|
A Prayer for the Suffering Lord, I offer a prayer for those who suffer. In the absence of immediate pain, one can argue that suffering is an abstraction, as is mathematics, though less clean. In evaluating the cumulative total of suffering experienced by an individual, one can place in the numerator, the sum of the hours spent in anguish. In the denominator one inserts the total hours of one's existence. This dimensionless ratio is, of course, the fraction of one's life devoted to suffering. Christ, suffered for three hours on the cross, then rose to sit in glory at the Right Hand for all eternity. Please do not blame me, if the mathematics of three divided by infinity reveals that Christ, He who died that the world might live, has a ratio of suffering equal to zero, nothing. Lucifer, a fallen angel, damned to the eternal torment of Hell, is faced with an infinity of suffering, in which he might rue the poor choices that led him to his unending doom. If we generously suppose that Lucifer fell halfway between an infinitely distant beginning and an equally infinitely distant end, then his ratio of suffering is, at least, one half. I know this argument will endear me no more to atheists than it does to Christians. Think now of a dog, for whom no afterlife beckons. Let us pray for this dog, born in a kennel, if lucky, ordered all its days to obey, otherwise discarded, perhaps "humanely", a word that means gently killed by men. It is not so great an exercise of the imagination to remember the dog who suffered every biological minute of its existence, who shines as a paragon of unity, championing a marvelous suffering ratio of one. Dear Lord, let me comfort that dog, for I hear him baying at my window. Think now of a man, a creature who fell between dog and God, who wears a number bound between zero and one. Now pray for him. Think of the woman, who suffers the senseless death of her children, through accident or natural disaster, and grieves the remaining days of her life, cursing God with impunity, knowing full well no afterlife of retribution for her lack of faith and piety will surpass the anguish she already knows. Let us pray for the woman with a curse for God, though she would hurl threats at us if she knew of our betrayal. To lessen her pain, pray quietly. I, who understand nothing, who have suffered little, and then only over imaginary slights of import too embarrassing to recount, offer this prayer. Let all who suffer, suffer forever. Let them know neither redemption nor relief. Let their ratio of suffering defy mathematics and merge with the infinite, for if there is merit to be gained through suffering, if anguish improves the world and the lot of those within, I am compelled to believe it should never end. |
|
A Prayer for the Suffering David Keffer Knoxville, TN August 21, 2014 |