What Suffering May Produce Through the Spirit
Suffering has been part of human existence from the beginning of time. While stories like the tornado in Oklahoma, the Boston Marathon bombing, the shootings in Newtown, CT, or storms like Sandy tend to dominate the news media, there are so many more individual stories of loss, suffering, and pain – most of which we will never know – which is good because it would be overwhelming. I appreciated reading Greg O’Brien’s story about Brewster’s Skip Daley in The Cape Cod Times this morning and I’m glad that Paul and Mitzi Daley and Greg are all at BBC. Another story from this last week illustrates the difference we can make when someone is hurting. Phoenix police officer Daryl Raetz died Sunday in the line of duty while investigating a drunk-driving case. In the midst of his family’s suffering, which is only beginning for his widow Stephanie and their 5-year-old daughter, Tatum, there was an amazing expression of support from almost 300 police officers who came to stand in for her dad at Tatum’s kindergarten graduation three days later.
An article noted that, “the 5-year-old girl definitely felt her father’s presence at her ceremony, thanks to nearly 300 uniformed officers standing in his place at her Phoenix elementary school. The officers lined the school’s sidewalk on Wednesday morning to greet Tatum and her mother as they arrived for the graduation. “When they stepped out of the car, they saw a sea of blue out there. The officers were clapping, calling out her name, congratulating her,” said Phoenix police department spokesman James Holmes, who attended the ceremony. “The look on her face was absolutely priceless.” Tatum was given a bouquet of flowers before she walked down the line of officers, at times shyly hiding behind her mother. The girl’s elation was obvious, as were the officers enjoying the bittersweet moment. “We probably soaked the sidewalk,” Holmes said. “It was impossible not to be emotional in that moment.”
Tatum’s father, Daryl Raetz, a 29-year-old Iraq war veteran had been with the Phoenix police department since June 2007. On Monday, several officers learned about Tatum’s graduation ceremony and word spread like wildfire within the department, Holmes said. The initial handful of officers planning to attend soon burgeoned into dozens, and then far more. “It turned into the entire department going, he said. Many of the officers were off duty, and some had come off full night shifts. Holmes said the department called Raetz’s widow, as well as Tatum’s school to make sure they wouldn’t disrupt the graduation. “We were there for Tatum, but we ended up supporting the 88 children who graduated. We stood for them, we cheered for them. They put on their skits and we loved it up,” he said. “I’ve never ever been prouder of being a police officer than yesterday morning. It was absolutely amazing,” Holmes said. “I’ve been a cop for 37 years. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
May 26, 2013
Romans 5:1-5 , What Suffering May Produce Through the Spirit
Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church
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The great Christian writer, Henri Nouwen said, “… we sometimes ignore our greatest gift, which is our ability to enter into solidarity with those who suffer. Those who can sit in silence with their fellowman, not knowing what to say but knowing that they should be there, can bring new life in a dying heart. Those who are not afraid to hold a hand in gratitude, to shed tears in grief and to let a sigh of distress arise straight from the heart can break through paralyzing boundaries and witness the birth of a new fellowship, the fellowship of the broken.”
The fellowship of the broken is the community that may arise from suffering. With wars, attacks, natural disasters and examples of suffering and cruelty we find hard to comprehend, it’s natural to ask “Why?” and “What difference does faith make?” in those circumstances. It’s good when discussing any topic to have someone with personal experience to speak to it and for us this morning that person is the Apostle Paul. Paul writes about suffering from the depths of extensive personal experience having endured among other things “afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, & hunger.” He survived “countless floggings, often near death, five times received 39 lashes, three times he was beaten with rods, he received a stoning, three times shipwrecked, constantly in danger, enduring many sleepless nights, hungry, & thirsty, often without food, cold, & naked, & under daily pressure because of his anxiety for all the churches (see 2 Corinthians 6:3-10 & 11:23-30).” Having suffered through more trials, troubles, and tests than most of us will ever experience, Paul is able to write with conviction about suffering. He says in Romans 5:1-5:
“Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; & we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, & character produces hope, & hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”
Suffering is a broad topic, it’s mentioned in over 200 verses in the Bible, and it would take many weeks to cover in depth, so today I’m just going to share a few thoughts but by no means can we cover all that might be said. What is suffering? Suffering is experiencing, feeling or enduring pain, distress, loss, injury, harm, or punishment. The experience of suffering can cause us to doubt God in at least three ways. First, Suffering causes us to doubt God’s existence. When we hear the horrific stories in the news each week about the latest violent atrocity somewhere in our country or elsewhere in the world, for some people it raises the question, “If there really was a God, why does God allow such terrible things to happen?” On the one hand there are natural disasters like tornados, earthquakes & hurricanes that are part of the physical world that God created. These are a little easier to understand because we know they are created by certain physical events. Then there are acts of suffering that are caused by human failures, sin, evil, selfishness, & wickedness. Wars, genocide, acts of violence, and abuse, are the result of human sinfulness, God’s response to the human question, “Why does God allow such terrible things to happen?” Might be, “Why do you allow such terrible things to happen?” One could argue that God has given us the ability, intelligence, and resources to eliminate a great deal of the suffering that exists on the planet if we only used them wisely rather than selfishly and wastefully.
Perhaps suffering causes us to doubt God’s existence because we don’t think suffering should be a part of life. However, suffering need not cause us to doubt God’s existence if we understand that suffering is a part of life. Jesus, God’s own son, had to endure suffering. We read in the New Testament that Jesus, “himself was tested by what he suffered,” and “he learned obedience through what he suffered” (Hebrews 2:18, 5:8). We also will be tested by what we suffer and we can learn to obey God even if difficult times. This isn’t easy, no one wants to go through suffering, but rather than being surprised by suffering that leads us to doubt God’s existence, we can be prepared for suffering, as much as we don’t want to experience it, knowing suffering is a part of life and part of living out our faith.
Secondly, Suffering causes us to doubt God’s power. When something awful happens, we wonder, “If God is really so powerful, why doesn’t God do something to help?” Why didn’t God prevent the accident, cure the disease, save my family member’s life, or intervene in a dramatic way? If God didn’t, then we question if it was because God couldn’t or God wouldn’t. If God couldn’t then we doubt God’s power, if God wouldn’t, then we doubt God’s love. We read the gospels and we see Jesus healing people in incredibly dramatic ways, even restoring to life people who have died. We look around today and wonder why God doesn’t seem to do that and yet God still does. There are many people in this sanctuary today who wouldn’t be here were it not for the skills and abilities that God has given to people. There are people who wouldn’t be here were it not for the power of prayer. But even Jesus didn’t heal every single person, he raised Lazarus from the dead but Lazarus would have the unique experience of dying twice. Prayer is mysterious, we don’t know why one person goes into remission and is blessed with more years of life and another person does not. It’s a mystery that we will never completely solve. Annie Dillard writes in her book, Pilgrim at Tinkers Creek, “Our life is a faint tracing on the surface of mystery.” Rather than causing us to doubt God’s existence or power, suffering can draw us into life’s larger Mystery.
Third, Suffering causes us to doubt God’s love. Sometimes people think that those who are powerful and prosperous must be the people who are most loved by God. So folks who are poor and powerless may question whether God loves them, if God did, they think, wouldn’t my circumstances be better? This is what Psalm 73 is about. The scriptures tell us God especially loves the weak, the poor, the humble, the aged, children, the sick, the suffering. Sometimes people forget that in the midst of suffering, especially suffering that is caused by the violent acts of people, God’s heart is always the first heart to break. Julian of Norwich wrote, “God is the author of all good, and suffers all evil.” Whatever your image of God is, I wonder how frequently we ponder that God is probably in agony 24 hours a day looking at people on the planet earth. Think about the pain you feel when someone you love is in an accident, is diagnosed with a disease, is a victim of violence, is hungry, homeless, fearful, or dies. God deals with that on a scale of billions – the pain God feels every day is utterly beyond human comprehension.
So where is God in the midst of suffering? Where is God in the midst of suffering as large as genocide? Where is God in the midst of the devastation wrought by a tornado or a hurricane? Where is God when a loved one is struggling with a disease or dying? I think the answer to those questions is – God is in the midst of our suffering. As Christians we worship a God who suffers. Throughout the Bible we see that God is with people in the midst of their suffering, pain, & grief. God was with Joseph when his brothers beat him & sold him into slavery. God was with his descendants, the Israelites, while they were in slavery in Egypt & God heard their cries. God was with Israel during their exile into Babylon. God was with Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego when they were thrown into the fiery furnace. God was in the lion’s den with Daniel. God was in prison with Paul & Silas.
Suffering may lead us to doubt God’s existence, God’s power, & God’s love, yet we believe God is with us in the midst of our suffering. That is Paul’s great affirmation of faith in Romans 8, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, no powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
In Romans 5 Paul describes a progression that can happen when we respond in faith to suffering. Suffering can lead to endurance that produces character which leads to hope because God’s love and the Holy Spirit have been poured into our hearts. There is a lot of suffering that is private and unseen and unknown by other people. When we endure suffering, it will strengthen our character, deepen our sense of compassion, and remind us of the hope that we have in the Lord. The example of Christ, the love of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit are great aids in suffering.
Paul encourages his younger companion Timothy to “join with me in suffering for the gospel. Share in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 1:8, 2:3).” As followers of Jesus, at the very least, we don’t want to cause other people to suffer because of our behavior or choices. We are to help alleviate suffering and as we do, we share God’s presence, power, & love. The hope that exists in the midst of suffering is often seen through the response of those who reach out in love and caring. In Galatians 6:2 Paul urges us “Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” In 1 Corinthians 12:26 Paul says of the members of the church, “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.”
. Jesus endured the suffering that came to him and worked to alleviate suffering. Through our reliance on the Spirit we can be a part of the fellowship of the broken who are in solidarity with those who are suffering. Like Jesus, We are to help alleviate suffering & as we do, we share God’s presence, power, & love. I believe this is the challenge & opportunity for us as individual Christians & for the church around the world in the 21st century. Perhaps the greatest witness we can have as followers of Jesus is being instruments of the Holy Spirit in alleviating suffering and sharing the mercy and love of God.
Prayer:
Consoling God, Be a source of serenity for us
When struggles & difficulties threaten to overwhelm us.
God of Hope, assure us of your unconditional love
When we doubt our selves or question the worth of our lives.
Truth-bringing God, encourage us to embrace you
During those times when we get lost in the lies of our weakness.
Compassionate God, hold us to your heart
When we feel helpless in the face of the world’s pain.
Light-filled God, Keep us ever close to you
During those moments when bleakness surrounds our life.
Comforting God, shelter us under your wings
When we are engulfed in sadness & overcome with distress.
God of peace, you are the center of our life,
A strong refuge of peace in the whirlwind of our pain & suffering.
We look to you for strength & a constant reassurance of hope.
Blessing 2 Corinthians 1:3-5,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ.
Questions for Reflection & Discussion
- Have you found yourself asking some of the questions at the beginning of the sermon? What was going on in your life that caused you to doubt or question God’s existence, power, or love?
- What forms of suffering do you struggle with the most – those caused by nature (tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes) or those caused by people? Why is that kind of suffering worse in your eyes?
- What kind of difference does it make if suffering surprises us or if we are expecting it?
- Jesus, Paul, & many of the great figures in the Bible & in Christian history endured suffering. What do we learn from their lives that can help us?
- What are our greatest resources in the face of suffering?
- How can you be an instrument of God’s love by alleviating suffering?
- In addition to all BBC is already doing, what else might we do to alleviate suffering in Jesus’ name?