Scripture scholars are in general agreement that the Letter to the Hebrews was written to a congregation of Jewish disciples of Jesus. One of the reasons for this judgment is that the author employed numerous cultural references from life in the ancient Jewish world; one of those references appears in today’s second reading.  

In this passage that addressed the martyrdom experienced by some disciples, the author of the Letter wrote, “for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges.” (Heb 12:6) 

In ancient Israel, adolescent boys left the protective company of their mothers and entered the often-dangerous social world of their fathers.  Israelite fathers beat their sons, not as punishment, but to prepare them for the rigors of violence and war. (Prov 13:24)  During Jesus’ lifetime, the Israelites were no longer a militaristic nation, but the practice of physical discipline of adolescent boys continued.  Even in the absence of war, adult life was very demanding in the ancient world and this practice prepared boys for adulthood. 

While beating adolescent boys seems unnecessarily violent to us today, our culture has analogues to this practice.  There is an old joke about a college student who emailed his parents, “$chool i$ really great. I am making lot$ of friend$ and $tudying very hard.  I $imply can’t think of anything I need, $o if you would like, you can ju$t $end me a card. Mi$$ you guy$!”  The student’s parents responded, “I kNOw that astroNOmy, ecoNOmics, and oceaNOgraphy are eNOugh to keep even an hoNOr student busy. Do NOt forget that the pursuit of kNOwledge is a NOble task, and you can never study eNOugh.” 

The author of the Letter to the Hebrews used the ancient cultural practice of toughening adolescents for adulthood as a metaphor for the persecution faced by the first followers of Jesus.  That congregation of Jewish converts would have been the subjects of rejection and ridicule by their relatives who did not follow Jesus’ teaching.  Some of those first disciples were martyred for their faith.   

The Letter’s author interpreted religious persecution as a means by which God strengthened and perfected the faith of Jesus’ followers.  For that ancient congregation, and at that time, it was probably a useful way for disciples to make sense of their undeserved suffering. 

Today, however, martyrdom and persecution are unlikely events in the lives of most Christians.  Additionally, our understanding of the physical world has advanced immeasurably since Jesus’ time.  As our ancestors in the faith had no understanding of the causes of illness and natural disasters, they attributed that sort of suffering to evil spirits or one’s own moral failings.  Today, we take a more practical and scientific view of illness, physical pain, loss, and tragedy.  There is, however, wisdom to be learned from the perspective on suffering found in the Letter to the Hebrews. 

The typical forms of suffering one endures in life do not compare directly to martyrdom, but they are equally experiences of mortality.  Sickness, disability, poverty, and conflict are experiences that fall far short of death, but they are certainly reminders of the unavoidable and universal limitations imposed on us by the world. 

The “narrow gate” mentioned by Jesus is a metaphor that describes a faithful life accepted fully, including suffering as well as joy.  Everyone experiences suffering and loss; this makes no one special.  The disciples of Jesus have the blessing of being able to experience their sufferings as signs of the limitations of the world and reminders of the surpassing value of holding firm to belief in redemption from sin and death. 

Our Faith teaches a further lesson about suffering and death, namely, that these are defining moments in every person’s life; therefore, we have great respect and compassion for other people’s suffering. 

To accept one’s own sufferings faithfully and to feel compassion for those who suffer are easy actions to take; they amount to no more than avoiding the sentiments expressed between the college student and the parents in the joke I quoted above. 

It is considered acceptable in our culture to be coercive and manipulative.  It is considered virtuous to complain chronically about enduring the normal difficulties of life in a finite universe.  How many times have you heard, or expressed, the sentiment that life is unfair, burdensome, difficult, or distasteful?  Everyone experiences this, just as everyone experiences goodness and joy.   

Suffering and deprivation make no one special because everyone experiences these things.  Suffering and deprivation can, however, make one better if they are accepted as part of a normal life as well as the eventual recipients of eternal redemption.  God doesn’t send us suffering; rather, God sends us the grace to endure suffering, enjoy God’s blessings, and have compassion for one another. 

The Letter to the Hebrews still teaches wisdom to us today, even though our social situation is vastly different from that of the Letter’s author.  The Letter says that when Jesus’ disciples experience the ordinary and extraordinary suffering that is unavoidable in life, they are to understand it as being for the purpose of perfecting faith rather than perfecting attention-getting.