Suffering and hope

“And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5)

Greetings, Fighter,

This maxim from Saint Paul may sound a little glib. It’s often quoted by preachers of positive thinking alongside Nietzsche’s famous, “those things that do not kill us make us stronger” and Joseph P. Kennedy’s, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going”. The obvious response to such optimism – that suffering produces endurance, endurance character, and character hope – is surely ‘not always’.

Yes, I can think of painful experiences I’ve had that I am now grateful for, as I learnt something from them. Even so, there are plenty of other such experiences that, if I had the time over again, I would do everything I could to avoid them. Suffering doesn’t always produce endurance. Suffering regularly leads to depression, and depression to despair, and despair to death (emotional, if not physical).

Of course, Saint Paul didn’t intend his words as a stand-alone aphorism. They come in the middle of the most dense and complex letter that he left us – his Epistle to the Romans. Generally thought of us Paul’s magnus opus, Romans connects the faith of Israel to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It’s a complicated theological treatise, attempting to make sense of God’s master plan for humanity, and yet it’s still a letter, where deep theological reflections are interspersed with messages to friends and outbursts of emotion. That’s how Paul worked, of course. His friendships and his emotional life were entirely integrated with his thinking about God and humanity, and I think that’s the key to making sense of this snippet of wisdom.

“Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2)

Thus, Paul introduces his thoughts on suffering, which makes sense of his optimism. Suffering produces endurance, not because suffering is good in itself, but because it is integral to our participation in the life of Christ and in the sharing of His glory. Jesus suffered and rose. Those whose lives are now hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3) must suffer and die with Him if they are to experience His resurrection. “If we suffer”, says Paul, “we shall also reign with him” (2 Timothy 2:12).

I find this encouraging. I look back on the pain I have experienced over the last few years. I know I still struggle with feelings of abandonment, isolation, and betrayal. Even so, I know too that such pain was integral to the life of Christ. If I can see my sufferings as a participation in His life, that not only helps give meaning to the past. It suffuses the future with hope!

At the end of his life Paul was able to look back on all he went through, and it seemed to make sense. He could say, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). May God likewise grant us wisdom, so as to make sense of our pain that it might indeed strengthen our characters and lead us to hope – a hope that will not disappoint us (Romans 5:5).😊

Our Bush Bash and Sunday Eucharist

We had a really great weekend at Binacrombi last weekend. I had a great team with me, including Andrew, Connie, George, Amanda and Jason – all of whom were a part of last Sunday’s Eucharist.

Over the weekend, we did breathing exercises, we walked, we ran, we chanted, we prayed, we shared some great meals together and, of course, we boxed (well … some of us did). A big thank you to everyone who was a part of the experience. You’ll find videos of both the Bush Bash and the Sunday Eucharist below.

This weekend I’m in Sydney with another wonderful team joining me on Sunday. Karyn and Father Mark will join me live on the panel, with Father Ola joining us from Sweden via the wonder of pre-recorded video. Tune in from around 11.45 am via www.thesundayeucharist.com, or on Facebook , YouTube, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Let me work your corner

Thank you once again to all of you who support Fighting Fathers Ministries through your prayers and through monthly financial contributions. If you’re not contributing financially and you can afford to, it would be greatly appreciated if you could go to Patreon.com and sign up to either:

• Enrol in the Fighting Fit training program
• Access member-only training videos
• Engage in the members-only forum (see below)

• All of the above +
• One-on-one mentoring via email, phone, or Skype

• All of the above +
• Unlimited training at Father Dave’s Old School Boxing Academy

• All of the above +
• One weekend per month at Binacrombi Bush Camp.

Every dollar helps keep the wheels turning – the websites, the newsletters, the broadcasts, the boxing club and the bush camp. Sign up at Patreon.com.

What’s On?

• Saturday, June 17^th – Boxing from 3.00 pm @The Fight Lab
• Sunday, June 18^th – Our Eucharist from midday via thesundayeucharist.com or via Facebook , YouTube, Twitter or LinkedIn.
• Tuesday, June 20^th – Boxing from 6.30 pm @The Fight Lab
• Thursday, June 22^nd – Boxing from 6.30 pm @The Fight Lab
• Friday, June 23^rd to Sunday, June 25^th – another big weekend @Binacrombi. Please join me if you can.
• Thursday, June 29^th to Saturday, July 1^st – Binacrombi planning meeting
• Friday, July 26^th – Father Dave vs. Glen Collis @ Conca D’oro, Riverwood

Let me close today by urging whoever is available to join me for the next BLEST weekend at Binacrombi, scheduled for June 23 to 25. I am sure you’ll benefit from it.

I came home last weekend on quite a high, feeling that we had something for everyone in our training program. There was some great boxing last weekend with Andrew, Jason, and a number of our guests joining in. Others, like Connie and George, didn’t feel up to boxing but they enjoyed the prayers, chanting, breathing, walking and celebrating. In all, it was a fun and fulfilling time for everyone.

Are you available June 23 to 25? I’m hoping that I’ll be able to keep this program going for the long term but there are no guarantees at the moment. We have our planning meeting at the end of this month where we will have to work out if we can keep going at Binacrombi and, if so, how. Either way, now is the ideal time to discover everything that a weekend at Binacrombi has to offer. Give me a call, an email or a text. Let me know you’re interested and I will work out the details with you.

May the Lord bless and strengthen you for the work to which you have been called.