Suffering and Innocence
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“While there is a general connection between sin and suffering (Rom 6:23), this connection is not always one-to-one, for the innocent often suffer, and the guilty are often spared earthly sufferings...” (Orthodox Study Bible, Acts 5:14)
“I believe that the question of innocent suffering and the existence of God may be the most significant and essential question of our time. The explosion of knowledge in our world has made an awareness of innocent suffering more apparent than at any time in history. At the same time, people seem not to be crippled by this knowledge. Most live with the contradiction posed by their own happiness and the suffering of others quite comfortably. We change the channel, or wait for the news cycle to shift. The war and suffering that were daily front page stories three months ago, are now no more than a column inch on page four. The suffering has not changed – but our attention has shifted.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“But there is also the mystery of the sufferings of the innocent, which we are going to examine in connection with the great mystery of the Church. The Body of Christ is the Church. All people are potentially members of an enormous body of the Church. If one member suffers, the whole body suffers as well. ‘Likewise, healthy members of the Church help bear the sufferings of sick ones: We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves’ (Rom. 15:1). If suffering is a result of sin, then the innocent sometimes suffer because of the sin of their fellow human beings. This is how the Lord is glorified. It also reveals the mystery of man who carries everything within himself and is not separated from anyone or anything. If there were no suffering, we would not understand what compassion is. Acquiring a compassionate and merciful heart that prays and sympathizes with the suffering is ultimately one of the main tasks of spiritual life. But it is precisely compassion transformed by the grace of God, not something painful or destroying the soul.” (Metropolitan Serafim Joanta)
“My point is not that traumatic things happen because of our sin but that we must be careful not to add our own sin to them later. We must strive to take the crucifixions we involuntarily endure as weak creatures and assimilate those crucifixions to the voluntary and blameless crucifixion of Christ. We must strive to suffer so blamelessly and innocently that we come to see not only that we are suffering with Christ but that He is suffering with us, in us, and for us… And through all of this comes peace. First, because should there be any trace of sin in our response to the traumatic experience or experiences, our clinging to that sinful reaction will keep us imprisoned in the trauma. Second, because in beholding Christ’s suffering with us in such innocence, we may even forgive our tormentors as He did.” (Timothy G. Patitsas)
“ “Sin spread to all men because all men sinned” (Rom 5.12); and in sinning man brought death to the children who partake of this mortal nature and life. In a sin-bound world, no person escapes, even those who are personally guiltless and innocent, for all are caught up in the sins of the world. “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Ps 51.5). Even the all-pure Virgin Mary who gave birth to Christ in the flesh could not escape the snares of death. For all her innocence and spiritual perfection, she too needed salvation from death by her Son, and her spirit rejoiced in God her Savior (cf. Lk 1.47).” (Fr. Thomas Hopko)
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