Easter Vigil (A)

Theologians have always wrestled with questions about suffering: Why do we suffer? Where is God in the suffering? Does God allow suffering? Does God will suffering? But new research into trauma “pushes them to the extreme,” said theologian Shelly Rambo. “I think what’s different is the way that trauma exposes the extreme vulnerability of human persons in relationship to larger historical forces,” Rambo said. She became interested in the field of trauma studies while at Yale University in the 1990s, where researchers were studying the effect of the Holocaust on survivors. She has continued to explore the theological issues of suffering and witness with military chaplains and others who have experienced trauma.

In her memoir, Virginia Woolf describes the crucial role of “sudden shocks” in her life. She writes that they are “revelations of some order,” “a token of some real thing behind appearances and I make it real by putting it into words….” Further on, she describes how her novel To the Lighthouse, which is generally regarded as her best, came to her in a sudden rush as she was taking a walk in London’s Tavistock Square. In that novel, she puts into words the content of those “sudden shocks” that alter our lives.