Note; This is the first of the doubt sermons... it also deals a bit with violence in the Bible and violence in our lives.
The only thing that I think needs comment is the phrase 'countermemory' which Tom Thatcher uses in his latest book on the Gospel of John and Empire; Greater Than Caesar: Christology and Empire in the Fourth Gospel. I will admit that I may not have used the phrase in a technically accurate way for scholars anyway... but sometimes when I read and write sermons phrases creep in during the prep and delivery of the sermon.
Intro:
One of the questions I am called upon to answer as a pastor is; what do I do when I’m just not feeling it? And by ‘feeling it’ people mean that they do not feel the presence of God, are doubting their faith, feeling their discipleship isn’t making any difference in the world or in their life. This September I will have been preaching for 10 years and this concern is the most common concerns I have heard.
When we feel low, like prayers aren’t answered, life is too complicated and stressful, the world around us is a mess and we begin to wonder; if there is a God why is the world this way, or, if I am a disciple, why don’t I feel more joy or peace. Why don’t I feel at least like my believing and hoping and serving is getting me anywhere or my family or community or the world. Why aren’t we getting anywhere close to the Kingdom that we pray for, hope for, work for and struggle to imagine?
Today we are going to read a story from 1 Samuel. The story of 1 and 2 Samuel is the story of the transformation of Israel from what scholars often call a ‘loose confederation of tribes’ to a small but strong nation of people united under King David. And I think that we will discover that despite the fact that this story was written oh, approximately 2500 years ago and takes place even farther back in history than that, that the stories of 1 and 2 Samuel, specifically the story of David and Goliath, addresses issues that will sound familiar. Israel is dealing with similar questions to our own, and facing challenges and temptations that are not so different from our own.
1 and 2 Samuel was written sometime during the Babylonian Exile. As some of you may know the Babylonian exile took place after the Assyrian Empire finally destroyed the last holdout of the fractured nation of Israel, the birth of which we will read a part of today. Jerusalem was destroyed, the temple, that David’s son Solomon built, was destroyed and the people (mostly the wealthy, the powerful and the influential people) of Judah were carried off to Babylon. They lived in Babylon under great pressure to give up their heritage and their faith in God as a part of that heritage, so that they could survive and thrive and make a life. And there was internal pressure also… a sense of being abandoned by God. But the internal pressure also took the form of their children growing enamored of and attracted to Assyrian culture and religion. And you can imagine that they too asked questions similar to our own; Where is God, is there even a God? Why do we hang onto this faith in God when our friends and neighbors and children are leaving it behind? We simply struggle to make it through one day into the next, how do we keep hoping and believing?
So they recorded this story of their birth as a nation in 1 and 2 Samuel; their early history when the nation of Israel was still young, just in its infancy. In those days the external threat came from the Philistines who wanted to take possession of the land that Israel called its own. The internal threat was a bit more complicated, but still similar. The book of Judges which comes before 1 and 2 Samuel ‘historically’ describes what life was like for Israel before King David, just after they had come into possession of the land of Canaan. It describes great turmoil and is one of the most violent books in the bible, but it sums up the Israel experience in one sentence, the last sentence of judges ‘ In those days there was no king in Israel, all the people did what was right in their own eyes.’
Another facet of this internal conflict was the religious life of Israel. 1 Samuel opens with the story of Eli who is the priest and his sons are priests too… but they are so greedy and self-serving and cruel, that God has decided to replace them…
The one thing that was meant to unite these tribes, covenant with God, suffered because the leaders, the priests reflected the culture (did what was right in their own eyes…) instead of showing the people a better way, God’s way… to live in covenant with God and each other.
So the story of 1 and 2 Samuel shows us the transition from chaos to peace and prosperity under the leadership of David. But the specific story that we read today also includes violence and a bit of chaos… so lets read it…
(Read the story of David and Goliath and Pray)
It is important, I think to begin with a discussion of the violence in this story because violence and faith are so closely linked even in our modern experience. Just recently George Tiller was murdered in his own church on a Sunday morning as he passed out bulletins. He was a doctor who performed abortions. And I suspect that the person who shot him did so under the deeply held conviction that what he did, he did in the name of God, to save innocents. I am not supporting or condoning that view, but I suspect that is how he condoned what he did.
And also recently in the news, the stories of Pentagon reports on the war in Iraq with Bible quotes on the cover-sheets. This is one of those times I wish we had power point so that you could see them. The one that particularly well, I don’t know if it amuses me or bothers me… a picture of a number of American soldiers kneeling in prayer, another of troops walking into the sunset and then a picture of a row of tanks… with the caption from Is 5:28 Their arrows are sharp, all their bows are strung; their horses' hoofs seem like flint, their chariot wheels like a whirlwind. Now, they have really taken this out of context… these are the words of Isaiah, warning Israel about the impending doom that God will bring on them because they fail to heed God’s word… it isn’t a rousing speech about the strength and might of the armies of Israel… it is a warning of the strength of the enemy that God will use against Israel. This is warning about the destruction to come, not encouragement to go and commit destruction. Now I’m not trying to say that the war in Iraq is the moral equivalent of the murder of an abortion doctor or that American soldiers are the same as vigilante’s… not my point at all…
I simply want to illustrate that across a wide spectrum of our own culture…faith and violence are closely connected.
Does the story of David and Goliath support this connection, condone this outlook, or not?
Lets talk about the story a little bit… We begin with a detailed description of Goliath’s size which some translate at 9ft tall and others as 6ft. 9 inches tall (depending on which version of this story you read) either way, Goliath is an impressive and intimidating physical specimen.
Then we get to his armament
5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels (125 lbs); 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels (15 lbs). His shield bearer went ahead of him.
All of this may not seem like much to us… but in that time and place, Goliath’s size, his armor and his weaponry is the ancient equivalent of shock and awe. He has the very best military equipment, the very latest technology for warfare.
Now, notice what happens when David, who we know is ‘just’ a shepherd boy, goes to the battle lines and offers to fight Goliath. Saul, who is currently the king (picked by the way, in part because he is a warrior of great size himself) decides to let David face Goliath in combat and, 1 Sam 17:38-39
He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. So Saul is just as fixated on weapons and strength and size as Goliath. Do you notice that there is little difference between Saul, the King of Israel and Goliath, the champion of the enemy? Perhaps goliath is bigger, but both he and Saul see their place in the world through their own ability to fight… to be more violent than the next guy.
Now look at David.
1 Sam 17:39-40 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. "I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
There is the story on the surface in 1 Sam 17 and that surface story is that the small shepherd boy David struck Goliath and cut off his head… but there is another level of this story…
Goliath is the face of the violence that surrounds Israel. Saul is meant to match that violence… with size and strength and weapons… violence for violence… but he cannot… we are told in verse 11 that Saul and the Israelites are ‘dismayed’ when they see Goliath and hear Goliath. (by the way, the Hebrew word that is translated dismayed literally means beat down or to prostrate… to bow down… which suggests that Saul is ready to bow down to Goliath. Strength and violence have become Saul’s god.)
So Israel’s strength cannot match Goliaths and Saul’s weapons cannot compete with Goliath’s… which suggests the counter-story, the other level of this story… do not trust in weapons, or size or strength or violence to make your way in the world.
David is victorious with just a staff and some rocks…
Now if that doesn’t convince you that this story is not condoning violence, but offering a critique of violence in God’s name… look at the words that David says to Goliath
1 Sam 17:45 David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel,
1 Sam 17:47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's,
Let me say that line again…
Now what I want to suggest is that the story of David and Goliath does not support violence in the name of God precisely through this second level of the story. Those with the weapons and the size and strength are portrayed as either afraid, in Saul’s case, or as cruel, and prideful and generally dis-tasteful in the case of Goliath. And the story ends with a boy who has not size or strength or weapons winning the day.
We could be cynical and say that this second level of the story simply tells a violent story and then tries to legitimize David’s violence by invoking the name of God. And isn’t that what the pentagon reports tried to do… add legitimacy to violent acts by claiming God’s blessing and mandate.
I don’t think that is what this story is doing however. I don’t think that this is simply propaganda. I do think that the writer of 1 and 2 Samuel (or writers) are trying to think theologically about the reality of life around them and they lived in a violent world. I don’t think they are trying to legitimize violence as much as they are trying to tell you and I, the readers something about God… and in so doing… trying to place a wall, a hedge, around violence, so that they can defend themselves from violent nations and tribes around them, but still not turn into a society, a culture that lives on the violent conquest of others as the Philistines (and the Assyrians) do. They can’t or aren’t willing to be pascifists, but they are trying to place very strict controls around violence so that it does not define them… it does not become their default mode in the world… it does not become a social method… and remains a last resort and something that is entered into with great hesitation.
It is actually a common theme in the Hebrew Scriptures…
In Numbers 13, Moses has led the people to the borders of Canaan, their promised land… He sends scouts to look ahead and see what Canaan is like and they bring back this report; Num 13:27-28
"We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. Num 13:31-32"We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are."
And here is God’s reply…Num 14:11 The LORD said to Moses , "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?
What displeases God is the fact that Israel even at this early stage is focused on military might and loose trust in god’s might… in this case they do not have any… but they suspect that the Canaanites do..
Earlier in Exodus, when Israel must defend itself against another stronger tribe, the Amelikites we receive this amazing vision of Moses standing on a hill overlooking the battle-field… and as long as his hands are raised in the air to God, Israel takes the upper hand, but if his hands fall, they begin to loose
And in Judges 7 the great story of God choosing an army for Gideon to defend Israel… only God chooses the weakest the smallest and the least skilled at battle for Gideon’s army…
Throughout Israel’s history they have maintained a testimony of victory, not by strength or skill, but through depending on God. There are military victories and some very violent passages… but counter to those are these stories where the story is not about strength, but about God… which is intended to keep violence from becoming a driving force in Israel’s identity and its culture.
Well, that is all well and good, you are thinking, but what has it to do with the question... what do we do when we aren’t feeling our faith, when we question or doubt the goodness of God…
Lets go back to the story, When David first goes to Saul to offer to fight Goliath for Israel… Saul is not inclined to let him
1 Sam 17:33-37; 33 Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth." 34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."
Notice that last line… This is what the writer is trying to tell us about God…
What does David say the Lord has done for him in the past? Delivered him… and what will the Lord do for him in the future… Deliver him… This is another piece of the story I just told… David doesn’t see battle as something he does on his own, by his own power or strength… but instead it is a moment for God to be God… to rescue and protect God’s people…
Now, that word, deliver… in Hebrew that word is [natsal] and Brueggeman, who knows a lot more about the Hebrew language than I says that ‘the verb references an abrupt physical act of grasping or seizing in order to pull out of danger.’ (TOTOL 174) Makes me think of those ‘Amazing Rescues’ shows on TV where the helicopter swoops into the woman whose car is caught in a flash flood and she is harnessed to a wire and carried away to safety.
Now, here is the interesting thing. [natsal] is used throughout the Hebrew scriptures, but guess what specific story from the OT this verb is most often used in reference too…?
Ex 3.8 ‘I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians
Ex 6.6 and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians
Ex 18.9 the goodness which the Lord has done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
That pattern repeats in Judges 6.9 and 8.34… when Israel remembers God’s amazing rescue of them in Egypt and at the red sea, they use the word natsal… deliver… seized out of danger. When we read the story of David and Goliath, we are not only to be impressed by David’s courage or faith… we are to see this as another Exodus… another instance of God snatching Israel out of the mouth of destruction… Natsal reminds us of the power that God wields to rescue those are faithful to him… We are meant to see Exodus, which wasn’t a story of Moses strength or Israel’s strength, but purely of God’s strength to rescue the vulnerable…
Birch says about this… ‘David is the model for another way, of those without the benefit of superior arms and armies who never the less trust that God can make deliverance possible against the odds, that there is hope even when faced with apparently hopeless situations.’ (NIB Vol. II; 1112)
This is King Saul’s failure you see… his dismay, his despair and hopelessness, leads him to think only of his own resources or scarcity of resources, of size, strength, military might… and to forget the resources that God can provide. We are warned here not to face our Goliaths with our own strength… which will lead to dismay, but to remember God’s strength….
This applies not only to military or battle situations. Our Goliaths will not always be the external threats of armies… Our Goliaths will be, well, for instance; the legislation banning prostitution…which is apparently languishing in our legislature due to some ‘experts’ who think that legalizing prostitution is the real answer. It is a Goliath in our nation, the goliath that causes us to do all of our reasoning based on economics and inhibits view-points that say some things should just not be commodified, things such as sex. The Goliath’s come in the facts such as we are serving 8 families in our summer meal program, but If I remember correctly Rhonda said that the schools identified 62 families that would be challenged by lack of nutrition this summer.
And if the story of david and goliath teaches us anything it is that those who put their hope in their own strength, even when that is strength to do good instead of violence, those who trust in only their own will and resources and strength, will soon grow weary and discouraged and be dismayed or beaten down. While David offers us another way to face our goliaths… a way of faith that relies on the strength and the might of God.
This Story of David also teaches us not to get stuck in questioning why God allows things to be the way they are around us. I think it is natural to do so and good to ask why as a kind of motivation… but we aren’t to get stuck in those questions. Instead we are to see these instances as a time to offer courageous witness to the world of the way that God intends them to be. David doesn’t stop to ask why God allows the goliaths of the world to exist. David seizes the opportunity to show the goliaths the power of God… and for us, for you and me that means that we continue to feed as many hungry as we can, to witness to the evils of legalized prostitution to anyone who will listen, and even in our own lives to view disappointments not as defeats, but as opportunities for God to deliver us, to show his love and strength to us in new and exciting ways.
How? How are we supposed to do that?
Well, that is why I shared the history of the creation of 1 &2 Samuel with you. For that seems to be the answer. What did Israel do when faced with the goliath of the Babylonian Exile…. They remembered the story of David and Goliath and told it in a way that reminded them of Exodus. Instead of accepting a story of defeat and fear, they reminded themselves of the story of God amazing love for them, a love that did not forget or abandon them… a God and a love that would fight for them. Fight for them and win. Every Goliath in our lives is an opportunity for us to experience the victory of God’s love for us and a chance for us to show the world the strength, the courage, the peace that comes to those who believe that God’s love wins.
That isn’t something that comes naturally by the way… it is something we have to practice… this takes us back to some of our traditions and answers some basic questions… sometimes people ask me, why do we sing so many songs… singing what we believe about God’s love and God’s strength… the singing of those stories kind of helps those stories stick in our heads…singing helps us remember the story. Some other things that help us remember the story of God’s love overcoming Goliath are daily prayer and taking time every day to read the bible and reflect on it… Its tough to make time for this I know…
So start with psalms for instance
There is a psalm that David wrote about being delivered… psalm 18
I want you to think about the things that dismay you… grand things like hunger and poverty and prostitution… or personal things… struggles with raising children, guilt or shame from your past, or hurt that just wont heal…. Think about them and listen to these words of david
What will your psalm say, when you are delivered from that which dismays you…
Lets pray…
Monday, June 29, 2009
My Ears Had Heard, but Now My Eyes Have Seen; Sermon for June 28, 2009
Note; this is the second sermon that actually deals with new Christians who experience doubts as they are learning faith.
I drew upon a Theology Today essay I found on-line by L. Rebecca Propst. Pts that are numbered 1 and 3 come directly from her essay.
I also drew upon an article entitle; Power Made Perfect in Weakness by Rebecca Konyndyk Deyoung - that came from an ethics journal published by; Center for Christian Ethics and Baylor University.
I think that covers everybody who deserves credit.
Intro:
Last week we began to look for answers to the question; ‘what do I do when I’m not feeling it.’ What do we do when we have doubts about our faith, when questions about the love and/or power of God go unanswered, when prayers seem pointless and we begin to wonder if our faith and if our God really exists.
So we talked about David and Saul and Goliath; specifically how Saul, when faced by Goliath and the Philistines (his own doubts and fears) relied on his own strength to find answers, and was ultimately disappointed. Saul could only see the world through the lens of fighting and winning or fighting and being destroyed. He did not or could not think of the world a different way, so he could not imagine or believe that God might open up a different way for him….
You recall that the story of David and Goliath was written when Israel was in Babylon, and being in Babylon caused questions similar, we safely imagined to some of our own questions today; where is God, is there a God, Why is there such suffering, why does it seem as if our faith and our prayers have failed us? The point of telling you all of that was to show you how Israel handled the questions and the doubts and discouragement. They told themselves a different story… the remembered a time when God did something amazing and unexpected, with David, and that gave them the courage to continue to hope in God’s goodness instead of falling into dismay.
What do we do when we are not feeling it? We remember the stories of God’s amazing and powerful interruptions of Israel’s life to show them his love… and then we wait expectantly and patiently for those moments…. Look for them everywhere we go. And I think that believing in them changes our view, so that we can have courage and not be afraid.
Then thankfully and without any planning [a church member] got up and shared a testimony about how in a time of suffering and fear, God had revealed power through her and in her that she never knew existed so that she could care for [spouse]. Instead of being caught in the rut of not speaking and not disagreeing and not asserting her point of view… God opened up a new possibility for [same church member] where she found her voice…
This past week I got a phone call from someone, wanting more on this topic… and I’m glad because although the answer to the question…what do I do when I’m not feeling it is… remember the good things God has done… is really biblically… its what the bible shows over and over again… I think perhaps we may want a little more of an answer than ‘REMEMBER’
And so we turn to 2 Cor 12: 7-10
Now the topic that Paul is addressing here is suffering. And you may be wondering what this has to do with questions and doubts. Now here is my experience and my assumption. In my experience, we rarely have doubts in a vacuum. Doubts don’t usually appear without some form of fears, disappointments or some form of suffering (maybe not the suffering of people living in poverty in South America or Africa suffering) but some pain or discomfort of heart or soul or mind that puts us in this place of having doubts, wondering why? Or where are you God?
For me it was divorce that put me in the tail-spin of questions; where are you God when I need you? I try to follow you and this is the thanks I get? Do you really love and care for me? What is the point of faith if I have to put up with this….. ‘stuff’?
So I want to talk about a difficult topic this morning… suffering.
I cannot say all that needs to be said about suffering; such as the pain we feel when a loved one dies, or why a holocaust?
We read something very strange from Paul today….
for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
We live in a world in a culture in which avoiding pain, alleviating pain, medicating pain; is the norm. It is so assumed that we wish to avoid pain, that the Bible’s witness about suffering and pain will sound to us… just…. Odd…
1. Because…throughout the Bible Suffering is not always avoided… as a matter of fact, suffering freely chosen in order to accomplish a purpose is a strong theme in Christian tradition.
Jesus described his own life and specifically death by saying… John 10:15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life — only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.
Jesus saw the purpose of his own life as voluntary suffering for a greater purpose… he laid down his life that his sheep might find life. He also says in Matt 16:24-25 "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me . 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.
Now, lets just be clear about what Jesus is talking about. Jesus is not talking about suffering that is unexpected, incidental, or seemingly random… Jesus isn’t addressing the suffering of a disease, such as cancer, or the physical or emotional abuse of a spouse or family member.
What Jesus is talking about is the choice to be his disciple… to put into practice a kingdom way of life, such as; turning the other cheek, forgiving 70 X 7, selling what we own to give to the poor, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the imprisoned… When we actively choose to let those kingdom values shape us… we will experience sometimes; disappointment, discouragement, perhaps even pain, physical or emotional… but that suffering is for a greater purpose…
And that Idea… of voluntary suffering for a greater purpose is a common theme…
1 Peter 2:20 says: ‘But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
1 Peter 3:17
17 It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
Paul famously asks in Romans, a question we all know quite well; Rom 8:35-36 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
Paul expects, in asking this question that those who are disciples will have to face suffering. It isn’t a matter of if we will suffer, but when will we suffer if we have made the way of Christ in the world our way.
And in 2 Tim, Paul even encourages those who read…8 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,
How is suffering presented in our culture? Well, it’s a form of entertainment. Horror movies present suffering in such a way as to make it exciting for us to watch… it gives us an adrenaline rush… or action movies even pull us into a plot where someone suffers some form of injustice and then a hero stands up and fight, kills and destroys to rescue the victims…
So part of our culture wants to view suffering, but in the safe and antiseptic environment of the tv or movie screen.
Suffering is also a marketing technique; One of the best ways to get us to buy something is to make us feel inadequate… you are bald and it gets in the way of your romantic life and your business life… so you need to buy a product. You have acne, you have gray hair, your hips are too large, your breasts are too small… all of this playing on our insecurities ( a form of suffering I suggest) so that we will be active consumers of a product.
In both of these examples of suffering in our culture we see expressed the idea of avoiding suffering and here comes the bible with a very different view… Instead of viewing suffering from afar and from a safe distance… we are called to engage with the suffering… In Matt 24 Jesus explains that we serve him, comfort and care for him, when we serve, comfort and care for the poor… we aren’t allowed to keep suffering at a distance, to avoid it… but are encouraged to engage it… get right up close to it.
And we are also encouraged not only to share in the suffering of others, but to take on suffering, for a larger purpose, which is to alleviate the suffering of others, and to make a witness to the larger world of the Love of God that would undergo crucifixion to save us…
The suffering [the Bible and the Christian tradition] endorses, then, is not merely enduring pointless pain in a meaningless world. The suffering the Christian is called to bear is most often the result of try to love others in a world of sin and wretchedness.
pp. 13-14; Power Made Perfect in Weakness - Rebecca Konyndyk Deyoung
So ideally, Christians are prepared to suffer… we are trained to suffer for the sake of the good of others, for living the values of the Kingdom of God. Paul saw it as a way to witness to the larger world. The world would see us choosing to suffer instead of returning evil for evil… the world would see us suffering so as to serve others and see Christ in us…see us illustrating the story of Jesus, who suffered for us… Paul throughout his letters wants Christians to see his suffering, as a courageous witness of the strength of God…
2. What about our pointless pain in a meaningless world? Or… what about the suffering that we do not choose that just happens…. Or… Does God cause us to suffer?
Let’s start with the first question…. Does God cause suffering?
If we look to the Bible, that is not necessarily an easy question to answer although I think most of us immediately respond… no, of course not.
And we have bible verses to back us up….John 9:1-4 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind ?"
Now, the disciples are obviously asking a question about suffering… what happened so that God would cause this man’s suffering? And Jesus responds…
"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus,
But we other sources that seem to suggest differently…
Such as Isa 3:18-26 In that day the Lord will snatch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces, 19 the earrings and bracelets and veils, 20 the headdresses and ankle chains and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, 21 the signet rings and nose rings, 22 the fine robes and the capes and cloaks, the purses 23 and mirrors, and the linen garments and tiaras and shawls. Instead of fragrance there will be a stench; instead of a sash, a rope; instead of well-dressed hair, baldness; instead of fine clothing, sackcloth; instead of beauty, branding. Your men will fall by the sword, your warriors in battle. The gates of Zion will lament and mourn; destitute, she will sit on the ground.
Now there is no mistaking that Isaiah is describing great suffering for Israel and attributing that suffering to the anger of God because of Israel’s disobedience…
Job 1:6-20
Now there is a lot going on in Job, that we just don’t have time for today… but there is no doubt that although God doesn’t necessarily cause the suffering, God, in the story, allows the suffering.
I have to admit that I still have a hard time with the idea that God would allow or cause suffering. But the alternative just isn’t an option for me personally… the option that says there is no God, or that God does not care, that I am a chemical and biological accident, a random happening due to evolution…
And that is why I think the Hebrew writers in Job and Isaiah present God to us as allowing and causing suffering…. Because the alternative leaves us with our doubts and fears and no way out of them… they would rather believe that God sometimes causes or allows suffering, because then at least God still exists and has the power. Otherwise sickness and disease and violence have more power in the world than does God.
So in a strange way… even the stories that portray God as causing or allowing suffering are designed to give hope… because they are saying that your pain, your discouragement, your suffering isn’t random… God has allowed it… God still has power over it… and if God controls it and allows it, then God can and will also bring an end to suffering.
Isaiah and Job could maintain courage and hope in the midst of suffering, if it wasn’t random… if that suffering still remained within the control of God and was just allowed. It still leaves us with a question… why would God allow it?
This gets carried through in the story from John that I read earlier… I only read a part of Jesus response… which in full reads…."Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.
Which leads to my third point for today about suffering…
3. A Time of suffering in the Bible is the precursor to the opening of new possibilities… the creation of something new…
The Isaiah who described bald women, would also sing a song of God comforting his people in chapter 40 and describing a new day of joy and hope and safety for Israel… the sojourn through suffering was meant to purge the dross… what was waste, dirt…was cleansed so that Israel could in the end, grow closer to God.
God took away everything that Job had… but in the end of the story gives him back twice what he had before…
Suffering, even unexpected suffering or unwanted suffering can lead to something… new…Nothing can stop the creativity of God, not even suffering.
When we endure suffering, we say by our endurance that we are waiting for something better,… a crucible of self-transformation, an opportunity for a new vision
Pg 14 Power Made Perfect in Weakness - Rebecca Konyndyk Deyoun
Rom 5:3-5
but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance ; 4 perseverance , character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us,
the Bible in general, and Paul specifically has this unshakable view of God, who is constantly at work creating, behind the scenes of the world, behind the scenes in our lives. Paul sees the world not in the process of destruction, but sees God in the process of recreating and even our suffering, God is powerful enough and loving enough to fold into his own purpose, which is to re-create in us and through us…
Mother Teresa helps us to understand this process when she says, 'Suffering opens up space within that otherwise would not be there -- that God can come in and fill.'"
And that is what I really want us to focus on for our initial question… for those with questions and doubts… don’t avoid them… The Bible clearly tells us that these times of doubt, of fear, or questions… are the times when God can and will create this space within us… only to fill it with a deeper faith, a sense of closeness to our creator… a calling to a larger purpose… It may be chaos now… but God sometimes allows chaos so as to then create something new within us.
So what do we do? I think one lesson is that we not avoid these questions or doubts… don’t try to fill them with easy answers… with distractions that make us feel better….that is what Saul tried to do in last weeks reading… fill his doubts and fears with the easiest and most accessible answer, swords and armor… Somehow we have to sit with these questions and wait for God to reveal the purpose of our doubts and questions…So be patient…those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength Isaiah says…
Second, share your doubts with someone. When Paul talks about sharing in suffering he is first of all challenging the new Christians to see all of Jesus life as their own story… not just the resurrection, but the life and suffering… but Paul also shares his own suffering… so that he can encourage and be encouraged. So share your doubts and your questions, so that you don’t feel isolated and alone… and also share, as Nancy did last week, the new creation story that comes after the questions and doubts.
Third… This is where the Christian action of prayer comes in…
And I mean a very specific kind of prayer… If our time of doubt is actually a time where God is creating a space so as to grow closer to us, or greater in us.. or to call us or give us a gift… the kind of prayer where we do all the talking wont accomplish anything. When we are doubting or questioning or even hurting we need to do listening prayer… praying with scripture.
Ps 31
Ps 9
Ps 22
Ps 107
A quote from NT Wright, puts suffering in the context of the salvation of the world…
Thus the church is called to be for the world what Jesus was for Israel:
not just a moral lecturer, nor even a moral example, but the people who, in
obedience to God’s strange vocation, learn to suffer and pray at the place
where the world is in pain, so that the world may be healed.
N . T . W R I G H T , in The Meaning of Jesus (with Marcus Borg)
But a verse from the story of Job gives us a first step on the journey to seeing our chosen suffering… even our random sufferings as a part of a larger witness to the world…
After all his suffering, his questions, when God gives back to Job twice what he had before… Job can say
My ears had heard you, but now my eyes have seen you Job 42:5 NIV
As difficult as it may be for us to understand, Job tells us that nothing can strengthen our sense of God’s love for us… like going through suffering, and watching what God can make out of what looks like, feels like, seems like chaos… those are the moments, as we look back, when we can see God…
Lets Pray
I drew upon a Theology Today essay I found on-line by L. Rebecca Propst. Pts that are numbered 1 and 3 come directly from her essay.
I also drew upon an article entitle; Power Made Perfect in Weakness by Rebecca Konyndyk Deyoung - that came from an ethics journal published by; Center for Christian Ethics and Baylor University.
I think that covers everybody who deserves credit.
Intro:
Last week we began to look for answers to the question; ‘what do I do when I’m not feeling it.’ What do we do when we have doubts about our faith, when questions about the love and/or power of God go unanswered, when prayers seem pointless and we begin to wonder if our faith and if our God really exists.
So we talked about David and Saul and Goliath; specifically how Saul, when faced by Goliath and the Philistines (his own doubts and fears) relied on his own strength to find answers, and was ultimately disappointed. Saul could only see the world through the lens of fighting and winning or fighting and being destroyed. He did not or could not think of the world a different way, so he could not imagine or believe that God might open up a different way for him….
You recall that the story of David and Goliath was written when Israel was in Babylon, and being in Babylon caused questions similar, we safely imagined to some of our own questions today; where is God, is there a God, Why is there such suffering, why does it seem as if our faith and our prayers have failed us? The point of telling you all of that was to show you how Israel handled the questions and the doubts and discouragement. They told themselves a different story… the remembered a time when God did something amazing and unexpected, with David, and that gave them the courage to continue to hope in God’s goodness instead of falling into dismay.
What do we do when we are not feeling it? We remember the stories of God’s amazing and powerful interruptions of Israel’s life to show them his love… and then we wait expectantly and patiently for those moments…. Look for them everywhere we go. And I think that believing in them changes our view, so that we can have courage and not be afraid.
Then thankfully and without any planning [a church member] got up and shared a testimony about how in a time of suffering and fear, God had revealed power through her and in her that she never knew existed so that she could care for [spouse]. Instead of being caught in the rut of not speaking and not disagreeing and not asserting her point of view… God opened up a new possibility for [same church member] where she found her voice…
This past week I got a phone call from someone, wanting more on this topic… and I’m glad because although the answer to the question…what do I do when I’m not feeling it is… remember the good things God has done… is really biblically… its what the bible shows over and over again… I think perhaps we may want a little more of an answer than ‘REMEMBER’
And so we turn to 2 Cor 12: 7-10
Now the topic that Paul is addressing here is suffering. And you may be wondering what this has to do with questions and doubts. Now here is my experience and my assumption. In my experience, we rarely have doubts in a vacuum. Doubts don’t usually appear without some form of fears, disappointments or some form of suffering (maybe not the suffering of people living in poverty in South America or Africa suffering) but some pain or discomfort of heart or soul or mind that puts us in this place of having doubts, wondering why? Or where are you God?
For me it was divorce that put me in the tail-spin of questions; where are you God when I need you? I try to follow you and this is the thanks I get? Do you really love and care for me? What is the point of faith if I have to put up with this….. ‘stuff’?
So I want to talk about a difficult topic this morning… suffering.
I cannot say all that needs to be said about suffering; such as the pain we feel when a loved one dies, or why a holocaust?
We read something very strange from Paul today….
for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
We live in a world in a culture in which avoiding pain, alleviating pain, medicating pain; is the norm. It is so assumed that we wish to avoid pain, that the Bible’s witness about suffering and pain will sound to us… just…. Odd…
1. Because…throughout the Bible Suffering is not always avoided… as a matter of fact, suffering freely chosen in order to accomplish a purpose is a strong theme in Christian tradition.
Jesus described his own life and specifically death by saying… John 10:15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life — only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.
Jesus saw the purpose of his own life as voluntary suffering for a greater purpose… he laid down his life that his sheep might find life. He also says in Matt 16:24-25 "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me . 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.
Now, lets just be clear about what Jesus is talking about. Jesus is not talking about suffering that is unexpected, incidental, or seemingly random… Jesus isn’t addressing the suffering of a disease, such as cancer, or the physical or emotional abuse of a spouse or family member.
What Jesus is talking about is the choice to be his disciple… to put into practice a kingdom way of life, such as; turning the other cheek, forgiving 70 X 7, selling what we own to give to the poor, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the imprisoned… When we actively choose to let those kingdom values shape us… we will experience sometimes; disappointment, discouragement, perhaps even pain, physical or emotional… but that suffering is for a greater purpose…
And that Idea… of voluntary suffering for a greater purpose is a common theme…
1 Peter 2:20 says: ‘But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
1 Peter 3:17
17 It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
Paul famously asks in Romans, a question we all know quite well; Rom 8:35-36 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
Paul expects, in asking this question that those who are disciples will have to face suffering. It isn’t a matter of if we will suffer, but when will we suffer if we have made the way of Christ in the world our way.
And in 2 Tim, Paul even encourages those who read…8 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,
How is suffering presented in our culture? Well, it’s a form of entertainment. Horror movies present suffering in such a way as to make it exciting for us to watch… it gives us an adrenaline rush… or action movies even pull us into a plot where someone suffers some form of injustice and then a hero stands up and fight, kills and destroys to rescue the victims…
So part of our culture wants to view suffering, but in the safe and antiseptic environment of the tv or movie screen.
Suffering is also a marketing technique; One of the best ways to get us to buy something is to make us feel inadequate… you are bald and it gets in the way of your romantic life and your business life… so you need to buy a product. You have acne, you have gray hair, your hips are too large, your breasts are too small… all of this playing on our insecurities ( a form of suffering I suggest) so that we will be active consumers of a product.
In both of these examples of suffering in our culture we see expressed the idea of avoiding suffering and here comes the bible with a very different view… Instead of viewing suffering from afar and from a safe distance… we are called to engage with the suffering… In Matt 24 Jesus explains that we serve him, comfort and care for him, when we serve, comfort and care for the poor… we aren’t allowed to keep suffering at a distance, to avoid it… but are encouraged to engage it… get right up close to it.
And we are also encouraged not only to share in the suffering of others, but to take on suffering, for a larger purpose, which is to alleviate the suffering of others, and to make a witness to the larger world of the Love of God that would undergo crucifixion to save us…
The suffering [the Bible and the Christian tradition] endorses, then, is not merely enduring pointless pain in a meaningless world. The suffering the Christian is called to bear is most often the result of try to love others in a world of sin and wretchedness.
pp. 13-14; Power Made Perfect in Weakness - Rebecca Konyndyk Deyoung
So ideally, Christians are prepared to suffer… we are trained to suffer for the sake of the good of others, for living the values of the Kingdom of God. Paul saw it as a way to witness to the larger world. The world would see us choosing to suffer instead of returning evil for evil… the world would see us suffering so as to serve others and see Christ in us…see us illustrating the story of Jesus, who suffered for us… Paul throughout his letters wants Christians to see his suffering, as a courageous witness of the strength of God…
2. What about our pointless pain in a meaningless world? Or… what about the suffering that we do not choose that just happens…. Or… Does God cause us to suffer?
Let’s start with the first question…. Does God cause suffering?
If we look to the Bible, that is not necessarily an easy question to answer although I think most of us immediately respond… no, of course not.
And we have bible verses to back us up….John 9:1-4 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind ?"
Now, the disciples are obviously asking a question about suffering… what happened so that God would cause this man’s suffering? And Jesus responds…
"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus,
But we other sources that seem to suggest differently…
Such as Isa 3:18-26 In that day the Lord will snatch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces, 19 the earrings and bracelets and veils, 20 the headdresses and ankle chains and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, 21 the signet rings and nose rings, 22 the fine robes and the capes and cloaks, the purses 23 and mirrors, and the linen garments and tiaras and shawls. Instead of fragrance there will be a stench; instead of a sash, a rope; instead of well-dressed hair, baldness; instead of fine clothing, sackcloth; instead of beauty, branding. Your men will fall by the sword, your warriors in battle. The gates of Zion will lament and mourn; destitute, she will sit on the ground.
Now there is no mistaking that Isaiah is describing great suffering for Israel and attributing that suffering to the anger of God because of Israel’s disobedience…
Job 1:6-20
Now there is a lot going on in Job, that we just don’t have time for today… but there is no doubt that although God doesn’t necessarily cause the suffering, God, in the story, allows the suffering.
I have to admit that I still have a hard time with the idea that God would allow or cause suffering. But the alternative just isn’t an option for me personally… the option that says there is no God, or that God does not care, that I am a chemical and biological accident, a random happening due to evolution…
And that is why I think the Hebrew writers in Job and Isaiah present God to us as allowing and causing suffering…. Because the alternative leaves us with our doubts and fears and no way out of them… they would rather believe that God sometimes causes or allows suffering, because then at least God still exists and has the power. Otherwise sickness and disease and violence have more power in the world than does God.
So in a strange way… even the stories that portray God as causing or allowing suffering are designed to give hope… because they are saying that your pain, your discouragement, your suffering isn’t random… God has allowed it… God still has power over it… and if God controls it and allows it, then God can and will also bring an end to suffering.
Isaiah and Job could maintain courage and hope in the midst of suffering, if it wasn’t random… if that suffering still remained within the control of God and was just allowed. It still leaves us with a question… why would God allow it?
This gets carried through in the story from John that I read earlier… I only read a part of Jesus response… which in full reads…."Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.
Which leads to my third point for today about suffering…
3. A Time of suffering in the Bible is the precursor to the opening of new possibilities… the creation of something new…
The Isaiah who described bald women, would also sing a song of God comforting his people in chapter 40 and describing a new day of joy and hope and safety for Israel… the sojourn through suffering was meant to purge the dross… what was waste, dirt…was cleansed so that Israel could in the end, grow closer to God.
God took away everything that Job had… but in the end of the story gives him back twice what he had before…
Suffering, even unexpected suffering or unwanted suffering can lead to something… new…Nothing can stop the creativity of God, not even suffering.
When we endure suffering, we say by our endurance that we are waiting for something better,… a crucible of self-transformation, an opportunity for a new vision
Pg 14 Power Made Perfect in Weakness - Rebecca Konyndyk Deyoun
Rom 5:3-5
but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance ; 4 perseverance , character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us,
the Bible in general, and Paul specifically has this unshakable view of God, who is constantly at work creating, behind the scenes of the world, behind the scenes in our lives. Paul sees the world not in the process of destruction, but sees God in the process of recreating and even our suffering, God is powerful enough and loving enough to fold into his own purpose, which is to re-create in us and through us…
Mother Teresa helps us to understand this process when she says, 'Suffering opens up space within that otherwise would not be there -- that God can come in and fill.'"
And that is what I really want us to focus on for our initial question… for those with questions and doubts… don’t avoid them… The Bible clearly tells us that these times of doubt, of fear, or questions… are the times when God can and will create this space within us… only to fill it with a deeper faith, a sense of closeness to our creator… a calling to a larger purpose… It may be chaos now… but God sometimes allows chaos so as to then create something new within us.
So what do we do? I think one lesson is that we not avoid these questions or doubts… don’t try to fill them with easy answers… with distractions that make us feel better….that is what Saul tried to do in last weeks reading… fill his doubts and fears with the easiest and most accessible answer, swords and armor… Somehow we have to sit with these questions and wait for God to reveal the purpose of our doubts and questions…So be patient…those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength Isaiah says…
Second, share your doubts with someone. When Paul talks about sharing in suffering he is first of all challenging the new Christians to see all of Jesus life as their own story… not just the resurrection, but the life and suffering… but Paul also shares his own suffering… so that he can encourage and be encouraged. So share your doubts and your questions, so that you don’t feel isolated and alone… and also share, as Nancy did last week, the new creation story that comes after the questions and doubts.
Third… This is where the Christian action of prayer comes in…
And I mean a very specific kind of prayer… If our time of doubt is actually a time where God is creating a space so as to grow closer to us, or greater in us.. or to call us or give us a gift… the kind of prayer where we do all the talking wont accomplish anything. When we are doubting or questioning or even hurting we need to do listening prayer… praying with scripture.
Ps 31
Ps 9
Ps 22
Ps 107
A quote from NT Wright, puts suffering in the context of the salvation of the world…
Thus the church is called to be for the world what Jesus was for Israel:
not just a moral lecturer, nor even a moral example, but the people who, in
obedience to God’s strange vocation, learn to suffer and pray at the place
where the world is in pain, so that the world may be healed.
N . T . W R I G H T , in The Meaning of Jesus (with Marcus Borg)
But a verse from the story of Job gives us a first step on the journey to seeing our chosen suffering… even our random sufferings as a part of a larger witness to the world…
After all his suffering, his questions, when God gives back to Job twice what he had before… Job can say
My ears had heard you, but now my eyes have seen you Job 42:5 NIV
As difficult as it may be for us to understand, Job tells us that nothing can strengthen our sense of God’s love for us… like going through suffering, and watching what God can make out of what looks like, feels like, seems like chaos… those are the moments, as we look back, when we can see God…
Lets Pray
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