There was a moment in class this past Thursday while I was in small group discussion over chapter six of Norman Wirzba's Living the Sabbath: Discovering the Rhythms of Rest and Delight where I completely disagreed with every single one of my small group members. I was hardly in the mood to be the odd one out and try to defend myself, though, so I kept quiet. What can I say? Sometimes introversion gets the best of me. Luckily, now I can vocalize my thoughts to my heart's desire via blog.
Before I go any further, I want to establish that I didn't think my group members were in the wrong; they had a reaction to the text that I'm sure most readers would have had when reading this chapter, so I'm not going to discredit their opinions. I simply interpreted the chapter differently. Here's what I mean:
Chapter six is all about coming to terms with all of the pain that's in the world and how to practice Sabbath rest in light of sufferings. When it comes to pain, according to Wirzba, endurance comes from the assurance of others enduring the pain with those in pain; Sabbath rest happens when people achieve a deep solidarity amid difficult times. After all, Christ, who has given us the greatest comfort possible, achieved such a task by joining us in our sufferings and taking on the iniquities of the world. Hence, people should not be so quick to escape their pain but should consider difficult times opportunities to grow closer to others and grow as a mature human being.
That's the gist of how Wirzba claims we ought to experience the peace of the Sabbath amid our painful lives, and I can see why every member of my small group agreed with what he said, taking in his words as a refreshing new perspective of the Sabbath. Honestly, I agree with him, too. There was simply one point of his that really rubbed me the wrong way.
Wirzba asserts, "Pain and suffering should not be cast as 'problems' that need to be 'explained' or 'solved,' eliminated because they represent an affront to the world we would choose or make for ourselves. In fact, it is a mistake to look for a 'solution,' since this becomes an excuse to avoid the communal disciplines of care and constancy that enable us together to bear, absorb, and grow through each other's hurt" (79).
If I had read those few sentences three months ago, I would have found them reassuring; I would have felt the weight of the world being lifted off of my shoulders. After all, Wirzba claims, in essence, that I don't need to worry about fixing all of life's problems. How relieving! I was worried that God actually wanted me to do something about all of this evil to which I am exposed! Now all I have to do is "bear, absorb, and grow through each other's hurt." That's so much easier.
Isn't this just a huge cop-out? Yes, surely this principle holds true for certain circumstances. For instance, if my best friend loses his father to cancer, there is obviously no way to "solve" that "problem." I can't approach him and ask him how I can make things any better; all I can do is approach him and not abandon him in his time of suffering. I get that. Pain does not constitute a need for repair as much as it does a need for care.
But can we really approach others' pain at the expense of a solution? Is it really a "mistake," like Wirzba claims, to try and fix what we see as broken? Like I mentioned earlier, if I had read this passage three months ago, I would have agreed with him, but now that I've been exposed to evils such as those presented in "The Dark Side of Chocolate," how can I conclude that we shouldn't try to do something about others' pain? Sometimes it just isn't enough to simply bear with others in their time of need; sometimes we need to act!
Finding a solution to what we see as problems, though, does call for a certain amount of enduring pain alongside the hurt, like Wirzba notes. When we act rashly without first meeting suffering people where they're at, we miss the opportunities to grow and learn from the pains and trials of this life. Thus, I don't think that we ought to endure pain at the expense of a solution, nor should we seek a solution at the expense of enduring pain; each has its place in the world, and when we discover which problems in this life require us to be searching for a solution and which ones simply require us to be, then we will find Sabbath rest.
I really agree with what you're saying here, Drew! We can't let our desire to escape pain overpower the need to build and strengthen relationships through suffering. However we also should not prioritize this idea of sharing pain over finding ways to be compassionate and ease the suffering of our neighbors. I would like to think that God made us as creative beings and gave us reason in order to do solve "problems" and be compassionate and loving to those around us by supporting them in their pain while also trying to ease it. Like so many things, a balance has to be found for any kind of success to be achieved.
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