For the past several months Pr. Bea s sermons have been edited as standard text for the Web site. Some people have wondered if we could get closer to the sermon feel if we used Pr. Bea s actual formatting for speaking. We are starting an experiment to determine which format people prefer to read Pr. Bea s sermons. Both options will be available in the same file. Each option will alternate being first to avoid bias. Option A is as Pr. Bea has organized the text for speaking. Option B is as the text has been reorganized for reading. We need your feedback to help us determine which option to choose. Pastor Beate Chun St. Francis Lutheran Church, San Francisco, California Date: March 1, 2015 Sunday: Lent 2 Text: Mark 8:31 Theme: God is Not Separate From Our Suffering Grace to you and peace from the One who is, and the One who was, and the One who is to come. Option B O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder Consider all the worlds thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee: How great thou art! How great thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee: How great thou art! How great thou art! Many of our most beloved hymns urge us to look at nature to get a glimpse of the glory and majesty of God. Look! The stars, how beautiful they are! Look how the eagle takes flight. Look at the sunset, and the bees dancing in the air, and the whales breaching high out of the water, and geese migrating north. Look at the cherry blossoms in spring time, and the unique crystal of each snow flake, and the delicate construction of a sea shell. There is so much in nature that is surprising, lovely, breathtaking, delightful, and mysterious. And we sense, don t we, that all this astonishing beauty points to the glory and majesty of God. And it is not just in nature. It is also in music, in art, and in the wonder and mystery of human love. It is at the breathtaking moment when a child is born, and the sacred moment when a soul passes from this world to the next. In all those moments we can sense something of God s presence, we can sense God s power at work. And then there was Jesus. When Jesus first came into the world and walked on this earth, and healed, and prayed, and blessed, and then was executed, and died, and then became alive again, some people said, Here is yet another glimpse of God s glory, just like all the other beautiful and powerful glimpses all around us. But others said, No, no, no. Jesus was more than that, Jesus was more than one more reflection of God, Jesus was God, God walking on earth. 3-1-15 Sermon God is Not Separate From Our Suffering 1
But how can that be? How can the almighty God be a human being, and walk on earth? The debate went on and on. For the first 300 years Christians could not come to an agreement about this question: Was Jesus simply a remarkable human being, a great rabbi, an inspiring prophet, but in the end really a human being like you and me, or was Jesus God? And when we look closely at our Gospel reading for today, we can see why the first Christians had such difficulties. Here it says, Then Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. (Mark 8:31) Jesus often referred to himself as the Son of Man rather than Son of God. And Son of Man simply means human being. And so for a long time the debate went back and forth. Was Jesus a reflection of God or was Jesus truly God? Eventually, at the Council of Nicea the matter was settled. Jesus was declared, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father But at the same time a human being, God in the flesh, walking among us. Now this is why this debate matters: When we say that Jesus was God, then we have a new way of seeing God, new places to look for God. God is not just in the sunset, and the starry sky and the cherry blossoms, but also in suffering and dying. God is in the torture chamber, and I don t mean that God s spirit is present to comfort the torture victims, I mean that God is the torture victim. God is the torture victim, just like God is the hungry child craving food, or the sick woman yearning for comfort, or the naked person in need of clothing, or the stranger hoping for a welcome. Jesus once said, Whatever you do for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you do for me. (Matthew 25:40) And if Jesus is God, then whatever we do to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, we do to it to God. There is a famous Christmas song by Mark Lowry and it goes like this: Mary did you know that your baby boy will someday walk on water? Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters? Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new? This child that you ve delivered, will soon deliver you. Did you know that your baby has walked where angels trod? And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God? Inspired by this song, we could say to each other, Do you know, my friends, that whenever you hold the hand of a neighbor or a stranger, you hold the hand of God? When you wipe away a tear, you wipe it from the face of God? And this also means that when we suffer, when it is our tears that flow, God is not separate from our suffering. When we struggle, when we hurt, God is enduring our suffering with us. When we lie down on the sickbed, God is on the mattress with us. 3-1-15 Sermon God is Not Separate From Our Suffering 2
There was once a time when I was very sick, and suddenly, in the midst of my grave illness my prayer changed. In my sickness God was so close and so much part of me, that I could no longer tell where I ended and where God began. And during that time my prayer was no longer a prayer which addressed God, because that would have been as strange as talking to my own foot or to my own arm. Instead, my prayer was simply a quiet surrender, a letting go into God. After I recovered I lost this sense of being in God, but I still can remember it well, and once in a while I still pray that way, I try to become quiet and surrender into God. I am grateful for this experience because I know it happens sometimes but not all the time. It did not happen to Jesus. Jesus on the cross cried out, My God why have you forsaken me. And since we affirm that really it was God suffering on the cross, then we must speak about some sort of deep self-alienation within God which means that the suffering on the cross was not just physical, but included mind and spirit. A suffering not relieved by peace until the very end. But then, after the suffering, there was a place beyond darkness. There was light and joy and life. And Jesus walked through this passage into death and through death into new life. And then he said, Take up your cross and follow me. Did he intend for us to stop having fun and start leading a miserable life of suffering? Of course not! Jesus came that we should have life and have it abundantly. But crosses do come into our lives whether we want them or not. Actually, no one wants the cross, not even Jesus. Before his death he prayed very earnestly in the garden, that if there was any other way, any way at all, he would rather not endure the cross. But when there was no other way, then he took up his cross and walked towards the dark and towards death, and then through death to the light and life. So, crosses come into our lives unbidden. They come because life is fragile and our bodies are fragile and can be invaded by illness and pain. And sometimes the crosses come when justice is perverted and we are accused innocently, the way Jesus was accused innocently. And sometimes the crosses come when our best friends betray us, the way Jesus was betrayed by Judas. And sometimes the cross come when our friends let us down in the very moment we need them most, the way the disciples abandoned Jesus and let him suffer alone on the cross. And sometimes the cross comes as a consequence of our own self-destructive nature. We know a choice is a bad choice, and we make the bad choice anyway, and then we suffer. And in all these different ways crosses come into our lives. But when we are faced with such a cross Jesus tells us do not be afraid, come, take your cross and hold my hand. I can get you through this. I have been there before. I have found a way that leads through this darkness into life. Trust me and have faith. And so, the stars in the night sky and the majesty of the mountains have one more message for us. Not only do they declare the glory of God, not only do they offer us a glimpse of the power of God, but they also remind us that this same God who created all this astonishing beauty is holding us with tender care. And this same God will still hold us when we pass from this world to the next. And at no moment are we ever separate from God and nothing in this world can ever separate us from God s love. This is most certainly true. Amen. O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder Consider all the worlds thy hands have made, Option A 3-1-15 Sermon God is Not Separate From Our Suffering 3
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed: Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee: How great thou art! How great thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee: How great thou art! How great thou art! Many of our most beloved hymns urge us to look at nature to get a glimpse of the glory and majesty of God. Look! The stars, how beautiful they are! Look how the eagle takes flight, Look at the sunset... and the bees dancing in the air and the whales breaching high out of the water and geese migrating north. Look at the cherry blossoms in spring time and the unique crystal of each snow flake and the delicate construction of a sea shell. There is so much in nature that is surprising, lovely, breathtaking, delightful, and mysterious. And we sense, don t we, that all this astonishing beauty points to the glory and majesty of God. And it is not just in nature. It is also in music, in art, and in the wonder and mystery of human love. It is at the breathtaking moment when a child is born, and the sacred moment when a soul passes from this world to the next. In all those moments we can sense something of God s presence, we can sense God s power at work. And then there was Jesus. When Jesus first came into the world and walked on this earth, and healed, and prayed, and blessed, and then was executed, and died, and then became alive again, some people said, Here is yet another glimpse of God s glory, just like all the other beautiful and powerful glimpses all around us. But others said, No, no, no! Jesus was more than that, 3-1-15 Sermon God is Not Separate From Our Suffering 4
Jesus was more than one more reflection of God, Jesus was God, God walking on earth. But how can that be? How can the almighty God be a human being, and walk on earth? The debate went on and on. For the first 300 years, Christians could not come to an agreement about this question. Was Jesus simply a remarkable human being, a great rabbi, an inspiring prophet, but in the end really a human being like you and me, or was Jesus God? And when we look closely at our Gospel reading for today, we can see why the first Christians had such difficulties. Here it says, Then Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. (Mark 8:31) Jesus often referred to himself as the Son of Man rather than Son of God. And Son of Man simply means human being. And so for a long time the debate went back and forth, Was Jesus a reflection of God or was Jesus truly God? Eventually, at the Council of Nicea the matter was settled. Jesus was declared: the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father But at the same time a human being, God in the flesh, walking among us. Now this is why this debate matters: When we say that Jesus was God, then we have a new way of seeing God, new places to look for God, God is not just in the sunset, and the starry sky and the cherry blossoms, but also in suffering and dying. God is in the torture chamber, and I don t mean 3-1-15 Sermon God is Not Separate From Our Suffering 5
that God s spirit is present to comfort the torture victims, I mean that God is the torture victim. God is the torture victim, just like God is the hungry child craving food, or the sick woman yearning for comfort, or the naked person in need of clothing, or the stranger hoping for a welcome. Jesus once said: Whatever you do for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you do for me. (Matthew 25:40) And if Jesus is God, then whatever we do to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, we do to it to God. There is a famous Christmas song by Mark Lowry and it goes like this: Mary did you know that your baby boy will someday walk on water? Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters? Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new? This child that you ve delivered, will soon deliver you. Did you know that your baby has walked where angels trod? And when your kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God? Inspired by this song, we could say to each other, Do you know, my friends, that whenever you hold the hand of a neighbor or a stranger, you hold the hand of God? When you wipe away a tear, you wipe it from the face of God? And this also means that when we suffer, when it is our tears that flow, God is not separate from our suffering. When we struggle, when we hurt, God is enduring our suffering with us. When we lie down on the sickbed, God is on the mattress with us. There was once a time when I was very sick, and suddenly, in the midst of my grave illness my prayer changed. In my sickness God was so close and so much part of me, that I could no longer tell where I ended and where God began. And during that time my prayer was no longer a prayer which addressed God, because that would have been as strange as talking to my own foot or to my own arm. Instead, my prayer was simply a quiet surrender, a letting go into God. After I recovered I lost this sense of being in God, 3-1-15 Sermon God is Not Separate From Our Suffering 6
but I still can remember it well, and once in a while I still pray that way, I try to become quiet and surrender into God. I am grateful for this experience because I know it happens sometimes but not all the time. It did not happen to Jesus. Jesus on the cross cried out, My God why have you forsaken me. And since we affirm that really it was God suffering on the cross, then we must speak about some sort of deep self-alienation within God. Which means that the suffering on the cross was not just physical, but included mind and spirit. A suffering not relieved by peace until the very end. But then, after the suffering, there was a place beyond darkness there was light and joy and life. And Jesus walked through this passage into death and through death into new life. And then he said Take up your cross and follow me. Did he intend for us to stop having fun and start leading a miserable life of suffering? Of course not! Jesus came that we should have life and have it abundantly. But crosses do come into our lives whether we want them or not. Actually, no one wants the cross, not even Jesus. Before his death he prayed very earnestly in the garden, that if there was any other way any way at all, he would rather not endure the cross. But when there was no other way, then he took up his cross and walked towards the dark and towards death, and then through death to the light and life. So, crosses come into our lives unbidden, they come because life is fragile and our bodies are fragile and can be invaded by illness and pain. And sometimes the crosses come when justice is perverted and we are accused innocently, 3-1-15 Sermon God is Not Separate From Our Suffering 7
the way Jesus was accused innocently. And sometimes the crosses come when our best friends betray us, the way Jesus was betrayed by Judas. And sometimes the cross come when our friends let us down in the very moment we need them most, the way the disciples abandoned Jesus and let him suffer alone on the cross. And sometimes the cross comes as a consequence of our own self-destructive nature. We know a choice is a bad choice, and we make the bad choice anyway and then we suffer. And in all these different ways crosses come into our lives. But when we are faced with such a cross Jesus tells us, do not be afraid, come, take your cross, and hold my hand, I can get you through this. I have been there before. I have found a way that leads through this darkness into life. Trust me and have faith. And so, the stars in the night sky and the majesty of the mountains have one more message for us. Not only do they declare the glory of God, not only do they offer us a glimpse of the power of God, but they also remind us that this same God who created all this astonishing beauty is holding us with tender care. And this same God will still hold us when we pass from this world to the next. And at no moment are we ever separate from God, and nothing in this world can ever separate us from God s love. This is most certainly true. Amen 3-1-15 Sermon God is Not Separate From Our Suffering 8