"Why Ask Why?"
A sermon preached on The Third Sunday of Easter, April 22, 2007 at Edgemont Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp. Sermon based on Luke 13:1-5 and is in response to the V.T. tragedy.
This has been a difficult week for all of us. A week filled with sadness and grief, shock and anger, fear and questions. In some respects we feel helpless and hopeless. Sure, we read about things like this occurring in other places of the world, but we never expect anything like this to happen in our own backyard - thirty-three people dead - thirty-three lives taken within a few short hours, including the gunman. Lives full of possibilities, many of whom were still very young and had the whole world ahead of them. Now, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, friends and colleagues are gone and, as we have seen through countless news coverage, their lives will be gravely missed.
But in the midst of it all, we can’t help but ask "Why?" Why did this happen? Why would God allow something like this to take place? And friends, these are natural questions - questions that have been asked for centuries. In fact, these same questions were asked in our Gospel Lesson this morning.
Some of you may recall that in April of 1990 the Budweiser company introduced a new beer called "Bud Dry." Along with this new beer came the soon to be popular slogan of "Why ask why? Drink Bud Dry." Although, it was initially a popular beer, over time its sales began to decline and soon it no longer received commercial attention. But perhaps the question of "why ask why? still remains popular. This is often the response given to those real tough questions, such as; "If there is a God then why is there so much suffering and evil in the world?" This question has often been called the "Achilles heel" of Christianity. It is that vulnerable point that brings it under scrutiny and criticism.
In R. C. Sproul’s book; Reasons to Believe he quotes John Stuart Mill who said; "If God desires there to be evil in the world, then he is not good. If he does not desire there to be evil, yet evil exists, then he is not omnipotent. Thus, if evil exists God is either not loving or not all-powerful. Evil casts a shadow over God’s love and power."
The theological word to deal with such questions as posed by Mill and others is the word theodicy. Theodicy is the attempt to explain how God can be just and still allow evil and suffering in the world. This word comes form the Greek root words of Theos meaning "God" and dikos meaning "just."
We are told through Scripture that our Loving God has created us and given us freewill, the freedom of choice. And certainly sin comes from that freedom of choice. Albert Einstein described evil in this way; "Darkness is the absence of light. Cold is the absence of heat. Hate is the absence of love. Evil is the absence of good." Or better yet, one could say, that spiritual darkness, cold, hate, evil are all the absence of God!
In our Gospel Lesson this morning we find a group of people coming to Jesus for some answers, they want answers as to why innocent blood was shed. In fact, notice that their questions to Jesus cover everything pertaining to human tragedy: those that are humanly initiated and those caused by nature. But notice also that Jesus gives them a different response then the one they were looking for. R. C. Sproul said; Jesus didn’t say, "I know that the Old Testament says that ‘He who keeps Israel neither sleeps nor slumbers,’ but you guys have got to understand that this is just Hebrew poetry, even God gets tired from time to time. He must have fallen a sleep when this tragedy happened." Nor did Jesus say; "I know that I said that the hairs of your head are numbered and that my Father knows every sparrow that touches the earth. But I was just trying to make a point. Don’t push it too far."
Rather, look at what Jesus said; "I tell you the truth, unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:5). This has been classified by many theologians as one of those tough sayings of Jesus’.
Notice, first of all, how Jesus, in our Gospel Lesson, lumps violence and suffering together. Whether caused by human or natural fault, it makes not difference to him: evil is evil, hurt is hurt, pain is pain. There is no degree when it comes to experiencing disaster. Suffering is suffering, in spite of its source.
Secondly, Jesus doesn’t answer the questions posed to him. Or at least, he doesn't give the answer we're looking for. Instead, he simply says, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered thus? I tell you, no."
I don’t know why this is, but in most cases, it is our human nature after asking the "Why?" question, to then follow it by the "What did I do to deserve this?" question. You see the people who poised these questions to Jesus grew up with the belief that sin and suffering were connected. In other words, if suffering became your lot then it was because of something bad you did or were doing.
Now I am happy to say that Jesus puts to rest that notion. He doesn’t answer the questions poised to him about the Galileans and those people of Jerusalem, because there isn’t one. When someone like Pilate swings a sword, or points a gun, or gets behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated, the closest person is going to get killed. When the earth heaves and a structure falls, anyone underneath, good or bad, perishes. God doesn’t cause it, nor does he send it because he wants to pick on us. Rather, such things come as a result of living in a broken, sinful and fallen world. Life is simply not fair, and more importantly no one ever said it was going to be.
Harold Kushner, a well-known Jewish rabbi and writer, wrote the book; When Bad Things Happen to Good People, which was a best selling among those wrestling with this whole idea of theodicy - the justice of God. He writes; "Life is a spin on the wheel of luck, good and bad, and neither is dependent upon a person’s own goodness or badness. In this life things change, evil may prosper while good may suffer, but this too will change. That’s just the way life is."
But I want you to notice how Jesus answers these questions. Jesus is presented with two excellent questions about life’s unfairness’. And he responds, "Do you think that they were worse sinners than you? I tell you, no, but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."
Jesus knows how some questions can deter us from dealing with the primary question which is not about why bad things happen to good people, but rather about how we stand before God.
Sadly, many doubt the existence of a loving God when hard times come. In times of difficulty many stop trusting God whose presence makes suffering, confusion, and tragedy bearable. We, like those who asked before us want answers about life’s unfairness’. But Jesus forces us to examine our relationship with God. And that, my friends, is the point, we don’t want God, we want answers. We want a god who can promise a life that is full of happiness and prosperity, a life with no sickness, no pain, no hurt, no financial troubles - only happiness. But that is impossible, life is full of problems and those problems are sometimes going to be our problems; that is why we need God, and more importantly why we need a Savor.
But in the midst of it all, we can’t help but ask "Why?" Why did this happen? Why would God allow something like this to take place? And friends, these are natural questions - questions that have been asked for centuries. In fact, these same questions were asked in our Gospel Lesson this morning.
Some of you may recall that in April of 1990 the Budweiser company introduced a new beer called "Bud Dry." Along with this new beer came the soon to be popular slogan of "Why ask why? Drink Bud Dry." Although, it was initially a popular beer, over time its sales began to decline and soon it no longer received commercial attention. But perhaps the question of "why ask why? still remains popular. This is often the response given to those real tough questions, such as; "If there is a God then why is there so much suffering and evil in the world?" This question has often been called the "Achilles heel" of Christianity. It is that vulnerable point that brings it under scrutiny and criticism.
In R. C. Sproul’s book; Reasons to Believe he quotes John Stuart Mill who said; "If God desires there to be evil in the world, then he is not good. If he does not desire there to be evil, yet evil exists, then he is not omnipotent. Thus, if evil exists God is either not loving or not all-powerful. Evil casts a shadow over God’s love and power."
The theological word to deal with such questions as posed by Mill and others is the word theodicy. Theodicy is the attempt to explain how God can be just and still allow evil and suffering in the world. This word comes form the Greek root words of Theos meaning "God" and dikos meaning "just."
We are told through Scripture that our Loving God has created us and given us freewill, the freedom of choice. And certainly sin comes from that freedom of choice. Albert Einstein described evil in this way; "Darkness is the absence of light. Cold is the absence of heat. Hate is the absence of love. Evil is the absence of good." Or better yet, one could say, that spiritual darkness, cold, hate, evil are all the absence of God!
In our Gospel Lesson this morning we find a group of people coming to Jesus for some answers, they want answers as to why innocent blood was shed. In fact, notice that their questions to Jesus cover everything pertaining to human tragedy: those that are humanly initiated and those caused by nature. But notice also that Jesus gives them a different response then the one they were looking for. R. C. Sproul said; Jesus didn’t say, "I know that the Old Testament says that ‘He who keeps Israel neither sleeps nor slumbers,’ but you guys have got to understand that this is just Hebrew poetry, even God gets tired from time to time. He must have fallen a sleep when this tragedy happened." Nor did Jesus say; "I know that I said that the hairs of your head are numbered and that my Father knows every sparrow that touches the earth. But I was just trying to make a point. Don’t push it too far."
Rather, look at what Jesus said; "I tell you the truth, unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:5). This has been classified by many theologians as one of those tough sayings of Jesus’.
Notice, first of all, how Jesus, in our Gospel Lesson, lumps violence and suffering together. Whether caused by human or natural fault, it makes not difference to him: evil is evil, hurt is hurt, pain is pain. There is no degree when it comes to experiencing disaster. Suffering is suffering, in spite of its source.
Secondly, Jesus doesn’t answer the questions posed to him. Or at least, he doesn't give the answer we're looking for. Instead, he simply says, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered thus? I tell you, no."
I don’t know why this is, but in most cases, it is our human nature after asking the "Why?" question, to then follow it by the "What did I do to deserve this?" question. You see the people who poised these questions to Jesus grew up with the belief that sin and suffering were connected. In other words, if suffering became your lot then it was because of something bad you did or were doing.
Now I am happy to say that Jesus puts to rest that notion. He doesn’t answer the questions poised to him about the Galileans and those people of Jerusalem, because there isn’t one. When someone like Pilate swings a sword, or points a gun, or gets behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated, the closest person is going to get killed. When the earth heaves and a structure falls, anyone underneath, good or bad, perishes. God doesn’t cause it, nor does he send it because he wants to pick on us. Rather, such things come as a result of living in a broken, sinful and fallen world. Life is simply not fair, and more importantly no one ever said it was going to be.
Harold Kushner, a well-known Jewish rabbi and writer, wrote the book; When Bad Things Happen to Good People, which was a best selling among those wrestling with this whole idea of theodicy - the justice of God. He writes; "Life is a spin on the wheel of luck, good and bad, and neither is dependent upon a person’s own goodness or badness. In this life things change, evil may prosper while good may suffer, but this too will change. That’s just the way life is."
But I want you to notice how Jesus answers these questions. Jesus is presented with two excellent questions about life’s unfairness’. And he responds, "Do you think that they were worse sinners than you? I tell you, no, but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."
Jesus knows how some questions can deter us from dealing with the primary question which is not about why bad things happen to good people, but rather about how we stand before God.
Sadly, many doubt the existence of a loving God when hard times come. In times of difficulty many stop trusting God whose presence makes suffering, confusion, and tragedy bearable. We, like those who asked before us want answers about life’s unfairness’. But Jesus forces us to examine our relationship with God. And that, my friends, is the point, we don’t want God, we want answers. We want a god who can promise a life that is full of happiness and prosperity, a life with no sickness, no pain, no hurt, no financial troubles - only happiness. But that is impossible, life is full of problems and those problems are sometimes going to be our problems; that is why we need God, and more importantly why we need a Savor.
What Jesus is asking each one of us in our Gospel Lesson this morning is, can you trust God, in joy and in pain, to be your God? Can you let go of your demand to have God on your terms? Can you love God without linking that love to the cards life deals you?
Someone once wrote: "God didn’t promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain; but God did promise strength for each day, comfort for every tear, and light for our way." And so, in times such as these, we must turn to our Loving and Just God and find the comfort and peace that only God can give us. In times, such as these, Jesus reminds us that we need a Savior. Thomas More reminds us; "Earth has no sorrow that [God] cannot heal." And so, let us turn to God - the Great Physician that we might find healing in this time of great pain.
Someone once wrote: "God didn’t promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain; but God did promise strength for each day, comfort for every tear, and light for our way." And so, in times such as these, we must turn to our Loving and Just God and find the comfort and peace that only God can give us. In times, such as these, Jesus reminds us that we need a Savior. Thomas More reminds us; "Earth has no sorrow that [God] cannot heal." And so, let us turn to God - the Great Physician that we might find healing in this time of great pain.
posted by Pastor Christopher @ 2:18 PM
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