Third Sunday in Lent
Luke 13:1-9
"Why God?"
"There were some present at that very time who told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered thus? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish." And he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ’Lo, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ’Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure. And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’"" Luke 13:1-9, RSV.
Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen
Jesus was asked the age old question in our gospel lesson this morning, why did God Let this happen?
Why did the God allow the tower at Siloam to fall on 18 men? Why?
Why were they more of a sinner than any one else? No answers Jesus.
Why does suffering happen in this world is an age old question. Why sickness, why storms, why accidents? Why?
I would like to share with you an answer to that question written by Bob Perks to a friend that wrote to him upon a tragedy in her life. Bob Perks is a writer and a speaker. He has an e-mail list which I subscribe and you may join also. See the notes at the bottom of this sermon.
""If there is a God, why would He permit this to happen?" she asked of me.
Until recently I struggled to have an answer that I was comfortable with, myself. Yet, at least once a week someone writes to ask me that.
I am not a preacher nor a student of Bible studies. I cannot throw a Bible passage at every circumstance in life. But I have arrived at a point where I feel comfortable with an answer to this question.
I could easily say, "I don’t know."
For a while I used the old, "God works in mysterious ways," answer. It seemed to be a good enough, one size fits all reply to a million unexplainable events in life.
But through the course of the past four plus years I’ve been writing this message, I’ve come to my own conclusion.
Is it biblically correct? Will it fit every faith represented here? I just don’t know.
But when I replied to one of my readers yesterday, it tied into a story line I was about to write and the result was...I felt very comfortable with saying it.
You must know by now that a single word, a phrase, or a look can catch my attention and sparks fly in the creative part of my being. It happened again on Sunday. I was watching a movie and one character asked, "Where’s the river if it doesn’t rain?"
I immediately grabbed my pen and pad to write it down.
Here’s what I heard: "If it weren’t for the rain we wouldn’t have rivers that take us somewhere else."
All the rain in our lives, all the dark cloudy rainy days that wash away our dreams serve a greater purpose.
Our pain, our loss should take us somewhere else. The experience adds to our lives and moves us in a direction further along life’s pathway. Sometimes to a better place than those who have not suffered in life.
Then I read the message from one of my friends.
She was struggling with her reality of God in her life. Unlike before, I didn’t hesitate to reply to her. I didn’t have to think about my answer. For without a doubt I am completely comfortable with it.
Perhaps today you find yourself in a doubting place because frankly, your life has hit bottom and you are wondering, "Why does God permit this?"
Here is my reply:
Dear Friend,
From the deepest part of my soul I hold by heart out to you, but right now, with the mindset that you are in, there is nothing I can say that you will agree with.
You know me from my writing. You know what I will tell you without even asking...but perhaps that is why you wrote to me today.
I can only tell you there is a God.
He’s the same God you loved when things were good in your life. The same God you prayed to when your needs were not as great. Perhaps an illness, a worry, a concern were on your prayer list during other times. You never hesitated to ask His help then, because you trusted Him.
He is the same God your parents were grateful to when you were born and I rejoice in when I call you "friend."
The same God you might have thanked a thousand times and never even realized it.
"Oh, thank God!"
Yes, He permitted this tragedy. Just as He permits every other horrific thing in this world.
Rape, murder, cancer, aids, abortion etc.
Through my 52 years of life I’ve learned much, suffered some and painfully ached for the world around me. Through all of this I have come to this conclusion. This all comes, I believe, when He permitted us to have "choice." He doesn’t force us to believe in Him. He even permits you to write to me denying Him. What He does offer in place of all of this is His love and eternity with those we love who have gone before us.
It is this challenge He gives us. Have the gift of choice over His will and the world will not be a perfect place. And so it is.
It was NOT His will to have this happen to you. But your redemption? If you believe in Him still, even after a terrible life, eternity will be the reward.
Choose not to believe and all that you have accomplished, all that you ever prayed for will be in vain.
Now, my friend. I know you didn’t write to me hoping that I would agree with you. You wrote to me hoping I’d tell you that you are in pain and mourning and even God will forgive you for doubting Him. But the greatest gift you can now give in return is to stand tall in the face of all this and serve as an example to friends and family, young and old, who are watching you.They are all looking for someone to lead them through this. If no one does then the loss is even greater, for everyone will die in spirit.
That, my friend, is the work of what I call the ugly one. The ugly one rejoices in your loss and then weaves doubt and confusion throughout the hearts and souls of all who love you. The ugly one not only gains joy in your pain, but gains souls in your doubt of God Almighty.
Mourn, my friend. Cry and pound your chest for your loss. God cries with you and lovingly waits for you to turn to Him once again.
I hope and pray that this is what you really wanted to hear. If not, it is, I believe, what you really needed to hear.
So, where’s the river if it doesn’t rain?"1
I think Bob makes two valid points that are also seen in our gospel lesson this morning.
One, God does not will suffering. He allows it to happen in this less than perfect world. Jesus even talks about accidents when He brings up the subject of the tower of Siloam. Jesus admits there are accidents, suffering in this world. Two situations were brought up, one was concerning the death of some Galileans by Pilate because of their supposed insurrection and the other situation about a tower of Siloam that fell end killed 18 people. Jesus asks a rhetorical questions, asking "Are these people worse sinners because they suffered more, and each time he answers no."
Suffering does not come because people are bad or sinful. Suffering is part of this world. Suffering does not come from an angry God, but from the unredeemed world around us.God is not the angry Judge, judging each deed then giving out the punishment of sickness, death and tragedy as he sees fit. This is not the correct view of God as we see him in scripture, but sadly, many people have this kind of theology. Everything that happens, everything good or bad comes from God.
My brother served his first parish in Massillion, Ohio, as an associate pastor, with the late Pastor Mourice "Mo" White. Pastor White was a very large, strong and vibrant man. During one Lenten season, one of the older, but faithful members of the church came with her husband to an evening Lenten service. As they were leaving the service, the woman somehow fell down the outside flight of steps and broke her hip. For some unknown cause, she did not recover from the hip surgery and died in a few short days. Pastor White stood with the bereaved husband by the casket the night before the funeral.
Many people came to offer their sympathies. Some were saying to the sorrowing husband,"God must of had a plan for this, so accept it." Another said,"It was God’s will and we must live by it." Still another said,"Somehow God planned this to test your faith!!" And still another said,"There is a sliver lining in every cloud, you will find God’s reason behind this eventually."
Pastor White left that funeral home filled with a very strong emotion of anger at the "babbling", as he put it, he heard that evening. He went to the study and rewrote the beginning of his funeral sermon.
Pastor White began his funeral sermon with this phrase: "My God does not push old ladies down church steps!!!" Then he proceeded to explain that God cannot be blamed or accused for all the brokenness of this world. If God is the author of death, how, how can He be at the same time the author of life as shown through the resurrection we celebrate each Sunday and especially on Easter. Is God the God of the living, or the God of the dead? You cannot have it both ways.
No, God is more than the angry Judge, God is more than a avenging father meting out punishment to fit the crime. There is more to God than this.
The second point that Bob Perks makes is that God cries with us.
God cries with us as we suffer. As Jesus hurt on the cross, he understands our suffering. He experienced our suffering on the cross so he can walk us as we suffer. And Jesus in our gospel lesson tells us parable about God waiting patiently for us. In our suffering, Jesus is with us and wants to redeem us. He wants us to believe in Him. We are to remain in faith even in the face of suffering. In a time of suffering it is not the time to turn from God, but just the opposite, we must turn to Him. We turn to Him so he can redeem the situation.
A closing story ties these two main points together:
The tragedy left the man homeless, widowed and fatherless. Fire had swept through the trailer, and all was lost. It took some time for the full weight of the loss to descent, and when it did, he was nearly crushed. Like Job in the O.T. he would not be comforted...When the gift of shock was lifted, anger, resentment filled every waking thought.
God had not been fair to him. God had not protected his family. He had not come to him with a special visitation to explain the "why" and the "what next". He was in a wilderness as rugged as the Sinai.....The greatest temptation was to add to his losses by forfeiting his faith. He felt justified.
No one would fault him. Some might even support him. He prayed angrily now, daring God to hurt him further, and challenging him to give any reason to hold on to the thin thread of his faith that was left. He prayed angrily, but he prayed, and God could handle it....The anguish continued to mount until one afternoon he uttered a cry so forcefully, it could only be described as a scream. No word was spoken, just a loud angry scream against the forces of heaven and hell, as if to say,"I’ve hurt all I can, and I’ve paid my dues for love.... Help me."....
The silence that followed was quieter than silence. A peace was evident for the first time in months. Scripture might have said, "Angels came and ministered unto him. Satan had been overthrown, and health was coming back, for he believed, at last, that God was caring for those he lost. That God was caring for Him. that God could handle his honest anger, his honest emotions, that God can handle all our pent up emotions, feelings, denials running away from the hurts and pain of life.
God can handle it. We must let Him, for when we do, then, we will come to know the great and powerful love and mercy He has for us. God can handle it, period. Let Him.
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale March 5, 2007
1"I believe in You!"
Bob Perks
Bob@BobPerks.com
web page http://www.bobperks.com/open.htm
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