Dr. Leake and I are preaching a Lenten sermon series called, "Places of the Passion." My assignment for Sunday night is the Praetorium. The text is Mark 15:16-21This biblical scene requires us to confront an issue that we would rather avoid, suffering. Jesus' experience teaches us so many important lessons about suffering, God, and hope. Spending some time with this issue may be one of the greatest needs of Christians today.
Timothy Keller recently wrote about the big issues we are facing and suggested some responses to these issues. One of the things he said is that we need to develop a theology of suffering. Keller wrote, "Members of churches in the west are caught absolutely flat-footed by suffering and difficulty. This is a major problem, especially if we are facing greater 'liminality' - social marginalization - and maybe more economic and social instability." I don't agree with a number of Keller's theological conclusions but he has nailed this one.
Join us this Sunday night if you can. I'll talk about suffering in a hopeful way. We all need a dose of this message. God bless y'all.
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