Fellow sufferers …

LIKE DAVID H. KELSEY ("Redeeming Sam," June 28) I have found that offering hurting parishioners and congregations an image of Jesus as "the fellow sufferer who understands" is somewhat insufficient. And I believe Kelsey's answer to the question, "What earthly difference could Jesus make" in Sam's horrendous situation, falls short.

Kelsey fails to recognize the important role of the Holy Spirit. An adequate accounting of the Holy Spirit buttresses Kelsey's claim that to live a life redeemed in Christ despite terrible suffering, people "have only to live in trust that it is God loving them in Jesus' passion that makes their lives worth living." This trust comes from the relentless love of Christ living within us through the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit becomes an integral part of Kelsey's theology of redemption, we would see more fully how much of an earthly difference Jesus' passion makes in the lives of Sam, his family and all who suffer pain and evil--in short, all of us.

Jeff Walker

Marietta, Ohio

Kelsey offers three models for thinking about God's response to suffering, but there is a fourth: what Jesus did in the Gospels. He often addressed the afflicted with these terms: "Arise, take up your bed and walk." It is recorded that he spoke to demons and they left. This is a power that goes beyond reason, but not beyond what is reasonable to expect from one we call deity and who we claim resides within his church today.

We should understand that there is a resource that rests in Christ today that we are very often hesitant to appropriate. It could be that we have been put off by the charlatans and those who have left reason so far behind that the good they would do is confused by the chaos they create. Could it be that we have developed a whole set of models to deal with a given situation out of fear that if we put Christ to the test today we would be made out to be foolish?

Paul Smith

Springfield, Mo.

Kelsey places these words into Sam's mouth, addressed to the Divine: "Sir, we really appreciate your concern and your understanding. It does strengthen us to survive. But couldn't you help change things a little?"

Isn't helping people find the strength to survive a significant change in itself? When people find a wellspring of spiritual power in an arid spot, something crucial has changed.

Kelsey argues further that both Sam and his father should stop allowing themselves to be defined by their past. Sam has "fake" epileptic seizures to avoid being drawn back into society, and the father is overwhelmed by an unending responsibility for his wounded son. Both have discovered the rewards of being seen as victims. In other words, Kelsey does not approve their style of grieving. As always, those who are relatively whole find it easy to instruct those who have been traumatized.

I am convinced that we have absolutely nothing to say to Sam and his family. Words and intellectual concepts have no power when a tragedy has spread its poison so widely. But we can offer ourselves. I hope that Sam and his family are part of a caring religious fellowship that will embrace them and weep with them.

Jack Good

Roanoke, Va.

COPYRIGHT 2005 The Christian Century Foundation
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning