GOD COMPANIONS US!
Luke 13:1-5; Romans 8:35, 37-39
Rev. Paul Wrightman 8/8/21
WE KNOW FROM SOURCES OUTSIDE THE BIBLE
THAT PONTIUS PILATE HAD ALREADY ESTABLISHED A REPUTATION
FOR RUTHLESS VIOLENCE LONG BEFORE HE SENTENCED JESUS
TO BE CRUCIFIED.
HE ORDERED ROMAN MILITARY BANNERS
TO BE BROUGHT INTO THE CITY OF JERUSALEM,
WHICH TRIGGERED RIOTS, WHICH HE PUT DOWN BY FORCE.
HE ORDERED A NEW AQUEDUCT TO BE BUILT FOR JERUSALEM,
TO BE PAID FOR BY FUNDS FROM THE TEMPLE TREASURY,
FUNDS WHICH WERE RESERVED FOR THE UPKEEP OF THE TEMPLE.
WHEN RIOTING ENSUED, HE HAD PLAINCLOTHED
ROMAN SOLDIERS MINGLE WITH THE CROWDS
AND AT HIS COMMAND BUTCHER MANY OF THE RIOTERS.
SO IT COMES AS NO SURPRISE
THAT AS JESUS WAS JOURNEYING TOWARD JERUSALEM,
SOME WHO CARED ABOUT HIM WARNED HIM AGAINST GOING THERE
BY REMINDING HIM ABOUT ANOTHER OF PILATE’S ATROCITIES:
THE MURDER OF A GROUP OF GALILEANS
AT THE VERY TIME THAT THEY WERE OFFERING WORSHIPPING
IN THE TEMPLE.
HENCE THE WORDING: “WHOSE BLOOD PILATE HAD MIXED
WITH THEIR SACRIFICES.”
THE TWO QUESTIONS JESUS ASKS RESPONDING TO THEIR CONCERN
ABOUT HIS SAFETY EXPAND THE EXCHANGE
WELL BEYOND THEIR ORIGINAL INTENT.
ON A DEEPER LEVEL, THE REMINDER ABOUT PILATE’S VIOLENCE
GAVE VOICE TO A DEEPER CONCERN ABOUT THE PRESENCE
OF SO MUCH UNAVOIDABLE SUFFERING AND EVIL IN LIFE.
JESUS FRAMES HIS TWO QUESTIONS IN SUCH A WAY
AS TO TAKE ON AND REPUDIATE A DISASTROUS BELIEF
MADE BY MANY PEOPLE IN JESUS’ DAY -- AND OURS.
THIS BELIEF, FIRST EXPRESSED IN THE BIBLICAL BOOK
OF DEUTERONOMY, WAS THAT GOD ALWAYS
BLESSED THE GOOD WITH HEALTH AND WEALTH,
AND THAT GOD ALWAYS
CURSED THE BAD WITH ILLNESS AND POVERTY.
ALTHOUGH THIS BELIEF WAS ROUNDLY REJECTED
BY OTHER BIBLICAL BOOKS, NAMELY JOB AND EZEKIEL,
THE AWFUL NOTION THAT GOD ACTIVELY INFLICTED PUNISHMENT
ON PEOPLE BY MAKING THEM SICK OR POOR --
OR ACTUALLY KILLING THEM OUTRIGHT --
WAS STILL THE MAJORITY OPINION IN JESUS’ DAY,
AS IT CONTINUES TO BE
AMONG MANY CHRISTIANS IN OUR OWN DAY.
WE GET ANOTHER ALARMING GLIMPSE
OF THIS MISTAKEN WAY OF THINKING IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN,
WHEN JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES ENCOUNTER A MAN
WHO HAS BEEN BORN BLIND.
UPON SEEING THIS BLIND MAN,
HIS DISCIPLES’ IMMEDIATE QUESTION IS:
“RABBI, WHO SINNED, THIS MAN OR HIS PARENTS,
THAT HE WAS BORN BLIND?”
(John 9:2)
JESUS’ ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION,
MUCH LIKE HIS RESPONSE TO THE TWO QUESTIONS
HE ASKS IN TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING,
IS TO TOTALLY DENY ITS VALIDITY:
“WHO SINNED, THIS MAN OR HIS PARENTS,
THAT HE WAS BORN BLIND?”
JESUS’ RESPONSE IS “NEITHER.”
(John 9:3)
CONCERNING TODAY’S TEXT
AND THOSE UNFORTUNATE GALILEANS
WHO WERE MURDERED WITHIN THE SACRED PRECINCTS
OF THE TEMPLE,
WHEN JESUS ASKED HIS FIRST QUESTION:
DO YOU THINK THAT THESE GALILEANS WERE WORSE SINNERS
THAN ALL THE OTHER GALILEANS
BECAUSE THEY SUFFERED THIS WAY?
HIS AUDIENCE WAS EXPECTING HIM TO ANSWER
IN THE AFFIRMATIVE:
YES, THEY WERE THE WORST –
THIS IS WHY GOD HAD THEM KILLED THIS WAY.
AFTER ASKING – AND ANSWERING –
HIS FIRST QUESTION REGARDING THE GALILEANS,
JESUS IMMEDIATELY MOVES ON THE CONSIDER
ANOTHER RECENT EVENT IN JERUSALEM
THAT PROVOKED THE WHOLE CITY INTO SPECULATING
ABOUT THE DEGREE OF BADNESS OF THOSE WHO HAD PERISHED.
A TOWER HAD SUDDENLY COLLAPSED
AND KILLED EIGHTEEN PEOPLE.
ACCORDING TO THE PREVAILING THOUGHT OF THE DAY,
THESE EIGHTEEN, BY DEFINITION, MUST HAVE BEEN
THE VERY WORST PEOPLE IN JERUSALEM
FOR GOD TO HAVE PUNISHED THEM IN THIS WAY.
SO JESUS ASKS HIS SECOND QUESTION:
OR THOSE EIGHTEEN WHO DIED
WHEN THE TOWER OF SILOAM FELL ON THEM –
DO YOU THINK THEY WERE MORE GUILTY
THAN ALL THE OTHERS LIVING IN JERUSALEM?
AND ONCE AGAIN JESUS REPUDIATES
THE PREVAILING UNDERSTANDING
OF GOD AS PUNISHER-IN-CHIEF:
I TELL YOU, NO!
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING,
ALONG WITH JESUS’ ANSWER TO HIS DISCIPLES’ QUESTION
ABOUT THE MAN BORN BLIND IN JOHN’S GOSPEL,
IS AS CLOSE AS JESUS GETS TO ANSWERING
THE AGE-OLD QUESTION ABOUT THE PREVALENCE
OF SO MUCH SUFFERING AND EVIL IN OUR WORLD.
JESUS TELLS US POINT BLANK
THAT GOD DOES NOT INFLICT SUFFERING OR CAUSE EVIL.
THIS IS, OF COURSE, ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL INFORMATION
ABOUT GOD.
WE HAVE A DEFINITIVE STATEMENT BY JESUS –
WHOM MANY CONSIDER TO BE
GOD’S DEFINITIVE REPRESENTATIVE –
THAT GOD DOES NOT ACT THIS WAY.
BUT THIS DEFINITIVE STATEMENT IS AS FAR AS JESUS GOES.
ALTHOUGH HE ACKNOWLEDGES A DEMONIC SOURCE AND SPREAD
OF EVIL IN THE WORLD,
JESUS DOES NOT GO ON TO SPECULATE ABOUT WHY THIS IS SO.
FOR JESUS, SUFFERING AND EVIL ARE PART OF THE VERY FABRIC
OF LIFE IN THIS WORLD.
HE BELIEVES THAT SOMEDAY THEY WILL BE OVERCOME
WHEN GOD’S KINGDOM IS FULLY PRESENT,
BUT UNTIL THEN, THEY ARE FORCES TO BE CONTENDED WITH
AND FOUGHT AGAINST, BUT NEVER TO BE FULLY UNDERSTOOD.
WESTERN CIVILIZATION,
INCLUDING WESTERN PHILOSOPHY AND WESTERN THEOLOGY,
HAS SPENT LITERALLY THOSANDS OF YEARS
TRYING TO COME UP WITH
A SATISFACTORY INTELLECTUAL EXPLANATION
FOR WHAT IT HAS LABELED “THE PROBLEM OF SUFFERING AND EVIL.”
PROBLEMS ARE MEANT TO BE SOLVED,
AND THE WESTERN TRADITION
IS STILL BEATING ITSELF UP TRYING TO SOLVE THIS ONE.
JESUS, ON THE OTHER HAND,
PROVIDES US WITH A RADICALLY ALTERNATIVE APPROACH
TO THE PROBLEM OF SUFFERING AND EVIL.
HE UNDERSTANDS THAT GIVING US A PHILOSOPHICAL
OR EVEN THEOLOGICAL ANSWER COULD NEVER GO FAR ENOUGH.
PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY CAN ONLY GIVE ANSWERS
THAT ARE LIMITED TO THE REALM OF HUMAN INTELLECT,
AND THUS WOULD BE CONSTANTLY TENDING TOWARD
THE ABSTRACT AND IMPERSONAL.
JESUS’ ANSWER TO THE PROBLEM OF SUFFERING AND EVIL
COMES FROM THE DIMENSION OF PERSONAL PRESENCE.
HE KNOWS THAT INTELLECTUAL ANSWERS TO PERSONAL QUESTIONS
MAY IN THE SHORT RUN BE SATISFYING TO THE HEAD,
BUT IN THE LONG RUN ARE WOEFULLY UNSATISFYING TO THE HEART.
HE KNOWS THAT ONLY THE PERSONAL PRESENCE OF GOD –
A BEING WHO IS TOTALLY GOOD, TRUE, AND BEAUTIFUL –
CAN MEET THE BASIC HUMAN NEED
FOR AN ANSWER TO THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
THAT ENGAGES BOTH THE HEART AND HEAD DIMENSIONS
OF THE HUMAN PERSON.
LOOK AT IT THIS WAY:
INSTEAD OF TRYING TO FIND AN ANSWER
TO THE PROBLEM OF SUFFERING AND EVIL
BY GETTING A Ph.D. IN PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY,
JESUS WOULD SAY THAT A MUCH MORE SATISFYING ANSWER
LIES IN THE REALM OF PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP,
IN THIS CASE A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH A PERSONAL GOD.
JESUS TOOK THE RADICAL STEP OF REFERRING TO GOD
AS HIS “ABBA,” OR “DADDY.”
GOD WAS THAT PERSONAL TO JESUS.
AND JESUS INVITES US TO RELATE TO GOD
AS OUR “ABBA,” OR “DADDY.”
WHICH IS MORE HELPFUL WHEN WE GO THROUGH A PERIOD
OF INTENSE SUFFERING IN OUR LIVES –
TO HEAR OR READ AN EXPLANATION
OF THE MEANING OF SUFFERING --
WHICH STILL LEAVES US FEELING AS ALONE AND ISOLATED,
OR TO GO THROUGH A PERIOD OF INTENSE SUFFERING
WITH SOMEONE ELSE?
JESUS TEACHES US THAT GOD IS NOT AN EXPLANATION
BUT A PERSON.
FOR JESUS, GOD IS THE ULTIMATELY GOOD AND CARING PERSON
WHO WANTS TO BE WITH US AND FOR US
IN EVERY DIMENSION OF OUR LIVES.
A LOVING GOD WANTS TO ACCOMPANY US, TO COMPANION US,
THROUGHOUT OUR ENTIRE LIFE JOURNEY.
GOD IS THERE WITH US EVEN IN DEATH.
AND GOD IS THERE WITH US BEYOND DEATH
AS WE CONTINUE TO BE FORMED
INTO THE UNIQUE INDIVIDUAL THAT GOD CREATED US TO BE.
AN ARRESTING AND PROFOUND MOVIE OF RECENT YEARS
IS A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT,
BASED ON THE NOVEL OF THE SAME NAME BY NORMAN MACLEAN.
THE MOVIE TELLS THE STORY OF THE MACLEAN FAMILY,
WHO LIVED IN MONTANA EARLY IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.
THE FATHER OF THE FAMILY WAS A PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER –
STERN BUT LOVING.
HIS WIFE WAS SUPPORTIVE AND NURTURING.
THEY HAD TWO SONS: THE OLDEST, FIRST-BORN NORMAN,
WHO TELLS THE STORY, AND A YOUNGER SON, PAUL.
BUT THE REAL PROTAGONIST OF THE STORY
IS THE RIVER THAT RUNS THROUGH THEIR PART OF MONTANA.
THE RIVER IS THE FOCAL POINT OF THEIR FAMILY LIFE
AND THE CATALYST FOR EVERYTHING SIGNIFICANT
THAT TAKES PLACE IN THEIR INDIVIDUAL LIVES.
IT WAS WALKING ALONG THE BANKS OF THAT RIVER
ON SUNDAY AFTERNOONS THAT THE FATHER
FORGED A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS YOUNG BOYS –
TURNING OVER ROCKS, TEACHING THEM ABOUT THE WORLD,
ABOUT LIFE, AND ABOUT THE GOD WHO MADE IT ALL.
IT WAS THE RIVER THAT THE BOYS RAN TO
AFTER THEIR STUDIES WERE OVER,
AND SIBLING RIVALRY AND BROTHERLY AFFECTION FLOURISHED
AS THEY FISHED FOR TROUT TOGETHER ON THAT BEAUTIFUL STREAM.
WHEN IT CAME TIME FOR THESE ADOLESCENT BOYS
TO PROVE THEIR MOXIE,
THEY TOOK A DEATH-DEFYING RIDE DOWN THE RAPIDS
IN A STOLEN BOAT.
IT WAS ON THE RIVER THAT YOUNG PAUL
MADE A NAME FOR HIMSELF AS THE FINEST FLY-FISHERMAN
IN THE TERRITORY.
WHEN NORMAN CAME BACK FROM COLLEGE
SEARCHING FOR HIMSELF AND HIS ROOTS,
IT WAS TO THE RIVER THAT HE WENT TO FISH,
ALONGSIDE HIS BROTHER.
THE MACLEAN FAMILY KNEW FAILURE AND SUCCESS
AND LAUGHTER AND FIGHTING AND CHANGE AND DISAPPOINTMENT,
BUT ALWAYS THE RIVER WAS THERE.
IT WAS THE DEFINING FORCE AND THE SPIRITUAL CENTER
OF THAT FAMILY.
MONTANA WOULD HAVE BEEN JUST A WILDERNESS,
THEIR HOME FOUR WALLS AND A ROOF,
THEIR INDIVIDUAL LIVES JUST SOUND AND FURY –
IF NOT FOR THE RIVER RUNNING THROUGH IT ALL.
I’D LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT WE LOOK AT THE RIVER
AS A METAPHOR FOR GOD,
A METAPHOR OF GOD’S CONSTANT, CHALLENGING,
CREATIVE, COMPANIONING PRESENCE THROUGHOUT EVERY ASPECT
OF EVERY MEMBER OF THIS FAMILY’S LIVES.
THE “RIVER” OF GOD’S CONSTANT, CHALLENGING,
AND CREATIVE PRESENCE RUNS THROUGH EACH OF OUR LIVES
AS WELL.
INSTEAD OF TAKING THE RIVER FOR GRANTED,
PERHAPS IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE THE HEALING PRESENCE
OF THE RIVER AND TO MAKE THE TIME
TO ENJOY ITS PRESENCE MORE OFTEN.
SINCE WE’RE CONSIDERING MOVIE METAPHORS FOR GOD,
LET’S LOOK AT ANOTHER ONE.
FOR ME, JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER HAS WRITTEN
THE MOST PROFOUND AND POWERFUL NOVEL CONCERNING 9/11.
IT’S CALLED EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE,
AND HAS BEEN MADE INTO A MOVIE OF THE SAME NAME
STARRING TOM HANKS AND SANDRA BULLOCK.
THE BOOK AND MOVIE TELL THE STORY OF OSKAR,
A YOUNG BOY OF EIGHT OR NINE YEARS
WHO HAS A WONDERFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS FATHER.
THIS RELATIONSHIP IS CUT SHORT BY THE TRAGEDY OF 9/11.
OSKAR AND HIS FATHER INVENTED MANY GAMES
TO PLAY TOGETHER,
MANY OF THEM DETECTIVE GAMES INVOLVING CLUES.
AFTER HIS FATHER’S DEATH, OSKAR THINKS THAT HE HAS FOUND
A CLUE THAT WILL BRING HIS FATHER BACK.
THE CLUE IS A KEY AND BELONGS TO SOMEONE
IN NEW YORK CITY WHOSE LAST NAME IS “BLACK.”
SO OSKAR GOES THROUGH THE NEW YORK TELEPHONE DIRECTORY,
WRITING DOWN THE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WHOSE NAME
ENDS IN “BLACK” AND DEVISES A MANY-MONTHS-LONG PLAN
TO SPEAK TO EACH ONE IN PERSON.
HE IS DETERMINED TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY OF THE KEY
AND GET HIS FATHER BACK.
THE MOVIE DETAILS OSKAR’S ADVENTURES MEETING THESE PEOPLE,
AND IN MANY CASES LEARNING ABOUT THE SUFFERING
IN THEIR LIVES.
AT THIS POINT I HAVE TO GIVE A “SPOILER ALERT,”
AS WE MOVE TOWARD THE CLIMAX OF THE BOOK AND MOVIE.
BUT THE IMPACT OF NEITHER BOOK NOR MOVIE IS LESSENED
BY LEARNING ITS OUTCOME.
ITS OUTCOME, OF COURSE, IS THAT THE KEY AND ALL HIS INTERVIEWS
WITH ALL THOSE NAMED “BLACK” IN THE CITY
DOESN’T BRING HIS FATHER BACK.
OSKAR FEELS ESTRANGED FROM HIS MOTHER
AND WONDERS WHY SHE HAS ALLOWED HIM
TO UNDERTAKE THIS POTENTIALLY VERY DANGEROUS ADVENTURE
ON HIS OWN.
IT TURNS OUT THAT HE HASN’T BEEN ON HIS OWN AT ALL.
HIS MOTHER HAS BEEN WITH HIM –
FOLLOWING FROM BEHIND OR PREPARING THE WAY AHEAD OF HIM – EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.
HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN SURROUNDED BY HIS MOTHER’S LOVE –
EVEN IF HE DIDN’T KNOW IT AT ANY GIVEN TIME.
THE METAPHOR WITH GOD IS OBVIOUS.
GOD IS VERY MUCH LIKE OSKAR’S MOTHER:
SOMETIMES TAKEN FOR GRANTED, SOMETIMES REJECTED –
BUT ALWAYS THERE.
OUR METAPHOR TEACHES US THAT THERE IS SIMPLY NO WAY
OF ESCAPING GOD’S PRESENCE IN OUR LIVES.
GOD’S PRESENCE IN OUR LIVES IS A GIVEN,
AN ESSENTIAL PART OF WHO WE ARE.
IF WE CAN’T ESCAPE GOD, WHO MADE US THIS WAY,
PERHAPS THE PATH OF WISDOM LIES IN
ACCEPTING AND ENJOYING A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP
WITH THIS BEING WHO IS DETERMINED TO LOVE US
AND WHO INFINITELY DESIRES THAT WE RETURN THAT LOVE.
AMEN.