Redemptive Suffering

Today’s words of inspiration come from Jeremiah 22:3

Thus says the Lord, “Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.”

Hear today’s words of hope.

In his tribute song to Martin Luther King, Jr., entitled Shed A Little Light, James Taylor wrote this verse:

There is a feeling like the clenching of a fist There is a hunger in the center of the chest There is a passage through the darkness and the mist And though the body sleeps The heart will never rest

One of the details we know about the prophet Jeremiah was that he was a passionate speaker who was tasked with delivering unpopular messages to those in power. And while he was prophesying the coming destruction of the kingdom, he also denounced a number of other prophets who were prophesying peace. For these condemnations of persons in privilege and power, he was frequently persecuted.

At one point, Jeremiah laments the trouble that speaking God’s word has caused him. However, he also knows that if he tries to hold God’s word inside, it will burn in his heart and he will be unable to hold it in. Like James Taylor’s verse, there’s feeling like the clenching of a fist, a hunger in the center of the chest.

Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote of an idea of redemptive suffering. “The nonviolent resister is willing to accept violence if necessary, but never to inflict it,” King writes. “Generously endured suffering for the sake of the other has tremendous educational and transforming possibilities.”

For the prophet Jeremiah and Martin Luther King, Jr., they saw that suffering for the sake of others had the benefit of a newfound intimacy with life, with others, and with God that isn’t attained in any other way.

Listen to that again:

Redemptive suffering for the sake of others has the benefit of a newfound intimacy with life, with others and with God.

If we participate with Jesus in taking on a life of redemptive suffering, would we perhaps know a deeper sense of that passion for ourselves, for others, and for God? Jeremiah, Martin Luther King, Jr., and James Taylor say yes. In what ways can we be ready to generously suffer for the sake of those who are oppressed?

Let us pray… a prayer by Martin Luther King, Jr.

God grant that we wage the struggle with dignity and discipline. May all who suffer oppression in this world reject the self-defeating method of retaliatory violence and choose the method that seeks to redeem. Amen.