St Therese of Avila was a 16^th century saint who is famous for her books on prayer, meditation and the religious life. Teresa lived with lifelong, serious, debilitating illness. She wrote in her book The Way of Perfection:

“The body drags us down with its many miseries.” (Way of Perfection 12.3)

Now you might be thinking she doesn’t exactly sound like a bundle of laughs. Well, perhaps bundle of laughs might be going a bit far, but in spite of her many afflictions, she certainly had a sense of humour.

‘Some sisters think holiness consists in long faces. I prefer cheerful saints’ she wrote in one of her letters. ‘God deliver me from people who mean well — they are the ruin of all good works’ she wrote in another. There’s a whole sermon in that one – but maybe another day.

Even her date of death has an element of humour in it. It is either 4th or 15th October 1582. What this. Was there a rent in the space time continuum? Did they reverse the polarity of the neutron flow? Not quite. She died around midnight on the 4th, at the exact moment when Catholic Europe was making the switch from the old Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar which we use now, which required the removal of the dates of 5–14 October from the calendar, hence the confusion.

On one occasion she fell unceremoniously off her horse into the mud, raised her eyes to heaven and addressed the almighty:

“If this is how You treat Your friends, no wonder You have so few of them!”

Also in The Way of Perfection, Teresa wrote, somewhat more seriously on the same subject that God has “so many enemies and so few friends”, thus “these few friends should endeavour to be good ones.”

St Paul was truly a great friend of God and one who was indeed not well treated in return for his unfailing service to Christ.

In the epistle to the Philippians we find him unjustly accused and in chains, again, to begin with in Caesarea for at least two years, and then continuing in Rome. Caesarea is here and this map also shows his journey to Rome from there. If you were travelling to anywhere from Jerusalem you would probably go through Caesarea. The headquarters of the Roman governor was Caesarea, not Pontius Pilate who was long gone at this stage, but, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles, Antonius Felix and then Porcius Festus. Here are some coins minted by them. I like to see such things because they give us a physical link, not directly to St Paul, but to some of the people he encountered, which helps to show how the sacred and secular histories are intertwined. The coins have the date on and the name of Nero, the emperor to whom Paul’s case was referred, necessitating the journey to Rome. Of course, Nero would not have bothered himself with a case like Paul’s - a minion would have dealt with it. Nero would have been too busy fiddling or marrying his own horse – though to be fair that was Caligula but who’s counting! And we worry about our leaders.

This imprisonment in Rome is not as bad as some of his previous experiences. It says in Acts:

For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance! (Acts 28:30-31)

So he is not in some dark, dingy dungeon. He is under house arrest and has some freedom, but he is in chains, and the death penalty is a real possibility, so it’s still not great. That background helps to explain what he says in the letter.

Paul does not respond to his hardships with humour - you can’t really imagine St Paul doing standup – but by seeing the hand of God even in his apparent misfortunes.

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear. … (Philippians 1:12-14)

So what should have been a restriction on the gospel has in fact become an opportunity to spread it to influential people both in Caesarea and Rome. Furthermore, instead of being intimidated, the Christians in Rome have been encouraged by Paul’s example to be more confident. Paul knows that death might be near but is characteristically sanguine but also practical about it.

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body (Philippians 1: 21-24)

St Therese also looks forward in her final words on the 4^th October 1582,

My Lord, it is time to move on. Well then, may your will be done. O my Lord and my Spouse, the hour that I have longed for has come. It is time to meet one another.

And now the compare and contrast. You knew it was coming! Our two very different saints from two very different times have much in common. They both, as we see, approach their end without fear. They both experience much struggle and suffering in the lives.

St Paul’s struggles and suffering have an obvious cause and obvious purpose. They are caused by his decision to follow the call of Christ to take the gospel to the world. That was bound to bring him all sorts of trouble as he knew full well. He also sees that what seem to be setbacks when they happen often turn out later to be opportunities. This is an example for the readers and hearers of the letter.

For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. (Philippians 1:29-30)

St Therese’s experience is quite different. There is no obvious cause for her illness or obvious purpose to it. In such cases it is wise not to try and explain. Of course, we should try to explain illness from a medical point of view with the aim of curing it, but that’s a different kind of explanation.

Neither saint is suggesting that suffering is a good thing or something to be sought but both see suffering a part of life and part of the way of Christ. And what does Christ say? He does not say: suffering is just something you have to put up with in this life. Man up and deal with it. Neither does say suffering is good for you – it’s character building! Well, of course, struggles and challenges are character building and it is true that having life too easy isn’t good for us. But that’s not what he says. What he actually says is: take up your cross and follow me.

The book of Job in the Old Testament concerns unexplained suffering. At the beginning of the book Satan says to God: your man Job lives a moral life but only because he is rewarded for it. If he had a life of suffering, he would curse you to your face. Great suffering comes upon Job but Satan is wrong. Job continues to lead a moral life nevertheless. To start with his friends do well.

When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was. (Job 2:11-13)

Then at all goes wrong when they try to explain Job’s suffering. They are trying to be helpful but they aren’t. What did St Therese say abut people who mean well? People who suffer will appreciate your care and concern; your philosophising not so much. In the face of suffering we don’t need an explanation but a faith. Take up your cross and follow him.

The book of Job is not, it’s fair to say, a bundle of laughs. But that won’t stop me from talking about it. To be continued.