No one likes to suffer. No one jumps at the opportunity to face
trials and tribulations. Yet this passage from Romans 5 gives us a new insight
into suffering that can transform the way in which we experience it.
Romans 5 is in the midst of Paul’s discussion of justification
and righteousness. He spends the previous chapter telling the story of Abraham,
and how his faith was reckoned to him as righteousness. Even though God’s
plan did not make sense to him, “hoping against hope, he believed .
. .” (4:18, nrsv). We too, when we believe, receive righteousness (v.
24). Into this discussion Paul inserts his discussion on suffering.
For Paul, the end result of Christian suffering is hope. And
hope “does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured
into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (5:5,
nrsv). We have access to this hope because of the incarnation, death, and
resurrection of Jesus. When we and our loved ones suffer, we have a hope in
the midst of that suffering. If the Father can raise Jesus from the dead,
He can raise us, too. The death He died was for us, as was His resurrection.
Through faith in Jesus, we are offered a powerful hope that is stronger than
even death.
It doesn’t take much to notice the suffering of people
in our world, both inside and outside the Church. Tornadoes in the Plains
wipe out churches along with drug houses. Car accidents happen. Cancer ravages
the lives of people close to us. The phone rings in the middle of the night,
and another family is in crisis.
On any given Sunday, there are folks in our pews who have spent the week suffering.
During such times, people are searching for answers to tough questions. Where
is God when bad things happen to good people? Did this have to happen? What
is God’s plan here? I cringe every time I hear someone, particularly
in our tradition, say, “well, it’s all part of God’s plan.
God needed your dad in heaven more than here.” This blatantly Calvinist
response, and others like it, is not what we believe as Wesleyan-holiness
people.
God’s answer to the question of human suffering is himself.
He may not ever answer the question “why?” but this does not mean
He does not give an answer. His answer is His very presence, revealed to us
through the work of the Holy Spirit (5:5). His presence brings us a hope that
will not ever disappoint us.
Instead of cliché one-liners that offer little hope or help, God meets
our suffering with everything He is: Emmanuel, God with us. His presence transforms
our suffering into hope.
In the face of suffering, we must live in the hope we have,
hoping against hope, if need be. Times like these are rubber-meets-the-road
moments where we discover God’s promises are true. He does provide His
strength and presence where people are hurting. If we lack faith, we must
ask the Lord to help our unbelief. We must pray for God to reveal himself
in the hospital rooms, jail cells, funeral parlors, and homes where people
are suffering. Finally, we must offer ourselves as the literal body of Christ
to walk alongside those who suffer, allowing God to use us to share hope with
them.
(For the full manuscript of this sermon
go to www.preachersmagazine.org and click on “Sermons.”)
Again, a good drama or song can set this passage up nicely.
In this sermon, I want to challenge some of the “pop theology”
ideas that find their way into the Church through radio, books, and other
media. For Paul, suffering is a fact of life, not necessarily part of God’s
predestined plan for our lives. Bad things do happen to good people, and there
may not be a good answer as to why. What we do know is God is with us, and
offers us hope no matter how bad it gets.
In preaching this passage, don’t forget to allow the people the space and freedom to suffer. This might sound weird, but sometimes we press too hard for people to put on a happy face and worship God. Don’t forget the book of Lamentations here, as well as the Psalms of lament. Acknowledging the dark moments in life gives our people space to honestly offer their suffering to the Lord.
