How Would You Answer?

Recently, the New York Times published an article (by author Pico Iyer), entitled “The Value Of Suffering.” In the article, the author recites a dismal litany of bloodshed, disease and disaster that, day-after-day, people the world over are presently enduring. And then he wonders: “Does the torrent of suffering ever abate? Can one possibly find any point in suffering?”-1 And if we were to read no further than the title of the article, that short phrase, “the value of suffering,” is enough to get us thinking about the central point of this day — Good Friday.

The Latin word for “suffering” (passio) gives rise to our word “passion.” And so in this sense of the word, we can say the opposite of “suffering” is “apathy.” And the Passion Of The Lord is our constant reminder that we must never be apathetic in our response to the suffering of others.

As a people rooted in God’s Rule of Love, our response to the suffering of…