Praying for the Church (5)
Vol. 57 No. 34 | The Seventh Sunday after Trinity | July 19, 2026
Suffering and Hope
The Prayer for the Church ends where every Christian life must finally end: in suffering, death, and the hope of eternal life. After praying for the Church throughout the world, for rulers and ministers, and for the faithful gathered to hear God’s Word, we turn to those who suffer: “And we most humbly beseech thee, of thy goodness, O Lord, to comfort and succour all those who, in this transitory life, are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity.” And then, without interruption, we continue: “And we also bless thy holy Name for all thy servants departed this life in thy faith and fear; beseeching thee to grant them continual growth in thy love and service, and to give us grace so to follow their good examples, that with them we may be partakers of thy heavenly kingdom.” The Church’s vision extends beyond the visible congregation of one place and time to embrace those who are separated from us not only by suffering but also by death – those who await with us the final consummation of God’s kingdom. The Prayer closes not by narrowing our horizon but by enlarging it until it encompasses the whole communion of saints.
It begins with a reminder that our present existence is “this transitory life.” It is of the very nature of this life that is should be transitory, and pass away. In that passing away is revealed that which remains, and endures for ever. Trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, and adversity are not interruptions of the journey but part of the road that leads us to our eternal home. For that reason the Church prays for those who suffer as members of same Body. “Whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it.” The burdens of another Christian are never merely his own. They become the concern of the whole communion.
Modern culture tends to regard suffering solely as a merely technical problem awaiting a technical solution. Medicine, engineering, psychology, and economics all seek, rightly, to diminish human misery. Christians should be grateful for these gifts. Yet the gospel teaches something more. Suffering is also a place where Christ meets us and where we are conformed to him. The New Testament never glorifies pain for its own sake, but neither does it regard affliction as meaningless. In the Prayer we taught to ask God to “comfort and succour” those who suffer. These two words complement one another beautifully. ‘Comfort’ is not mere consolation or sentiment. It is strength given to endure. To be comforted is to receive strength to carry our cross from the one who carried it for us. ‘Succour’ goes further. It is rescue, deliverance, the help that brings suffering to its appointed end. To be succoured is to experience the deliverance that ultimately takes the form of resurrection.
That trajectory continues in the final part of the Prayer. “We also bless thy holy Name for all thy servants departed this life in thy faith and fear.” Before we ask anything about ourselves, we give thanks for those whom God has already called home. Their lives are gifts. Their faithfulness is a model for us to follow. Their memory strengthens our hope. The 1928 Prayer Book goes a step further, asking God to grant them “continual growth in thy love and service.” The emphasis is significant. The prayer says nothing about purchasing release from the pains of purgatory. It rests entirely upon the conviction that those who belong to Christ remain in his gracious keeping. The God who sanctifies us in this life will perfect us in holiness after our death. At the same time, the Prayer refuses to indulge curiosity about the intermediate state (about which Scripture has little to say). Its gaze remains fixed on the final hope shared by the whole Church: “that with them we may be partakers of thy heavenly kingdom.”
The little phrase “with them” gathers the entire prayer into a single vision. The Church is one Body, united by the truth of God’s Word and the fellowship of his Spirit. It is formed by hearing and receiving the gospel proclaimed in Word and Sacrament. And it is not divided by death. Those who worship at the altar on earth already belong to the same communion as those who worship before the throne in heaven. The distinction between the Church on earth and the Church in heaven is real but not absolute. Christ is Lord of both. That vision teaches us to care for the suffering because they are our own members. It teaches us to honour the departed because they remain our fellow servants. And it teaches us hope, because the story of the Church does not end in the grave. Every Sunday, before we come to the altar, we are reminded that our destination is nothing less than participation in the heavenly fellowship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Church on earth is already being prepared for that end. As we pray for one another in our weakness, remember those who have gone before us, and receive again the gifts of Christ, we are being drawn ever more deeply into that communion where truth is perfectly known, unity perfectly realized, and love perfected forever.