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As some readers of Christis will no doubt be aware, at the end of May the Christian community of York was saddened to hear of the passing away of the 14 year old son of a pastor from York City Church. His untimely death from a cancerous tumour coming so suddenly and coinciding with the Just 10 mission has brought this case even into the spotlight of York’s local press. At times like this — of real and unexpected suffering — the faith of believers is tested and refined. How does a community of Christians live out the call to “consider it pure joy when facing trials of many kinds”? What happens when the theological words — read and meditated on so much — actually effect tangible results for people in the face of unexplainable questions of existence and the frailty of human life? It was partly with questions like these in mind, partly also because I occasionally attend York City Church myself, yet also from a genuine wish to support a group of fellow Christians living through suffering that I made sure to attend on Sunday morning as the congregation met for the first time following the loss of one of its members. What I witnessed was an incredible demonstration of a young church ‘growing up’ into the concrete hope of Christ.
The message of the Bible is full of paradoxes. One thread that runs through the 66 books that make up Scripture is the place of suffering in the lives of God-fearing people. Christ himself chose a path of suffering where he walked unswervingly towards the cross where he died. The cross — an instrument of death — became the means by which Christ conquered death and is the foundation whereby believers receive everlasting life. The paradox therefore, is this: in Christ, out of death comes life. This truth and its implications ripple through the pages of Scripture and lap the corners of all Christian theology. The New Testament Church, no stranger to immense suffering and persecution, is soaked in the message of the death that brings life, of the suffering that leads to hope, of the hardship that results in holiness. Incredibly, Paul can say: “For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows” (2 Corinthians 1:5). In his letter to Timothy, Paul further remarks that suffering is not an ‘option’ but a ‘given’ in the Christian walk: “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). Peter, who has a very strong theology of suffering, seems almost to exhort Christians to open their arms in acceptance of suffering — “rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ … praise God that you bear that name” (1 Peter 4:13–16).
Can this bizarre message of rejoicing in the face of suffering be applied today in York? In one of the most moving services I have ever attended, the believers of York City Church lived out their Biblical mandate to the full. There was much about the service that brought us all to tears, but it was during an extended time of singing songs and hymns that the morning’s most enduring image stuck for me. A few young girls had been given some flags. They ran to the back of the church and skipped around in circles proclaiming, in an innocent but no less genuine way, their hope of Christian life. Another young lad lay asleep on his Dad’s shoulder — a picture of serenity and peace. All over the church people were praising. The service ended early so people could meet together, pray and encourage each other. This was not a church full of tense sadness. Here was spontaneous joy and peace. Here was a church which was tapping into the two thousand year long tradition of Christians rejoicing in the face of suffering. I felt an immense sense of awe to be amongst believers who mirrored the message and actions of the Biblical early church. It made me think, is the suffering church actually the real church? Conversely, is the comfortable church, the church which is not being forced onto its knees in prayer before God, simply a hollow husk of religious actors? Dare we invite suffering into our lives in the hope that it will increase our faith and knowledge of the glory of God?
The sermon for the morning was taken from 1 Thessalonians 4. The key text was verse 13: “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.” Don’t get me wrong, York City Church is a church grieving the life of a young one lost. But they are not a church who are grieving without hope. It is in understanding the eternal glory of life in heaven with Christ — the ultimate victory over death — that any Christian can draw comfort now in the face of the loss of life.
By the time you read this, the funeral will have already happened. Except it is not being called a funeral — this is to be a service of thanksgiving and it will be held on Friday 31st May. I never met the young man who died, nor do I know his family well. However, if I can glimpse the vital Christianity, if I can witness the joy that is found in the last place we would expect to look — in suffering — and if I can share in the communal hope of God’s people, if I can feel something tangible and true in a world so fleeting and untrue, I will make sure to be there five minutes early to get a good seat for the celebration of a Christ-breathed life.
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Last modified: 25th November 2005
![[Photo of a cross in water]](cross.jpg)