“Be Attitudes” Quilt
by Linda Huizen & Nancy Halvorsen 2015*
“to be human is to embody a huge paradox:
the paradox of having simultaneously
to accept and to reject suffering”
Scott Samuelson
“In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up.
You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it.
Live out your God-created identity.
Live generously and graciously toward others,
the way God lives toward you.”
Matthew 5:48 (MSG)
Scott Samuelson in his book, Seven Ways of Looking at Pointless Suffering describes the philosophical responses to suffering. It has been instructive to see how my life has been mostly in the “fix it” and “face it” responses. The catalyst for my responses has been a competitive culture of ideas and technology. But has this competition been the source of success or an illusion? Is it what unites us or separates us? At its worst, is it how we define our enemies?
For my life in medicine, the enemy was suffering and death. My work as practitioner was clear from the admonitions of Sir William Osler, the “father of modern medicine”. However, most of my practice was a kind of competitive resistance that understood the limits of the struggle. It was a resistance built from the hope found in the larger stories of my faith.
This competitive resistance life is what is so clearly outlined in the beatitudes. They require continued practice. They promise a kind of beauty in our lives that we would all like to have! They are a life long challenge.
Marvin
References
*Personal Photo taken in 2016, Hope College, Holland, Michigan
Samuelson, Scott. Seven Ways of Looking at Pointless Suffering (p. 7). University of Chicago Press. Kindle Edition.
Hage, M. L. (2013). Suffering.
Hage, M. L. (2013). Resistance/Resilience.
Hage, M. L. (2019). Suffering Revisited.
