How Can We End Suffering

The following is a sermon I gave to women in Uganda. Although it was tailored to them, I’m sure that many people all over the world can benefit by thinking about the message. At the end of the sermon, I have written about the questions and comments that the women had, along with what was discussed.

John 9: 1-7

1-2 Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?”

3-5 Jesus said, “You’re asking the wrong question. You’re looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do. We need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines. When night falls, the workday is over. For as long as I am in the world, there is plenty of light. I am the world’s Light.”

6-7 He said this and then spit in the dust, made a clay paste with the saliva, rubbed the paste on the blind man’s eyes, and said, “Go, wash at the Pool of Siloam”. The man went and washed—and saw.

We all suffer. It is part of being human, and no one escapes. In the scripture, Jesus heals a man who has been blind from birth, which people did not think could happen. People asked what did the man or his parents do wrong that would cause God to take away his sight? Throughout the Gospels, Jesus explains that God does not cause suffering on people. Today we won’t go into the cause of suffering, but instead we discuss how to reduce or end it.

It is up to humans to relieve each other from their suffering. This is the Way of Jesus. He does this directly, by healing people from their suffering of all kinds wherever and whenever he encounters it. He takes away their physical suffering, like giving this man sight, but he also heals people who have mental and emotional suffering, giving them peace.

As I see it, there are a few different ways that we can relieve our suffering in this lifetime, now.

First, let’s explore the words written by a man, Henri Nouwen, a theologian.

We are called to give our lives to others so you and I can bear fruit. And all brokenness, and all dying, and all suffering is there to allow us to enter into solidarity with the whole human family, and to give yourselves to others so that your life can bear fruit. God asks you not to have a successful life but to have a fruitful life.

Let’s look at this. Imagine that you and I are banana trees. Our first year of making bananas, we make a small bunch. Not worth much. So no one comes around to pick it, even though it is available. We don’t advertise that we have it, since we are a small tree, hidden in the forest. Since the bananas rotted on our trunk, we don’t create many more big bunches, because there is no reason. We don’t share our wealth, we don’t share our healthy fruit. We are alone and we stay alone.

Now, let’s imagine that we are a banana tree in a banana tree grove, that is created for growing and harvesting – to bear fruit. Once we produce a bunch of bananas, they are harvested, and we, like good little trees, grow more fruit. The more fruit we create, the more is harvested, and the more that is harvested, the more we grow.

The fruit is compassion. When we give ourselves to others, our life bears fruit. The more we give, the more fruitful – the happier – we become. Suffering is relieved in the person that we give our compassion to, and when we give compassion, we receive love and peace in return.

You have seen it in your lives in Uganda. You know suffering. All of you have. And yet, when you come together in a group and show compassion to each other, the love, peace and compassion grows in all of you. This is the fruit that Henri Nouwen is speaking of. This is the light that Jesus is speaking of. He calls us to be the light for each other and to spread the light to all.

So, this is the first way to reduce or end suffering. The second way is to turn to Jesus. When he was alive, he ended suffering of whoever asked by touching them and they were healed. Jesus is with us today and can heal you too. There is just one requirement – you must trust Jesus. You must trust that he will heal you. Even if the healing is not immediate, you have to trust that Jesus will heal your suffering in God’s time, not in our human time. And you must trust that the healing may not come exactly as you would like, but is exactly what you need.

Since Jesus is not physically here, we also must trust that he is always here, around us, in Spirit. Many times in the Bible, after a healing, Jesus would say that the person’s faith healed them, not Jesus the person. So let’s start here, with a prayer.

Dear Jesus, we are praying to you today for healing from our suffering. We hear you that we can end suffering by extending our own hands to each other. We know that we can end the suffering of hunger by sharing food, and the suffering of loneliness by spending time together. There is much suffering that we can do together, we know.

Still, there is more suffering that only you can heal. Please let us begin by increasing our faith, so that our belief and faith can heal us. Please touch our hearts and minds right now in this place and time. Let us know of your love now.

We keep our eyes closed as we continue this prayer.

As we breathe slowly in, we take in your love into our hearts. As we breathe out, we send your love to our bodies and our minds. We breathe in again, bringing your love into our hearts. We exhale again, sending your love to our bodies and minds. One last time. Breathe Love into your hearts, breathe out Love into your bodies and minds. We scan our bodies, relaxing each part of our bodies or minds that are suffering. We locate that and focus on it while we continue this prayer.

Dear Jesus, we have located the suffering. We ask you now for relief from our suffering. We have increased our faith, we believe in your healing powers. Please let our faith heal us.

Ameen.

Now, my friends, lets take a few deep healing breaths. In, out. In, out. In, out.

Two ways to reduce or end suffering – by sharing your suffering and knowing that everyone suffers, by then allowing compassion to grow in your heart for others. This process grows the fruit that can heal you. The other way is to also pray to the One who heals us all, Jesus. Increase your faith, ask for healing, and then know that it is done. It may not show up when you want it. It may not show up exactly how you want it. But in God’s time, your suffering has already been healed.

Katonda akewe omukisa. (God bless you)

Ameen.

After the sermon:

A woman from this community, named Sylvia, is currently in the hospital suffering from near blindness. We prayed for her, asking Jesus to send healing, and we discussed how her suffering will be alleviated when the women visit her and console her, giving their compassion.

Just a few days ago, James received his wheelchair. James lives in the bush with his family, is in his 30s, and developed a disease years ago that has left his legs worthless. He has a loving family, but had lost hope, since no one could take him anywhere. He had no purpose in life. I met him and his family in May when visiting, and of course, he was very sad. The request for a wheelchair was made by his mother, Florence, and a team member from the USA donated the money. I saw him on zoom yesterday, and his suffering was greatly alleviated! The entire family was so happy that they could now push him around, and he could now be social, and be part of the community.

There are other stories as well from them, but those are a couple of stand-outs. When compassion is given, suffering is reduced or eliminated.

Next is a story from me. I make “Rev Kathy’s Pain and Inflammation Salve”. It comes from comfrey that I grow, plus other organic herbs and oil that I purchase. The finishing touch is beeswax that is given to me by a local beekeeper. The result is a salve that has reduced the pain and inflammation (and maybe suffering too!) from arthritis, torn tendons, sore muscles, back pain and more. I love playing with healing herbs and especially making a remedy that helps.

When I give this salve away, if the person can afford it, I request a donation for Hope Empowerment Foundation Organization (HEFO) in Uganda. The women are in this group. The funds are sent over every month to help with their projects to empower these women and help them be able to feed their families, get the children to school, and teach them skills including reading, writing, and math. And there are microloans so they can become self-sufficient.

Yesterday, James asked for a mattress. Because there was some funds left from the last donation, he got a mattress, and no longer has to sleep on the ground on a mat. He and his family are so grateful!

Looking at this example, we see fruit. First, God provides the sunshine, air and water so that the plants, like comfrey, grow. I then took these plants and oils, put them together in a salve. As part of my ministry I give them away and receive donations which then go all the way to Uganda. Think about the fruit – from the plants, from the salve, from all the people who hear about the project, and their donations. Then, going to Uganda to help this community, raising their faith, raising their compassion for each other. And then their gratitude is sent back here to the USA, through me, and now to you.

This story indeed relieves suffering just by you reading it.

One last point we discussed: what is the difference between pain and suffering? We usually lump these two words together, but they are not the same. You can have pain and not suffer. For example, when a woman is giving birth she may be in the most pain she has ever had, but she may be anticipating the arrival of her newborn, and therefore not be suffering. Yes, feeling pain, and even agony, but not suffering. Suffering can come when we feel alone in our pain, and when we do not receive compassion. Suffering can come when we have no hope for the pain to end, and there is no community around us. Suffering can come when we are relying medicine to fix us, but find out that it cannot.

Relief from our suffering can come from compassion from others. We relieve others suffering when we give compassion to others, and are part of their healing community. When the opportunity arises to share compassion in what direction, it always bears fruit.

May you pass on all the love and compassion in your heart today, and end suffering, both inside you and in all those around you.

Amen.