Sharing in the Sufferings of Christ -- Easter Reflection Part Two
I have been pondering how it is even possible for a modern mortal to ‘share in the sufferings of Christ’. It is one thing to recall the history of early church persecution, 'the blood of the saints that was the seed of the church'. And it seems that many of the exhortations to endure suffering in Scripture are directly related to the hardship of the church and the cause of the Gospel of Christ. These are the hero-saints of which the world was unworthy (Heb. 11:38). Especially when I compare that to my sufferings with a chronic illness: years living with a silly vortex of trials which constantly surprises in some fresh way with the same old symptoms (deep pain and sheer fatigue, troubled sleep, stomach troubles, financial strains, concerns about the future, etc.), so that once again one is caught muttering “Why me?” and feeling immature. How do my aches and anxieties possibly compare to His sacred stripes? How can they in some way be spiritual? I am no martyr. I hav