December 16, 2011
OYAYA
Advent thoughts about socks and suffering
BY STEVE DABROWSKI (Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry)
The gifts under my boyhood Christmas trees were a mix of the practical and the pleasurable — with more being practical. It was always a disappointment to tear open a package hoping to find Dr. Steel’s “ghastly gleaming hand” only to discover . . . socks. Really, Mom, socks?!? The sad thing is, as an adult, I know the socks were a better gift than the Dr. Steel action figure. I may not have rejoiced at the gift when I received it, but the socks were more useful and beneficial for me in the long run.
Unfortunately, suffering increases during the holidays. The myths of the perfect family, the perfect gift or the perfect decorations cause many to fall into deep depression when the realities of life fall short of the Capraseque images in holiday movies. I must confess here (and my wife would write a letter-to-the-editor to correct me if I didn’t) that I don’t do suffering well. I want the “It’s a Wonderful Life” life, but, during the holidays, I tend to be the guy yelling at the TV screen encouraging George Bailey to jump. Still, I’ve begun to see suffering a bit differently: I try to see it as a gift . . . or at least as the means through which God gives me a gift.
Suffering accepted can be transforming. Although I’m not a fan of Pollyannaish movies, I believe God is with me in my struggles — not like Clarence appears to George Bailey, but God is there. From the moment of His birth, Jesus, Emmanuel, “God With Us,” was in the thick of suffering. Whether through a humble birth in a stable or being cloaked in hiding from Herod’s sword, God knew suffering. Unlike the story of Job, where God could be seen as separate from suffering, in Jesus’ life God himself became human and suffered from the start. From the beginning of his earthly life, Jesus suffered, and God, therefore, was, and continues to be, in the midst of it.
In Romans, St. Paul reminds us that God lives within our hearts, and we believe that we receive him, body, blood, soul and divinity in the Eucharist: We know he is more than with us, he is in us, and he has suffered for us. This suffering is practical: It serves a purpose — our salvation. That goes beyond the here and now, beyond the sufferings of today — to a gift that never ends.
Viewing suffering as a gift this Advent can change it. I’m trying to remind myself that the challenges and difficulties that inevitably arise over the holidays are not merely detractors from the good; rather, they’re part of the whole gift of my life. Although, I may not understand fully, God is really with me in my suffering, and if suffering draws me closer to my Jesus, why would I want to work so hard to avoid it? From this perspective, suffering seems more necessary. I may not rejoice at the gift of suffering when I receive it, but I know it will be much more useful and beneficial for me in the long run. I hope God’s gift this Advent prepares us to receive our Suffering Savior, born into a cold stable far from home, as we celebrate his coming at Christmas.