Romans 8:18 28 Last weekend Pastor Hey Young beautifully expressed the wonderful truth that as God s children we are blessed. And most importantly we understand our blessing not so much in terms of material wealth, or good health, or what we might consider good circumstances, but we are blessed because of our relationship with God who has come near to us, who meets us where we are, who pours out his infinite love. We are blessed because we are loved we are the beloved children of God. And so today continue our series on the Life of the Beloved. We re looking at what it means to become the Beloved. Henri Nouwen uses the imagery of communion the bread: taken, blessed, broken, and given. Today we are looking at how we are broken. Well, it doesn t take much convincing to say we live in a broken world. Everyday we are confronted with news about human suffering, there s people who are starving, people struggling in the depths of poverty, we hear news of shootings and violence. Attacks on people both physically and verbally. There s no doubt about it we live in a broken world. What we soon discover is that none of us is immune from this brokenness. The impact of a fallen world touches us directly and the troubles and crises of life are never far from us. Sometimes it is our own sin and our own wrong choices that reveal our brokenness and sometimes it is a result of just living in a broken world. This same world that brings so much suffering and crises also attempts to bring its own solution to our brokenness. Have you ever noticed now many self help books you can find in a library or book store. Or how many different self help groups there are. As a culture we are fascinated and often fixated on people s problems or troubles or scandals and we have made scandals and personal attacks our source of entertainment. Just consider our presidential campaigns. It s the world we live in. There was a time when people were very reluctant to talk about their problems, no one wanted to admit a weakness, but now exposing one s flaws has become even trendy, we are much more open about sharing our faults and our brokenness. There s pretty much a name for every kind of problem. Some of those problems are quite interesting. Any of you who work in an office will appreciate this. One management consultant based in Texas has diagnosed a major executive disorder which he calls desk stress. And his company offers desk stress reduction kits and programs to help executives cope with the need to strip their desks of clutter and Page 1 of 5
better organize their files. I think Joanna wished I would suffer from this stress more often, so I would keep my own desk neater. Oh, but then I came across this picture of Albert Einstein and I didn t feel so bad. Well, there are crises and there are crises, and obviously some are more serious than others, but we are all impacted to some degree or another by living in a broken world. Henri Nouwen describes it like this: Our sufferings and our pains are not simply bothersome interruptions of our lives; rather, they touch us in our uniqueness and our most intimate individuality. And as you come to worship this morning, you may be feeling the pain and struggle of your own brokenness. There are times when we go through personal pain and struggle, times of frustration or confusion, feelings of discouragement or even despair. I was reading how the prophet Jeremiah was being tormented by his personal pain. Listen to his words of anguish as he thinks about his life: My grief is beyond healing, my heart is sick within me. Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears. My heart is broken within me. All my bones tremble. I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Maybe there have been times in your life that you have felt that way or perhaps they express what you may be feeling this morning when you came to worship. A person broken, a person struggling to make sense of it all. I believe part of the struggle we face is looking to deny what we are feeling or looking for some quick fix solution. If I could just pretend that this situation does not exist, or if I could just read this self help book, or attend this 3 step program, my problems will instantly disappear. Brokenness is a part of who we are. When we can embrace it, we begin to allow God to bring us forgiveness, peace and healing. God s perspective on our brokenness is different from our culture that is bent on entertainment and finding an easy way out. We may want to look for the easy road, the path of least resistance, but the message of the Bible is that God wants to be with us through the long haul. To be present with us in our struggles and pain. To be our refuge and strength in the midst of our troubles and suffering. That s exactly how the Psalmist describes it in Psalm 46. God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present help in trouble. The New Testament offers these words for our faith: Cast you cares upon him, because God cares for you. I like the J. B. Philip s translation of this Page 2 of 5
verse: You can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon him, for you are his personal concern. Henri Nouwen s approach to dealing with our brokenness connects clearly with this biblical understanding. When he asks: How can we respond to this brokenness? He says, we must befriend it and put into under the blessing. Because our initial response to trials and suffering is to try and avoid it. We would try to shelter ourselves from these painful experiences but Nouwen makes a powerful statement about human suffering on page 93: my own pain in life has taught me that the first step to healing is not a step away from the pain, but a step toward it. Because it is then that we are willing to confront it, recognize it for what it is and even to believe that God can use our trials and pain to strengthen and deepen our faith. God sees us as broken people, but can transform us and use our brokenness for a greater good. There s a story of a water bearer who, every day for years, carried two large pots on a pole across his neck. Now, because one of the pots had a crack in it, the long walk from the stream left it only half full. This went on for two years, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots of water to his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, flawlessly fulfilling its course in life. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been created to do. After two years of what felt like bitter failure, the cracked pot finally spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. Timidly, it confessed, "I m ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you." "What are you ashamed of?" asked the man. "I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and still don't get full value from your efforts." The water bearer, feeling sorry for the old pot, picked it up and slowly carried it back up the hill to the house. As he did, he said to his friend, do you see all of the beautiful flowers along the side of the path? Do you notice that these flowers are only on your side, not on the other pots side? That's because I've always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I've been able to pick these beautiful Page 3 of 5
flowers and decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house." God can take our brokenness and make something beautiful out of our lives. The words of our Scripture reading today are words that at first reading may seem so difficult to apply. Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds. Count it pure joy? But notice what follows: because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. The only way I could have that kind of perspective to consider these trials pure joy would be to believe God is working for my good and will ultimately accomplish his purposes seeing me as one of his beloved children. Nouwen states that the great secret of the spiritual life, the life of the Beloved Sons and Daughters of God, is that everything we live, be it gladness or sadness, joy or pain, health or illness, can all be part of the journey toward the full realization of our humanity. The same prophet Jeremiah who wept in anguish offers a word of hope to a people who had faced suffering and the agony of being held in captivity by the Babylonians. He that scattered Israel, will gather and keep us, as a shepherd does his flock. God gathers us, keeps us in the midst of our sorrows and our brokenness. The word of promise of Jeremiah becomes our promise: I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. Our second response to our brokenness,nouwen says, is putting it under the blessing not to see our suffering as though it was some kind of curse, but believing God has the power to transform our brokenness. What may have seemed like a heavy burden, becomes an opportunity to grow stronger, when at first we felt like God was punishing us, we realize God may be pruning us to be more Christlike. We ve been looking each week at some of the powerful statements in Romans 8 and again the apostle Paul offers a very important word for us in verse 28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. God working for our good even in suffering. God transforming our brokenness. I close with the illustration that Henri Nouwen shared at the end of his chapter on brokenness. He describes a scene from Leonard Bernstein s Mass. A priest who is richly dressed in his liturgical vestments, is lifted up by his people carrying in his hands a glass chalice. When suddenly, this human pyramid falls, and the priest comes crashing down, his vestments Page 4 of 5
ripped off and the glass chalice shatters as it hits the floor. And then you see the priest walking through the debri, now barefoot, in jeans and a T shirt. And he notices the broken chalice. And after looking at it for a long time he finally states: I never realized that broken glass could shine so brightly. That s part of who we are as broken people, that God can take those broken pieces, this God who sees us as his beloved child, God can make those pieces shine brightly and transform our brokenness so that we can shine even brighter for the kingdom of God. Because of what Jesus has done for us, he offers grace and forgiveness. He offers a way to made whole. Whatever you are facing this day, whatever challenges are may be struggling with, whatever pain you may be feeling. Know that you are God s child, deeply loved, and the God who knows your brokenness, meets you where you are, and can even transform your brokenness for your greater good. I thank God that we can turn to the Lord who sees us as his beloved and helps us to face our deepest needs and hurts, no matter how difficult it is, no matter how painful they may be. I invite you to come to the table this morning, and as the bread is broken, remember the Lord who was broken for you, reaches out to you, and meets you here, understands your need, and wants to transform your brokenness. Page 5 of 5