Pain is an inherent feeling to human existence, born with it, accompanying it throughout life, and ending with it. It is present in all dimensions of our lives, following us like our shadow, and we expect it to appear at any moment, even if it is absent for a while. “Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,” the Book goes.
We know that somewhere in time, in life, pain soon takes over our existence, seizes control of our destiny, and may change us forever. Physical and psychological pain go hand in hand, interacting together, and may conspire against a person, leading to destruction if one of them overwhelms him.
The causes of pain are many and varied, depending on their source, type, and effects. Pain is mainly caused by wounds—physical or psychological. Medicine has been able to alleviate large parts of physical pain through research and inventions, and psychology has managed to curb the effects of psychological pain, but not to the same degree or with the same success.
Matter and spirit make up a human being. Matter is tangible, and some aspects of it can be controlled. But the spirit, or the soul, is not within human reach to control adequately or appropriately.
Gibran Khalil Gibran was right when he said, “The killer of the body is killed by his act, and the killer of the soul is not known to humans.” He was fully aware, with his insightful gaze and fervent spirituality, that psychological pain could be hidden and could cause human devastation without the ability to hold the culprit accountable.
Pain is born of injustice, the antithesis of justice, which seems to have no place in this world. Injustice is inflicted by thought, word, look, whisper, gesture, and all forms of human communication that people have turned into deadly arms, reflecting on the human soul with oppression and dismemberment.
In family relationships, there is injustice; in work relationships, there is injustice; in social relations, injustice prevails, in love, there is injustice, whereas these dimensions of life are not supposed to be a source of pain but rather a reason for joy and optimism.
Our popular sayings and Arabic poetry are filled with expressions about injustice and pain, such as the proverb, “If you see two people agreeing, do not ask who is being wronged,” or as one of the Arab poets said about the injustice of relatives being more painful than the sword.
Injustice is when a person oppresses another, turning him into a means or tool, causing him deep pain that he may carry until the end of his life, which will not be beautiful because of the deformities his psyche must have suffered.
Injustice is when a person is robbed of his rights—any of his rights—turning him into a slave, helpless, causing him to lose sovereignty over himself, his destiny, and his future. This also applies to helpless nations who live in collective injustice and suffering.
Injustice results from prejudices, greed, murderous individualism, and lack of respect for the human soul, as those who carry these qualities do not care about the amount of pain they cause to others.
When a stranger practices this against you, you may understand, given the social estrangement rampant in the world. But when the people closest to you do this, it is more painful—first, because of kinship, and secondly, because a relative is more likely to harm than a stranger due to intimate knowledge of your vulnerabilities.
One of the great figures of my country summed up the suffering of humanity in the era of modernity when he wrote:
“Great sufferings, unprecedented pains, await everyone who has a great soul among us. Not only must one deny himself, but he must walk alone without hope, because our social and spiritual life is corrupt… And if you find a soul that stretches out its hand to you, wanting to accompany you on your walk towards the light, you find a thousand more hands reaching out to keep it in darkness. The Son of Light has no place among the children of darkness; as much as he gives them love, they give him hatred.”
We recount the biography of the Incarnate Master, who wounded Himself and bore the sins of the world as atonement for our sins, tasting pain and humiliation. His biography in the four Gospels tells us how the Master, whose kingdom is immortal, lifted pain and injustice from humanity at all levels, material and spiritual.
He who came for the salvation of the world, fed the hungry, healed the sick, cared for children in their weaknesses, and called the weary and burdened to comfort them. He fought hypocrisy, bribery, and corruption because of the injustice they cause to human beings. At the same time, He protected the woman sentenced to be stoned—the one called an adulteress by those who had committed adultery with her.
He is the one who said:
“But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ shall be in danger of the council; but whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be in danger of hell fire” (Matthew 5:22).
This Eternal Incarnate came so that we may have life and have it more abundantly; He came to establish justice. In the Holy Mass, He is called “the Sun of Justice,” and they also sing to Him on Holy Saturday: “Arise, O Lord, and govern the earth.”
The Kingdom of God is based primarily on justice, and the global ecumenical movement has chosen two fundamental values for its journey: justice and peace. In fact, there is no peace without justice, which humans have not yet understood, so they fight endlessly for vain glory.
It is better to suffer injustice than to commit it. So, “My Lord, make me oppressed and not unjust.”
Professor Dr. Michel Abs,
Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)
