In sections of Christian religious contingents, the terminology used to reference the suffering and death of Jesus at Passover is: "The Passion of Jesus". This is, however, not the way this term is used in this song, as I don't hold the belief that any other human shared or shares in the sacrifice Jesus made in his death. We cannot earn salvation, or holiness through suffering. God is the only who could successfully make that sacrifice.

However, those who follow Jesus do share, and are invited to share, in his passion for people, for justice, for his kingdom's values, for mercy, for kindness, for the marginalised, and for showing compassion. And it is choosing this passion which often leads to heartbreak, suffering, and conflict, as these things are met with opposition and affliction in our present world. Much of the time, the adversity which comes from following Jesus doesn't seem heroic, exciting, or gallant to the person experiencing it. Sometimes it doesn't feel like riding courageously into battle; it feels pointless and empty. However, as the apostles wrote to the early churches, this is what happens when light enters the darkness - there will be push-back. We can be comforted by sharing in Jesus' passions doesn't make us failures, but rather, we might receive similar blowbacks because of their enduring relevance and potency.

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(Romans 8:17, 1 Peter 3:12-13, Matthew 16:24)

I am no hero,
live no champion’s task fulfilled
I wave no banner,
make no last stand on a hill.

I am no suffering martyr,
laying it down for a cause.
It seems an empty, pointless pain
that swallows me up like a fog.
But, perhaps this is
sharing in the passion of Jesus.

This seems no faith-refining trial
no crucible.
I am not strengthened by this trouble,
no conquerer.

For grief it feels like a millstone
dragging me down to the depths.
It leaves me wounded, disheartened:
What point is there to all of this?
But perhaps this is
sharing in the passion of Jesus

Our lives are shaken by the fallout
of a war.
But pain can seem to strike at random
with no goal.

It doesn’t feel like I’m struggling
for any reason or cause.
I do not bravely die for faith -
my faith is what’s dying off.
But perhaps this is
sharing in the passion of Jesus.