the apostle paul believed that suffering was a natural result of having his identity in jesus, saying in 2 Cor 4:10, “We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” mark strom takes up this theme in reframing paul:

“[The] dying and rising of Christ had become the pattern and the motivation for Paul’s continuing life. Imitating Christ meant deliberately conforming to his humiliation and exaltation. Paul extended the theme beyond himself to the new community and their mutual sharing in the sufferings and comforts of Christ” (p.96).

and again:

“The dying and rising of Christ led Paul to step down in the world in terms of personal and social prestige (Phil 3:1-11). It led him to be ridiculed, opposed and rejected” (p.97).

then further on:

“Having spoken of his relation to Christ, instead of proceeding to the customary delineation of personal honors, Paul speaks of his humiliations, disgrace and hardship, culminating in his confession of personal weakness (2 Cor 11:29). This weakness was primarily social, not psychological – the helplessness of one who had chosen little power or status, and his humiliation in the eyes of those who were honoured. These trials were the test of his work” (p.112, italics mine).

as I said, the fact that believers generally live comfortably and anonymously (unless we actively identify ourselves) alongside the rest of the population indicates to me that we are not living as jesus taught. the lives of believers should always stand out in stark contrast to the lives of those around, because we have a different identity and hold to vastly different values. as jesus said, we are to be salt and light, standing out like a city on a hill and giving flavour to the blandness of a society that lives for itself (as someone has quipped, given the choice, almost everyone will follow the crowd). living according to the identity and value system of jesus cannot fail to be a critique on the lives and values of others – as paul says, “a stench to those that are dying.” to say “i will not live by your values” will be received as criticism by those who hold to those values, provoking a reaction of defensiveness and probably counter-attack. this is how their contemporaries responded to jesus and paul, who both powerfully challenged the status quo, and if we do likewise by living according to the commands and teachings of jesus, it will without a doubt be how people today will respond to us.

the really ironic thing is that the society around us is in a mess: stress, anxiety, depression, drug use (not just of the illegal kind), high rates of suicide, domestic and social violence, environmental degradation – and that’s not an exhaustive list. everybody knows it, too – there are news reports every day about one or more of these issues, with someone spouting an opinion about society’s ills and what should be done to fix them. so to live according to the values of this society seems incredibly foolish – especially for a believer who knows has access to a far, far better way, as revealed in the bible and by god’s spirit living within.

i’d really hate for this to be taken as another guilt trip because that couldn’t be further from what i’m trying to say. the life that jesus has called us to is about freedom, love and joy, but we miss out on these things when we live according to the rules and aspirations of our society. its time to rediscover "the way, the truth and the life" that is only in jesus, and to make it a reality in our personal lives and church communities.

i’ll leave the final word to peter marshall, as quoted on p. 97 of reframing paul:

“Death has a positive power. God uses death for good, ie. uses it transformatively. God has commandeered the power of the old age for his own use and death acts upon the apostle with the contradictory effect of giving and promoting life. Dying as suffering is purposefully related to participation in life for oneself and for life in others. It retains this positive sense through the apostle’s continuous participation in dying and rising with Christ as suffering as a power which keeps him from returning to his former trust in himself. Weakness as a dying with Christ is the necessary means by which power is brought to perfection. Power and weakness or suffering are no longer polar antitheses, but are now brought together in a new relationship as a means by which Paul understands the experiences in his own life and his relationship with others and his world.” Peter Marshall, The Enigmatic Apostle – Paul and Social Change: Did Paul Seek to Change Graeco-Roman Society? (Melbourne: ITIM, 1993), pp. 22-23.