Since I was on retreat yesterday, I didn't have a chance to finish my paper for my other class, the one on Pain, Suffering and Evil (aka Why would a good God allow that rotten thing to happen?). While I try not to do massive amounts of homework on Sundays, I have to complete everything by Sunday night because my Mondays are packed (port draws, dr appointments, meetings, ref desk, etc.).
For our final paper, we are asked to select a scenario of suffering, provide our theological points of view, our pastoral response to the general category, and then how we would respond given the scenario selected. It was easy for me to pick a specific case of suffering. Kayleen Merry was diagnosed with leukemia about the same time I was diagnosed with rectal cancer.
She was a missionary in Africa with young children, some adopted, a godly woman, a Christian, serving others. There was no history of leukemia in her family background, nor was she exposed to some pollutant or toxin, and had maintained a good diet and exercise regime. Long story short, her family moved to Minnesota so she could undergo treatment at the Mayo Clinic. After months of chemo and radiation, she went into remission only to develop a bad infection due to her suppressed immune system.
The pneumonia did not respond to any of the antibiotics, and they decided to put her on a respirator and induce a coma until they could find something that worked. She was roused once a week to make sure she was doing OK, and to interact with her young children and her husband. She finally begged to be let go, and after deliberation, her husband agreed to take her off the respirator. She died within a very short time.
Not a pretty story. She didn't deserve to suffer like that, any more than anyone else. If anyone should have been healed, she should have if only to take care of her children. Or because she did much good in the world. What do you say to someone who is dying when they ought not to be? That was the assignment. What do you say, and on what basis do you say it?
Is God cruel? Does he punish/teach humans by making them suffer? Is his retribution predictable (you sin, you pay)? I maintain not. I believe God is a good God, and that he is unhappy when we suffer and hurt. He has the power to prevent and fix, but he has chosen to allow humans to choose for themselves and determines not to take away their free will by intervening.
Over the millennia, many wrong decisions have vastly affected what is happening in this world. We are often in circumstances that cause hurt and pain that are not of our own making. We surely can pray and beseech God to deliver us, and sometimes he does that in miraculous ways, other times through natural means or through medical interventions.
Bodily healing is a temporary fix at best. Everybody dies sometime. Wholeness is more than just physical. Kayleen wrote an article that was published in a book where she talks about feeling helpless because physically she needed help with even the simplest activities. But she realized that she could still fulfill a vital purpose by praying for those around her, not just her own family, but those who battle cancer, those who went to the Africa clinic for assistance, those who are hungry or cold. She spent hours in prayer.
At one point, after she was in remission but before the infection set in, she discovered that there were women coming to the Mayo Clinic from other countries. They were there alone because their family and friends could not afford to be with them. They did not understand English well much less the customs of America, and were afraid and without help. Kayleen reached out to them, arranging for a local women's group to bring them welcome and comfort baskets filled with lotions and pretty things, just to let them know someone cared.
She was the inspiration for Jairus House, and an encouragement to me while I was undergoing treatment. I don't know if I could have asked to be released as she did. But I am sure that somewhere along her journey, someone probably said hurtful things in an attempt to make her feel better - a sort of "Job's friends" role. I have experienced that.
What did you do wrong that you have cancer? What sin are you committing? It must be that your faith isn't strong enough to get healed. Perhaps God is teaching you something. Whatever it is, 'fess up so I don't make the same mistake. I don't want to get cancer! (not said quite that bluntly, but it is a deep seated fear of many). Or maybe God knows that you will do something terrible in the future, perhaps turn your back on God or be responsible for the deaths of others, so he took you home early to prevent that. Or maybe he just likes you so much that he took you home to spend time with a favorite daughter. Or else its just your time to go. When its your time, its your time. Nothing you can do about it. Might as well let go.
Well intentioned perhaps, but not what you want to hear. Some of it isn't even theologically sound. This I know. God loves his children and does not want them to suffer. We live in a fallen world, and bad things happen to good people. I don't understand everything about God but I trust him. God does heal and does answer prayer, even though I cannot tell you why he intervenes when he does. If I could see things from God's perspective, maybe it would make i bit more sense.
I wonder what Kayleen thought about getting cancer? I wonder what she was thinking when she knew she was dying? I wonder what she would say to someone in her situation now? And I wonder how she finds heaven - undoubtedly remarkable.
So, what would you say?
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