Sermon 19th July 2020 – 7th
Sunday after Pentecost:
Text Matthew 13:24-30,36-43 – The time
of suffering is short.
When the pandemic first caused our
lockdowns in late March we gathered our strength and knew that soon in the
future that this pandemic would all be in the past and we would begin to
recover physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and economically. When
the restrictions began to ease and we could again have church services under
tight restrictions of numbers allowed and cleaning requirements – we were
excited and happy to follow the requirements to the letter of the law and even
over and above what was required of us.
We looked forward to further easing
of restrictions and made plans of increasing our numbers and reintroducing Holy
Communion. We rejoiced at those first services seeing familiar faces on the
Sunday morning and Wednesday afternoons happy that we were coming together
again.
But then the numbers began to get
higher and higher and showed no sign of relenting. And then last week we heard
the inevitable – back into stage 3 lockdowns for greater Melbourne for 6 weeks.
That news was devastating to say the least. And the feeling of this relapse is
worse than the original lockdown that we had to undergo.
You wonder what Paul must have had in
mind when he wrote that about the world groaning in pain. The reality is that
our world and humanity have groaned under the weight of suffering from the
moment evil entered into creation by way of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and
Evil from which Adam and Eve ate. There has been famine, disease, droughts,
floods, war, crime and a whole host of suffering which has caused creation and
humanity to groan – and that’s just in the opening chapters of Genesis.
But also in the opening Chapters of
Genesis God dealt with limiting the extent of our suffering and groaning by
withdrawing the Tree of Life from the Garden of Eden and limiting human life
even further than what we see in the likes of Adam, Noah, Methuselah and others
who lived to around 800 to 900 years. God limited life to no more than 120
years. God wanted to eradicate all human life and sent a flood, but there was
something special, something unique in human life – something intimate that he
did not have with the heavenly realm that saw him continue human life that was
created in his own image. So God shortened human life to limit the extent of
human suffering. And I guess that’s something we never really understand. That
God loves us so much that he wants human life to continue but because of free
will he doesn’t remove the evil and suffering that entered into the world as a
result of our free will to disobey – but God has put it on a very short tether.
And so Paul says: I consider that the
sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to
be revealed to us.
Human life is created in the image of
God and is special to God so he didn’t, or rather couldn’t just end it when we
disobeyed him in the Garden of Eden. So God is working with this dilemma. Allowing
the creation and humanity that he loves with his whole heart to continue to
exist but also showering his blessings on us which sadly we don’t see clearly
because of suffering. So God, in his love for the world, limited human life
span and sent his own Son as a human being to pay the full price of our disobedience
and guarantee that when we die we enter into the eternal bliss that God had
always planned for us. And again, that’s what Paul says – our eternal life is
guarantee through Christ: Because, we are children of God, and if children,
then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ-- if, in fact, we suffer
with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
And it can challenge our faith
wondering what is God doing. But let us remember what Paul says – this
suffering is like the suffering of birth pains – of labour about to give birth.
Even if we can’t see what God is
doing. Remember what Hebrews says about faith: faith is confidence in what we
hope for and assurance about what we do not see. What we don’t see is how God
is using this suffering for good. What we hope for is that this suffering
produces perseverance, perseverance, character and character hope – and hope
will not disappoint us. We would all love for this to be over – for things to
go back to the way things were. But let’s be honest – the way things were
included a church that was declining – a Christian faith that was struggling
for relevance. So let us remember what Joseph said to his brothers – what
humans intend for evil God uses for good. I’m as disappointed as anyone that we
have been forced back into lockdown but I am assured, and assure you too that
Christian hope will never disappoint us.
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