The Celebration of Suffering, Vol. 24 No. 2

I would consider my calling to be a healer, to practice resurrecting broken bodies, hearts and lives in conjunction with my community. But as I have entered into a new phase of my calling as a nurse, now working within the ICU,  I have realized that sometimes we are unable to fix the damage that […]

Touching the Wounds of the World

Word Made Flesh’s lifestyle celebration of suffering continues to be a stumbling block to some and foolishness to others. Still, we commit ourselves to the celebration of suffering. The courage to enter and commune with the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus creates the intrinsic possibility of intimate knowledge and experience of the power and joy […]

Learn More: On Suffering, Vol. 24 No 2.

As we reflect on this lifestyle celebration, we invite you to explore some of our staff top picks from media and resources that deal with suffering READ Dorothee Soelle unpacks and demystifies suffering in this renowned work about the meaning of pain and the God who suffers with us. Soelle was a German theologian and […]

Stay Close to the Cracks

Stay close to the cracks, To the broken places, where people weep and cry out in pain. Stay close to the cracks, where God’s tears fall, and God’s wounds bleed for love of us. Stay close to the cracks, where the light shines in, and grass pushes up through concrete. Stay close to the cracks, […]

Bearing Witness

When we see the kids and families that come to our center face abuse, trafficking, exclusion from school, parents that have had to leave the country, chronic health problems, trauma, or malnourishment, it makes no sense why we would celebrate suffering. No child should have to suffer from hunger, no woman should have to suffer […]

Suffering Over the Long Haul

One afternoon a few months ago, I had an opportunity to jump into a quick battle and fight suffering head-on. I was running errands with my daughters when a teenager with a duffle bag swung over his back stopped me and asked if I could spare some change for food. His name was Jesús. Sometimes […]

From the Executive Director

“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after Me, let such a person deny themself and take up their cross and follow Me. For whoever would save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for My sake will find it.  For what will it profit a man if he gains […]

From the Editor — Summer 2019

We gladly and sober-mindedly embrace what seems to be an unsolvable paradox: the celebration of suffering. To understand the joy intrinsic to suffering we must first recognize the inevitability of suffering itself. This world of ours is fallen and broken, and sin begets sin — even death. No matter where we find ourselves, what our […]