If I were to ask, “is suffering a bad thing?” most people would say, “sure, suffering is a bad thing.” Let’s think about that though. Putting mustard on your egg roll or tabasco sauce on rice and beans causes suffering but it hurts so good. Going for that long run or extending the workout so that you “feel the burn” produces suffering that feels all right. I remember watching my sister crying as her five year old walked out of the house and onto the school bus without a look back to start kindergarten. She suffered sadness at the loss of her baby and joy at seeing her child growing up. All are situations of suffering but certainly not all bad things. If you think about it, if it weren’t for suffering none of us would be here. The suffering of childbirth is necessary for us to have human life. So suffering is a mixed bag – some suffering certainly should be avoided if possible but other suffering is worthwhile or even necessary. With that awareness we can look at the story of the Presentation of Jesus, Mary and Joseph at the Temple. They lived up to their obligations of the law as observant Jews. They were blessed by the prophetic figures of Simeon and Anna. Then Simeon pronounced a further insight into the unfolding events. He recognized the child Jesus as the pivotal figure in Israel’s history – “destined for the rise and fall of many.” After that, he turned to Mary: “you yourself a sword will pierce so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” This is traditionally looked upon as the first of the seven sorrows of Mary. (The others are: the flight into Egypt, the loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem, Mary’s meeting Jesus on the Way of the Cross, the Crucifixion of Jesus, the Piercing of the Side of Jesus with a spear and his descent from the Cross, the burial of Jesus. The Church celebrates the seven sorrows, the seven dolours for you old timey Catholics, on the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, September 15.) Using the sorrows of Mary as a starting point, we can reflect on place that suffering has in our lives.
The first thing to notice is that the suffering of Mary is not unique to her but a story that has been repeated in many different places and throughout history. Poor women have been bullied and harassed by hostile governments from the beginning of time. Mothers have watched helplessly as their children are oppressed and killed for no good reason in every corner of the globe. That calls us to create a solidarity in suffering. The suffering of Mary invites us to become present to another’s suffering, particularly that of women. What that means in the concrete is a very real presence, starting with active participation in one another’s lives but also being physically present as much as possible with the individual suffering. Immigrant women have a claim on us. The mothers of crime victims have a claim on us. Mothers struggling to feed their children have a claim on us. We cannot remain aloof when we see these situations in the world since it connects us directly with the experience of Mary. Solidarity in suffering means that if we would reach out to Mary we should reach out to her suffering sisters today. What that means for each of us will depend on personal circumstance but one thing is clear – carrying the burden of suffering by oneself can be unbearable. Knowing that there are others willing to pick up that load can make all the difference. We might not be able to do everything but we can do something to ease the weight of suffering.
Which leads to another challenge found in the very word that Simeon uses – a sword will pierce Mary’s heart. To understand what lies behind the image of a sword that provokes the first of the sorrows of Mary we turn to the Epistle to the Hebrews: “the word of God is sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” A sword in the Bible stands for striving for wisdom, for separating what is worthwhile from what is not worthwhile. So Simeon suggests to Mary that she will, like all disciples, experience difficulty in understanding the will of God. There isn’t any clear and obvious answer on why she had such difficulty in her life, in why her son had to experience such agony. To come to grips with suffering Mary had to wrestle with the living God, trying to ponder the divine promise in the midst of pain. We all have a similar experience. We want to understand what God is asking of us which requires that we cut through all of the other voices that suggest the easy path, the painless path is the way to go. A mother sacrificing for her children, a father working a second job, a grandparent raising the next generation – not easy, suffering is involved, but all part of the divine will.
Simeon ends his prophet word saying that because of the suffering of Mary “the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” Her suffering revealed her trust in God and her surrender to the will of God. As we go through our own suffering our hearts will be revealed. Can we believe that God is good even when the doctor gives us some bad news, even when the family has gotten on my last nerve? Do we trust that God is good all the time? A story: once upon a time a man wanted to get rid of the dandelions in his lawn. They drove him nuts and he wanted his problem to go away. He tried every herbicide and chemical on the market to get rid of them but nothing worked. He wrote to the Department of Agriculture explaining the situation and asking for suggestions. In due course the answer returned: “We suggest you learn to love dandelions.”
