With recent political violence and the deaths of three local law enforcement officers this week, we wonder “Why?” Why is precious life cut short by violence by those deeply troubled or convinced that their cause is more important than another’s life? We also wonder why acute, chronic, and terminal illness contends with the lives of those we love.

We pray for them, but when trouble continues, we wonder, “Why doesn’t God intervene?” We ask the same about those whose lives are cut short by violence. Why?

Some believe that everything happens for a reason. That God allows evil and suffering as a strategy for growth. Scripture passages like Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose,” are not a claim that God plans evil for good, simply that God always brings good in the aftermath of evil. Evil does not have the last say. We trust that the mercy, love, and peace of God overcome. Grace prevails. By faith we walk in darkness trusting the light of God. There is profound struggle, prayer, and waiting in the life of faith.

The difficulty of holding that God has a specific plan which includes suffering is that it diminishes the compassion of God. For many the explanation trivializes suffering with words which might be better left unspoken.

The bedrock of our faith is that the divine response to pain and suffering is compassion, mercy, and love. Attempts to understand and verbalize why suffering occurs actually pushes some away from faith. To sit in silence with someone who suffers requires courage. Mature trust in God resists quick answers to “explain away” someone else’s pain. The goal is to be present rather than make ourselves feel more comfortable at the other’s expense. We’ve all made that mistake, but uncomfortable silence gives space for the one who suffers to find their way in the mercy of God with the reminder that they are not alone.

The “divine response” at the end of the wisdom book of Job declares that his friends were foolish to blame Job for his suffering. Then, Job is encouraged to let go of his desire to understand “Why?” In response, we can practice this wisdom by grieving which is an expression of our frustration, sorrow, and lack of control in loss.

There is wisdom in grieving out loud and silently. It is better to sit with the mystery of suffering, in prayer, than to fold into one’s faith something which scripture and tradition are very careful to avoid–specifically that God is responsible for and causes our pain. There is much cause and effect in this universe, but to pin suffering on God as a strategy for good is likely a source of bitterness and buried resentment.

Instead, we can practice letting go of explanations and embrace the mystery. Yes, share your grief and frustration with God and those who can bear it. Be brutally honest with how you feel. Your emotions need to be expressed. However, the ultimate reason for suffering is a mystery once we press beyond the simple realities of free choice and cause and effect.

The ground of our faith is that God is love. God is mercy. God is peace. That is enough for a faith that will never disappoint. We gather in communities of faith to pray together and to listen to each other’s stories. Thanks be to God for the grace filled gift of friendship.