St. Margaret's Sermon Archive
Pentecost V - Robert W. Carlson 07/09/06
WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE
No one ever worked harder for the spread of the Christian message than St. Paul. From the time of his conversion in 35 A.D. to his martyrdom in Rome in 61 A.D. he traveled ceaselessly throughout the ancient world, constantly risking his life, always in conflict with the religious authorities. If anyone deserved to be rewarded for his good work it was Paul, but not only did he suffer persecution, beatings, stonings and finally execution by beheading, but he did all this with a “thorn in the flesh” an affliction which made each day’s work harder. We have no idea what his burden might have been. It may have been a physical affliction such as arthritis or migraine headaches, a psychological one such as depression or self doubt, or something else. He prayed to God to relieve him of the “thorn in the flesh,” but without relief, except for the reassurance from God, “My grace is sufficient for you...”
Several years ago a popular book came out by an American rabbi entitled When Bad Things Happen to Good People. The book was especially addressed to Jews in this “post Holocaust” age. Many Jews were asking the question Tevia asks in Fiddler on the Roof, “Why, if we are God’s chosen people do we have it so hard?” Of course it is the question many religious people have asked. “Why doesn’t God take better care of his people?” Many good Christian people have asked me the question: the couple who lost their teen aged son in a senseless automobile accident, the friend who had lost her second baby because of a genetic defect. Why in the world doesn’t God just reward good people and punish bad ones?
But of course there are no easy answers. I can point out, as studies indicate, that religious people, on an average, are healthier and live longer. Certainly one of the reasons why the Israelites followed Moses was because God gave them their freedom and took care of them in the wilderness. God was with them as they crossed the Jordan and took possession of their new homeland. They believed that if they followed the commandments and worshiped God, their lives would be blessed. They generally found this to be true. “If we do good things, good things will come our way. If we do bad things, bad things will happen to us.” That's a little oversimplified, but in many ways it worked. It still does.. On a larger scale people have discovered that when nations put most of their resources into weapons, disaster is around the corner. We have discovered that if we pollute the environment with toxic substances, we and our children may die of cancer. To a large extent, if we sow the wind, we reap the worldwind.
But this can be carried too far. At one point the Israelites not only said that bad behavior leads to bad consequences. They said that when bad things happen to people, it always means that they have been guilty of bad behavior or bad faith. This is what Job's friends told him and what his protests were all about. But despite Job, Jesus was confronted with the same claim. In response, Jesus asked about the seventeen people who were unfortunate enough to be underneath when the Tower of Siloam collapsed. "Were these," Jesus asked, "worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem?" In another place Jesus observed that God makes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust. There is no one-to-one relationship between good things happening and good people and bad things happening and bad people. I sometimes think that life would be a lot easer if this were not true, but it just isn't so. As much as I would like to say "Come to St. Margaret’s Church, say your prayers, have faith, and life automatically will be smooth sailing for you!" I just can't say it, because it isn't so.
When I said something like this to a friend some years ago, he asked me why in the world anyone would anyone want to be a Christian. I gave him three reasons. The first reason is that Christians are dedicated to lowering the amount of suffering and misery in the world. We are convinced that this will happen when people begin to love one another and be as much concerned for their neighbor's good as for their own.
The second reason I told him why I am a Christian is that there is a quality of life which I experience in living by faith, in trusting my life, my present, my future to God which beats anything else I know. Trusting in God and loving God and my neighbor makes for a more satisfying life than a life of trusting in myself and trying to win out over everyone else. I suppose that even if you could convince me that my faith is all a collection of mistaken beliefs, I would still say that living it for all these years has been worthwhile.
The third reason I told him why I am a Christian is that though bad things may happen to me, though I may experience tragedy for myself or those I most care about, I know that I am never alone in that experience. Not only do I have friends who live by the same faith I live by who will be with me and care about what is happening to me, but we have a God who has experienced everything that we can experience, the worst of separation, pain, suffering and death, and has shown us that tragedy is not the last word. Resurrection is the last word, resurrection not only in a promise of future happiness and fulfillment in another world, but resurrection in this world by love which transforms the deepest pain of human life into victory and peace.
Yes, we still have “thorns in the flesh” and bad things will still happen to good people, but I am convinced that God is still in charge, and his love will give us the final answer and solution.
No one ever worked harder for the spread of the Christian message than St. Paul. From the time of his conversion in 35 A.D. to his martyrdom in Rome in 61 A.D. he traveled ceaselessly throughout the ancient world, constantly risking his life, always in conflict with the religious authorities. If anyone deserved to be rewarded for his good work it was Paul, but not only did he suffer persecution, beatings, stonings and finally execution by beheading, but he did all this with a “thorn in the flesh” an affliction which made each day’s work harder. We have no idea what his burden might have been. It may have been a physical affliction such as arthritis or migraine headaches, a psychological one such as depression or self doubt, or something else. He prayed to God to relieve him of the “thorn in the flesh,” but without relief, except for the reassurance from God, “My grace is sufficient for you...”
Several years ago a popular book came out by an American rabbi entitled When Bad Things Happen to Good People. The book was especially addressed to Jews in this “post Holocaust” age. Many Jews were asking the question Tevia asks in Fiddler on the Roof, “Why, if we are God’s chosen people do we have it so hard?” Of course it is the question many religious people have asked. “Why doesn’t God take better care of his people?” Many good Christian people have asked me the question: the couple who lost their teen aged son in a senseless automobile accident, the friend who had lost her second baby because of a genetic defect. Why in the world doesn’t God just reward good people and punish bad ones?
But of course there are no easy answers. I can point out, as studies indicate, that religious people, on an average, are healthier and live longer. Certainly one of the reasons why the Israelites followed Moses was because God gave them their freedom and took care of them in the wilderness. God was with them as they crossed the Jordan and took possession of their new homeland. They believed that if they followed the commandments and worshiped God, their lives would be blessed. They generally found this to be true. “If we do good things, good things will come our way. If we do bad things, bad things will happen to us.” That's a little oversimplified, but in many ways it worked. It still does.. On a larger scale people have discovered that when nations put most of their resources into weapons, disaster is around the corner. We have discovered that if we pollute the environment with toxic substances, we and our children may die of cancer. To a large extent, if we sow the wind, we reap the worldwind.
But this can be carried too far. At one point the Israelites not only said that bad behavior leads to bad consequences. They said that when bad things happen to people, it always means that they have been guilty of bad behavior or bad faith. This is what Job's friends told him and what his protests were all about. But despite Job, Jesus was confronted with the same claim. In response, Jesus asked about the seventeen people who were unfortunate enough to be underneath when the Tower of Siloam collapsed. "Were these," Jesus asked, "worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem?" In another place Jesus observed that God makes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust. There is no one-to-one relationship between good things happening and good people and bad things happening and bad people. I sometimes think that life would be a lot easer if this were not true, but it just isn't so. As much as I would like to say "Come to St. Margaret’s Church, say your prayers, have faith, and life automatically will be smooth sailing for you!" I just can't say it, because it isn't so.
When I said something like this to a friend some years ago, he asked me why in the world anyone would anyone want to be a Christian. I gave him three reasons. The first reason is that Christians are dedicated to lowering the amount of suffering and misery in the world. We are convinced that this will happen when people begin to love one another and be as much concerned for their neighbor's good as for their own.
The second reason I told him why I am a Christian is that there is a quality of life which I experience in living by faith, in trusting my life, my present, my future to God which beats anything else I know. Trusting in God and loving God and my neighbor makes for a more satisfying life than a life of trusting in myself and trying to win out over everyone else. I suppose that even if you could convince me that my faith is all a collection of mistaken beliefs, I would still say that living it for all these years has been worthwhile.
The third reason I told him why I am a Christian is that though bad things may happen to me, though I may experience tragedy for myself or those I most care about, I know that I am never alone in that experience. Not only do I have friends who live by the same faith I live by who will be with me and care about what is happening to me, but we have a God who has experienced everything that we can experience, the worst of separation, pain, suffering and death, and has shown us that tragedy is not the last word. Resurrection is the last word, resurrection not only in a promise of future happiness and fulfillment in another world, but resurrection in this world by love which transforms the deepest pain of human life into victory and peace.
Yes, we still have “thorns in the flesh” and bad things will still happen to good people, but I am convinced that God is still in charge, and his love will give us the final answer and solution.