Looking Around

In Stephen King’s "The Green Mile", there is a man with "the gift".  He heals the sick (and even the very sick), and he sees/knows about things going on around, especially when there’s suffering, pain, or injustice taking place.  These are among the ways he can be interpreted as a Christ-figure (a not uncommon literary device; another example that comes to mind is Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings).  Yet, the man, John Coffey, goes around with a tortured look on his face.  Late in the movie, it is revealed that this is due (my interpretation, extrapolating slightly :-)) to his supernatural gift of awareness of suffering, pain and injustice.  He says it is "like little bits of glass in his head", every one of them causing him to suffer.

I can imagine it would have been similar for Jesus, especially in the days leading up to the Last Supper, the agony in the garden, and the crucifixion. Like many little bits of glass in the head. The weight of the world on Jesus’ shoulders. However, with Easter and the resurrection, that’s over now!  Happy Easter!

ps. some people are more sensitive to suffering in the world around, but typically also to happiness and beauty - now, is it better to go through life with such deeply felt emotions (highs, lows, etc.), or to go through life feeling things mostly moderately?

pps. here’s a test of your sensitivity to the sufferings of others - how would you respond to, say, a book on the sex slave industry around the world, that it is alive and thriving and has destroyed many lives?