48 pages • 1-hour read
Lament for a Son
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Pages 76-90Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Pages 76-90 Summary
Wolterstorff shares that a friend of his suggested to him that he abandon his faith due to the world’s suffering. However, Wolterstorff expresses that he cannot disbelieve in God when he contemplates the intricacies of the world and the universe. He emphasizes that this isn’t based on logical arguments, but rather an irresistible conviction that wells up within him. He finds the evidence for God’s existence, including the resurrection of Jesus, to be compelling.
The author describes faith as a precarious bridge over a chasm, one that he currently stands upon. This metaphor illustrates the uncertainty and risk involved in faith. He questions whether his beliefs about God’s love are deluded, and whether he is mistaken in believing that the wounds of the world have their “answer” in God. Despite these doubts, he cannot dispel the sense of God’s presence as he conducts this introspection.
Wolterstorff then shifts to expressing his longing to speak with Eric again. As he imagines such a conversation, he expresses both hope and doubt about the possibility of such a reunion. He engages in an imagined dialogue with God about the slowness of divine redemption compared to the swiftness of the world’s creation. He questions why God, who Wolterstorff says created the world in six days, allows the process of recreation and the conquest of sin, death, and suffering to be so agonizingly slow.
The text moves on to meditations on death’s pervasiveness. Wolterstorff observes how loss has made him more aware of death’s constant presence, comparing it to something that lurks in the grasslands of life. This reflection highlights how the author’s grief has altered his perception, making him acutely aware of the omnipresence of death and loss in human existence.
A significant portion of these pages are devoted to exploring the concept of a suffering God. Wolterstorff describes his realization that God is not impassive but experiences sorrow and pain alongside humanity. He reinterprets biblical passages about seeing God’s face in light of this understanding, suggesting that perhaps it is God’s “sorrow,” not just His “glory,” that humans cannot behold while still living. The author reflects on how he had never before truly grasped the idea of a suffering God. He connects the image of Jesus on the cross to a God who shares in human suffering rather than simply explaining it away.
The author then reflects on the implications of a suffering God for human life and theology. He proposes that those who suffer might come closer to the image of God. Wolterstorff explores the idea of humans as icons of God, suggesting that suffering might be an overlooked aspect of this “imaging.” He questions whether humans are meant to mirror God in suffering and whether this might be part of human glory, ideas he finds both appalling and profound.
A substantial section is dedicated to analyzing Jesus’s Beatitude, “Blessed are those who mourn” (84). Wolterstorff interprets mourners as those who have glimpsed God’s promised future and grieve its current absence. He contrasts this with societal tendencies to celebrate success and avoid sorrow. The author provides numerous examples of what mourners might grieve: The presence of blindness, hunger, false accusation, unbelief, oppression, indignity, and death in a world where God’s peace should reign. He characterizes these mourners as visionaries to whom Jesus promises comfort.
The author then delves into the nature of suffering, admitting his limited understanding of it. He defines suffering as the loss or denial of something prized or loved, noting that it is universal because all humans prize and love something. Wolterstorff acknowledges that some suffer less because they love less, but asserts that love on Earth is “suffering love” (89). He connects this to God’s command to love one’s neighbor, suggesting that in commanding love, God invites humans to suffer.
Wolterstorff ponders why love in the world necessarily involves suffering. He asserts that God, being love, also suffers, and that suffering love is at the core of existence and history. However, he acknowledges the remaining mystery of why suffering must accompany love and why God allows suffering to continue. These reflections encapsulate the author’s struggle to reconcile his faith, his understanding of God’s nature, and the reality of suffering in the world.
Pages 76-90 Analysis
In these pages, Wolterstorff centers his raw emotions as he describes his longing to speak with his deceased son, Eric. He writes, “With every fiber of my being I long to talk with Eric again” (78). This desire for connection with the lost loved one is a common aspect of the grieving process. Wolterstorff muses, “Maybe I would just blurt out something silly. That would be good enough for a beginning. We could take it from there” (78). The author’s Grief and Intentional Remembrance are evident in his recollections and imagined conversations, illustrating how memory serves as both a source of comfort and renewed pain for him while he mourns.
Wolterstorff draws on a variety of sources, from biblical texts to Stoic philosophy, to contextualize his grief and explore different approaches to suffering. The juxtaposition of Jesus’s teachings with Stoic philosophy, for instance, serves to highlight the author’s evolving understanding of how to engage with pain and loss.
The analytical framework employed by Wolterstorff is deeply rooted in Christian theology, but it also incorporates elements of existential philosophy. His exploration of the concept of a suffering God represents a significant departure from traditional theological interpretations and demonstrates a willingness to question and reinterpret long-held beliefs in light of personal experience.
At the core of Wolterstorff’s framework is the Christian understanding of God's nature and humanity’s relationship to the divine. However, he pushes beyond conventional interpretations, particularly in his exploration of the concept of a suffering God. This idea represents a significant departure from classical theism, which often portrays God as impassible and unchanging. Instead, Wolterstorff proposes a God who actively participates in human suffering, sharing in the pain of His creation.
Prominent rhetorical devices in this section include the use of metaphor, particularly the image of faith as a footbridge over a chasm. This metaphor encapsulates the uncertainty and risk involved in maintaining faith in the face of devastating loss. Wolterstorff also employs rhetorical questions to voice his doubts and challenge traditional understandings of God’s nature and the purpose of suffering.
The author’s style in this passage is characterized by a blend of poetic introspection and philosophical rigor. His prose often takes on a lyrical quality, especially when describing his emotional state or contemplating the nature of God. At the same time, he maintains a level of analytical depth that grounds his personal reflections in broader theological and philosophical contexts.
In terms of historical and cultural context, Wolterstorff’s work can be seen as part of a larger tradition of theodicy—attempts to reconcile the existence of evil and suffering with belief in an all-powerful and benevolent God (See: Background). His exploration of a suffering God who shares in human pain rather than remaining distant from it represents a significant contribution to this ongoing theological discourse.
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