Salvation in Jesus’ name is treated as a cure all. Supposedly, there is no suffering once we join the church, and if there is any cause for discomfort, then we vote the pastor out at the next business meeting.

Ironically, we worship Jesus, who showed his wounds, but we dress ours up on Sundays. We smile wide as if this is a demonstration of faith.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer would disagree. He said, “From its very inception, the church itself has taken offense at the suffering Christ. It neither wants such a Lord nor does it, as the Church of Christ, want its Lord to force upon it the law of suffering.”

Consequently, during Lent, we will follow Jesus at our own pace. We follow so long as it feels good, and when it doesn’t, we walk away. We’re just taking a break.

We can make minimal adjustments that support some other goal like losing weight or practicing self-care. So, we will give up television or chocolate — but not our lives.

We wouldn’t dare share our livelihood, the money we’ve worked so hard for with someone we wouldn’t be caught dead with. We say to ourselves and sometimes to them, “You should’ve worked harder. You should’ve made better decisions. That’s what bootstraps are for!”

…But I get the feeling that we prefer our image of Jesus, our museum Jesus, rather than spotting him on the subway or the street corner. Because we want to keep our distance when it comes to suffering.

We don’t want to see suffering. Instead, we want to create enough distance to admire it.

from “Where You See Jesus Reveals How Faithfully You Follow Him”