Suffering Defined
Suffering happens. We witness it all around us and experience it in our lives. It often comes from forces beyond our control. Suffering is inscrutable; it strikes unexpectedly, on a bright summer day or a cold winter night. We lament and are bewildered by suffering. But we are called to respond to suffering, whether we understand it or not.
C.S. Lewis in reflecting on the loss of his wife said that death was like an amputation. The sufferer may undergo periods of lucid recognition about the reality of his pain only to wake up the following morning feeling like a part of him has been ripped away. Suffering honors no code or social class.
From the ashes of a sin-stricken world, God answered the problem of suffering when he brought his Son back from the place of the dead. On the third day, Jesus rose victorious to declare death had been defeated. The Son of God, mocking death, robbed the grave of its power. But while our Lord experienced the glories of a resurrected body, we still linger in the abyss of Cancer, ALS, PTSD, and the effects of thousands of diseases that affect the body like a tsunami.
Pastoral Care
The Reformation is known as a restoration of right doctrine, but it is rarely credited as a Reformation of pastoral care. This aspect of the reformation is clearly seen in Calvin’s work in Geneva. Calvin’s pastoral life was not consumed solely with the study and writing of sermons, commentaries, and theological treatises. Calvin’s pastoral work also focused on caring for the suffering. He was a strong advocate of establishing a ministry to the dying in Geneva. The Genevan Reformer dedicated considerable time to those touched by affliction. T.H.L. Parker notes that a plague came to Geneva in 1542. While the City Council forbade him from visiting the victims for fear of infection and appointed Peter Blachet instead. Calvin told his friend, Pierre Viret, that he would willingly take the place of Peter Blanchet. Calvin writes:
“The pestilence begins to rage here with greater violence, and few who are at all affected by it escape its ravages…if anything happens to him (Peter), I am afraid I must take the risk upon myself since, as you say, we must not fail those who stand in more need of our ministry than any others… I do not see that any excuse will avail us if, through fear of infection, we are found wanting in the discharge of our duty where we are most needed.”
Calvin was prepared to die for those suffering from the vicious plague. Indeed, he believed in an intimate connection between pastors and the people. In his lengthy treatment,((Calvin’s Company of Pastors: Pastoral Care and the Emerging Reformed Church, 1536–1609)) Scott M. Manetsch, summarizes the concern of Calvin and his fellow pastors:
Calvin and Geneva’s Company of Pastors were committed to a model of pastoral work that involved intensive, personal interaction with Geneva’s townspeople and country folk. The proclamation of God’s Word in public assemblies was crucial, but not sufficient in itself. The ministers believed that they needed to know and show personal care for the men and women in their parishes, helping them apply the truths of God’s Word to their particular life circumstance and challenges to promote personal godliness and spiritual reformation.
The pastoral call extended beyond the proclamation of the Gospel to the outworking of the Gospel in daily parish life. For Calvin, the suffering of others was to be embraced as our own. In expounding on Romans 12:15, “Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep,” Calvin exhorts: “Let there be such a sympathy among us as may at the same time adapt us to all kinds of feelings.” We should not see our brother suffering and grieve from afar, but rather “sympathize with one another.”
Reforming Pastoral Care
Suffering is inevitable. But good pastoral care should also be an inevitable consequence of good pastoral theology. Ministering to the suffering became a fundamental element of Calvin’s pastoral theology and much of the revival of pastoral care that came afterward. The Reformation offered a new paradigm for holistic ecclesiastical ministry. Pastoral theology was not divorced from pastoral care. Calvin’s practices in Geneva and his fervent efforts to tie these two disciplines together deserve our attention and imitation. In his Tracts and Treatises, the Genevan Pastor observed:
On the contrary, seeing them afflicted in their consciences, and troubled for their offenses, he will exhibit Jesus Christ to the life, and show how in him all poor sinners who, distrusting themselves, repose in his goodness, find solace and refuge.
Pastoral care is giving rest to the restless and life to the dying; it’s singing the melody of King Jesus to those who hunger to find comfort in the Resurrected Lord. Pastoral care exhibits Jesus to the suffering. If suffering is a form of amputation, good pastoral care makes the afflicted whole again.
Uri Brito is the Senior Pastor of Providence Church in Pensacola, FL. He is the editor of The Church-Friendly Family, and author of The Trinitarian Father. Uri is the founder of and contributor to Kuyperian Commentary, and is a board member of Theopolis.