Entering Holy Week

Hello faithful family, friends, and followers and thank you for joining us here. This Sunday, Palm Sunday, is the start of Holy Week recalling Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem followed by his final days with and words to his disciples, the agonizing pain, suffering, and death of his Passion, followed thankfully by his victorious resurrection on Easter morn. On Palm Sunday 2024 I wrote a blog entry reflecting on the suffering Joy/we were experiencing at the time.

Last year for Palm Sunday I chose to re-post that reflection a second time. Of all the blog entries I have written since the accident, there is not one that I cling to more for renewed hope and determination than that post, so naturally, I thought about using it once again, but while it is deeply personal to me, I was hesitant to re-post it a third time, because that does seem a bit too much. But then…

This past week brought yet a new set of challenges, sufferings, for Joy, for immediate family, and for some of our dearest friends. In Joy’s case, it involved a couple of events made painfully difficult by her permanent brain damage. For family and friends, the suffering, physical and emotional, was/is both acute and chronic.

And so, for those of you who have followed us from the beginning, you will have certainly read these thoughts before, but I am choosing, at least again for this year, to share these reflections yet another time, with my prayer being, that in some way it may encourage and comfort any and all who are facing their own crucible of pain and suffering in these current challenging times.

Palm Sunday, March 24th, 2024:

As we near the 1 month mark since the accident, I wanted to share some personal thoughts as I have reflected on the journey Joy, our family, and all of you who are faithful in your prayers for us are on. From one perspective, the senseless accident caused by a distracted young driver with bad brakes and no liability insurance, was the ultimate in cruel and evil absurdity. And while that is true, I also know that this journey is one of hope and perseverance and significant meaning on a personal, interpersonal/collective, and spiritual/eternal scale.

In his letter to the church at Colossae, the apostle Paul writes, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions…”(1:24). Theologians differ on the full meaning of the verse, but one simple, clear takeaway for me is, suffering is not a waste or loss, but rather something of substantive value and meaning. In some unknown way, for those of us who are “in Christ,” suffering is a part of a larger purpose, the “filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.” While we may not understand the impact, value, or meaning of suffering this side of eternity, the fact that it can be seen to have value and not just be an absurd waste or meaningless loss, is a precious truth I cling to each day as I watch Joy in her courageous battle of survival and healing. And Joy’s experience is not the only suffering flowing from this accident, but also the suffering we each feel in our heartache and anguish at observing her slow and painful recovery. Knowing that Joy’s and our collective suffering has value, has meaning, has substance, is a truth I invite you all to reflect on and hold, as you continue your faithful heartfelt prayers for Joy.

The apostle Paul’s words that allow us perspective on the meaning making of suffering are reinforced for me in the more recent reflections of Victor Frankl, an Austrian neurologist and psychologist who survived Auschwitz. Frankl studied and journaled about his and others’ conditions of despondency. Frankl came to posit that life, even amid the absurdity of human suffering, still had meaning. Suffering, as absurd as it seemed, pointed to a greater story in which, if one would only construe themselves as a character within, could find fulfillment in their tragic role, knowing the plot was heading toward redemption. That misery, though seemingly ridiculous, indicates life itself has the potential of meaning, and therefore pain itself must also have meaning.

We could not be at a more poignant time to reflect on suffering than the start of Holy Week and the approach of Christ’s Passion. And while we want our primary focus to be on Christ’s ultimate suffering and sacrifice, followed by his triumphant resurrection, I encourage you to not race past the painful reality honored by this week. Rather, I invite you to reflect on and know that Joy, and you and I, are also playing a valuable, albeit mysterious, role in “filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions,” and that that suffering has value, has meaning, has substance.

Your faithful dedication to us on this mutual journey is a blessing beyond words to Joy and our family and we wish you all a very blessed Holy Week and coming Easter.