Going Ahead Anyway
Sermon
And Then Came the Angel
Gospel Sermons For Advent/Christmas/Epiphany
Did you notice that bad things did not stop happening through the holidays? And is any warning necessary that bad things will happen in every season of this year? Surely there is better news than that, but we ought to be honest about the bad news. Not even the holidays generate enough good will to stop people from blowing up airplanes and destroying people's reputations and abusing children and selling drugs to teenagers and gunning down their neighbors.
In fact, the holidays often elevate stress levels. People spend money they don't have on gifts, and the financial strain creates worry. People miss loved ones so much that the joy is hollow. Others find the stress of their families being together to be so great that they dread the holiday reunions. For these and other reasons, the times that are supposed to be the most joyous are often filled with tension and anxiety. While there is much good to celebrate, it shouldn't surprise us that some of humanity's worst moments are on display during this time.
The persistent presence of evil causes us to long for this Sunday, or any Sunday, in which the presence of God in the world is recognized and celebrated. A quick glance at the newspaper headlines or an efficient surf of the cable stations presents enough bad news. We are in need of good news, and it needs to be good news that is at least equal to the bad news. Those who are struggling need to know that they do not struggle alone.Those who are grieving need to know that they do not grieve alone. All of us, regardless of what circumstances or challenges we face, need to know that there is strength and hope that will outlast the evil of the day.
So what response do we make to the evil around us? One response is to explain the evil. From the beginning of time, people have sought to explain the presence of evil in our world. If we can understand the source of evil and how it wrecks our lives, maybe we can figure out a way to stop it. One of the themes in the story of Job is that of trying to explain the bad things that had happened to him. When Job lost his property, his children, and his health, friends arrived to explain why these horrible things had happened. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar persistently tried to convince Job that he must have done something wrong. Otherwise, why would he be suffering?
There are people who try to explain the evil to us. A tornado rips through our town and some neighbor with good intentions says, "It must have happened for a reason." Of course, there is never a good reason for something like that to happen. Some good things may come from it, but there's no good reason beforehand for a tornado to destroy lives and property and dreams.
Jerry Falwell has said that AIDS is God's punishment on this country for frequent abortions and widespread homosexuality. It eases people's fears when we can explain AIDS in that manner, but it also raises a lot of questions. Is that the way God relates to us? And if so, what sins have we committed to account for all the other illnesses and diseases that plague us?
A blanket explanation used to explain everything from a toothache to an earthquake is "the will of God." No matter how horrible the event may have been, some are content to say that it must have been the will of God. For some reason, people find comfort in their losses if they can explain the car wreck and the heart attack and the factory closing as being the will of God. Who knows, maybe those things are the will of God, but if they are then we are left to explain why a loving God wills for those bad things to happen.
A number of people mistakenly refer to Harold Kushner's best-selling book as Why Bad Things Happen to Good People. That's the question everybody wants answered, but that is not the title of Kushner's book. Nor is that the point of his book. The correct title of the book is When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Isn't that the best we can do? We can spend years wondering why, but it is beyond human capacity to make sense of most tragedies. We can try our best to explain evil, but most of it is beyond explanation.
Another way to deal with evil is to eliminate it altogether. It sounds impossible, but there are folks working around the clock trying to rid our communities and world of evil. Various levels of government constantly are providing resources and services to ease human suffering. Vaccines are given to young children to guard against crippling and even fatal
diseases. Nutritional supplements are made available to people of different ages and backgrounds to help maintain good health. Federal officials negotiate with other countries with the hope that war and unnecessary devastation might be prevented.
People are working in other ways to eliminate evil in all its manifestations. Tremendous amounts of money are devoted to research with the hope that cures to our most dreaded diseases will be found. All sorts of technological developments may point the way to a better quality of life for us all. Educational programs are geared to equip us with the knowledge necessary to deal with everything from crime in our communities to adopting a healthier diet. Progress is being made in encouraging and producing better citizenship. A lot of evil is eliminated when people resolve their conflicts in a civil way. Every time anger is channeled in a positive way, evil is curbed. Every time groups handle their differences of opinion in a mature way, possible acts of evil are averted.
Evil not only comes when the hurricane trashes a town or the x-ray reveals bad news. We recognize evil in the abusive parent and the manipulative friend and the irresponsible spouse. Despite our best efforts, we are not going to eliminate all the evil around us, or even within us. We don't always agree on how we should tackle certain problems. Some people continue to benefit from the evil in the world and they are not likely to work to turn things around. Evil persists in such a magnitude that eliminating it seems very unlikely. The problems are numerous, the suffering is great, and the sources are so uncontrollable that we will never eliminate evil.
So, we can't explain evil and we can't eliminate it. What now? The only answer that we have for this problem of evil is to work around it. It's the only solution we have ever had. Evil is here to stay. However, that does not mean it is time to give up or give in. Instead, it is time to recommit ourselves to what is right and good and compassionate, and to work in whatever ways we can to minimize the impact of evil in our lives and communities and world.
That is what people did with King Herod, who seemed to have more evil in him than most people. Jesus would never have seen his second birthday if Herod's plan had worked. Herod first became frightened when he heard that a lot of people were paying tribute to Jesus. Then Herod learned when and where Jesus was born. He thought he had some wise men tricked into returning to him with the information about where Jesus could be found, but the wise men were forewarned and they did not return to the king.
We know the rest of the story. After Herod realized he had been outwitted, he ordered for all the children around Bethlehem to be killed who were two years old and under. Of course, that's when Joseph, Mary, and Jesus took off to Egypt. They returned only after they heard the news of Herod's death. A large part of the anxiety was created by the fact that Herod was such an evil person. Herod destroyed practically everybody who was any threat to his power, including adherents of religious groups. He executed 45 Sadducees and confiscated their property. Herod conspired to have one person drowned, and later executed his wife, mother-in-law, and brother-in-law.1
In short, Herod was a power-hungry ruler whose actions reeked of evil. We can't explain his actions, or the actions of anybody else who acts in evil ways. And despite our best efforts to create an atmosphere of cooperation and kindness, it is unrealistic to think we are going to eliminate from the face of the earth divisive, rude, evil people. Our only choice, unless we want to give in or give up, is to work around the evil. Yes, this is an imperfect world, but that does not relieve us of our responsibility to work for what is good and right. If anything, the evil present in our world only accentuates the need for us to do something.
Someone penned a few thoughts and titled the piece "Anyway."2
People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.
Love them anyway!
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Do good anyway!
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway!
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway!
Honesty and frankness will make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway!
The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway!
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for some underdogs anyway!
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway!
People really need help but may attack you if you help them.
Help people anyway!
Give the world the best you have and you will get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway!
There are always going to be poor people around, but that didn't stop Mother Teresa from doing more than her part to help those she could. Many people in our country are kept out of owning a home for various reasons but that hasn't kept Jimmy Carter from driving nails and painting walls for Habitat for Humanity. There may never be widespread peace in the Middle East, but that hasn't stopped any number of people from devoting their time and talents toward creating pockets and places of peace. College and professional sports are riddled with cheaters, but that hasn't kept some people from playing by the rules.
People responsible for things like Pan Am Flight 103 and the Oklahoma City bombing will continue to live in this world, as will people who destroy their families and create unnecessary conflict at work, but we must not let them have the final word. Churches will always have people who create problems, but we are not going to quit supporting the work of the church. On lots of days we will feel like we are not appreciated for what we do, but that doesn't mean we are going to stop doing what we do. We are going to be treated badly from time to time, but we are going to keep believing that love will win out. People will abuse the welfare system, but that doesn't mean we are going to turn our backs on those we are called to serve. Diseases are going to continue to strike, but we are going to continue to support the research that will one day cure those diseases.
A lot of these situations test our commitment. It's easy to love the church when things are going well. Anybody can cheer for a winning basketball team. We are attracted to problems that have easy solutions. However, how committed we are in the face of monumental challenges reveals how deeply we believe in something. When problems arise and conflict erupts and support erodes, we are forced to make a decision. Will we let the presence of evil in all its many forms cause us to back down or step back or give up, or will we recognize the problems but go ahead anyway?
It's not a hypothetical situation. It's the reality in which we live. It's the question before us, right now. And a hungry, hurting world awaits our response.
____________
1. Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan, eds., The Oxford Companion to the Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), pp. 281-82.
2. Source unknown.
In fact, the holidays often elevate stress levels. People spend money they don't have on gifts, and the financial strain creates worry. People miss loved ones so much that the joy is hollow. Others find the stress of their families being together to be so great that they dread the holiday reunions. For these and other reasons, the times that are supposed to be the most joyous are often filled with tension and anxiety. While there is much good to celebrate, it shouldn't surprise us that some of humanity's worst moments are on display during this time.
The persistent presence of evil causes us to long for this Sunday, or any Sunday, in which the presence of God in the world is recognized and celebrated. A quick glance at the newspaper headlines or an efficient surf of the cable stations presents enough bad news. We are in need of good news, and it needs to be good news that is at least equal to the bad news. Those who are struggling need to know that they do not struggle alone.Those who are grieving need to know that they do not grieve alone. All of us, regardless of what circumstances or challenges we face, need to know that there is strength and hope that will outlast the evil of the day.
So what response do we make to the evil around us? One response is to explain the evil. From the beginning of time, people have sought to explain the presence of evil in our world. If we can understand the source of evil and how it wrecks our lives, maybe we can figure out a way to stop it. One of the themes in the story of Job is that of trying to explain the bad things that had happened to him. When Job lost his property, his children, and his health, friends arrived to explain why these horrible things had happened. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar persistently tried to convince Job that he must have done something wrong. Otherwise, why would he be suffering?
There are people who try to explain the evil to us. A tornado rips through our town and some neighbor with good intentions says, "It must have happened for a reason." Of course, there is never a good reason for something like that to happen. Some good things may come from it, but there's no good reason beforehand for a tornado to destroy lives and property and dreams.
Jerry Falwell has said that AIDS is God's punishment on this country for frequent abortions and widespread homosexuality. It eases people's fears when we can explain AIDS in that manner, but it also raises a lot of questions. Is that the way God relates to us? And if so, what sins have we committed to account for all the other illnesses and diseases that plague us?
A blanket explanation used to explain everything from a toothache to an earthquake is "the will of God." No matter how horrible the event may have been, some are content to say that it must have been the will of God. For some reason, people find comfort in their losses if they can explain the car wreck and the heart attack and the factory closing as being the will of God. Who knows, maybe those things are the will of God, but if they are then we are left to explain why a loving God wills for those bad things to happen.
A number of people mistakenly refer to Harold Kushner's best-selling book as Why Bad Things Happen to Good People. That's the question everybody wants answered, but that is not the title of Kushner's book. Nor is that the point of his book. The correct title of the book is When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Isn't that the best we can do? We can spend years wondering why, but it is beyond human capacity to make sense of most tragedies. We can try our best to explain evil, but most of it is beyond explanation.
Another way to deal with evil is to eliminate it altogether. It sounds impossible, but there are folks working around the clock trying to rid our communities and world of evil. Various levels of government constantly are providing resources and services to ease human suffering. Vaccines are given to young children to guard against crippling and even fatal
diseases. Nutritional supplements are made available to people of different ages and backgrounds to help maintain good health. Federal officials negotiate with other countries with the hope that war and unnecessary devastation might be prevented.
People are working in other ways to eliminate evil in all its manifestations. Tremendous amounts of money are devoted to research with the hope that cures to our most dreaded diseases will be found. All sorts of technological developments may point the way to a better quality of life for us all. Educational programs are geared to equip us with the knowledge necessary to deal with everything from crime in our communities to adopting a healthier diet. Progress is being made in encouraging and producing better citizenship. A lot of evil is eliminated when people resolve their conflicts in a civil way. Every time anger is channeled in a positive way, evil is curbed. Every time groups handle their differences of opinion in a mature way, possible acts of evil are averted.
Evil not only comes when the hurricane trashes a town or the x-ray reveals bad news. We recognize evil in the abusive parent and the manipulative friend and the irresponsible spouse. Despite our best efforts, we are not going to eliminate all the evil around us, or even within us. We don't always agree on how we should tackle certain problems. Some people continue to benefit from the evil in the world and they are not likely to work to turn things around. Evil persists in such a magnitude that eliminating it seems very unlikely. The problems are numerous, the suffering is great, and the sources are so uncontrollable that we will never eliminate evil.
So, we can't explain evil and we can't eliminate it. What now? The only answer that we have for this problem of evil is to work around it. It's the only solution we have ever had. Evil is here to stay. However, that does not mean it is time to give up or give in. Instead, it is time to recommit ourselves to what is right and good and compassionate, and to work in whatever ways we can to minimize the impact of evil in our lives and communities and world.
That is what people did with King Herod, who seemed to have more evil in him than most people. Jesus would never have seen his second birthday if Herod's plan had worked. Herod first became frightened when he heard that a lot of people were paying tribute to Jesus. Then Herod learned when and where Jesus was born. He thought he had some wise men tricked into returning to him with the information about where Jesus could be found, but the wise men were forewarned and they did not return to the king.
We know the rest of the story. After Herod realized he had been outwitted, he ordered for all the children around Bethlehem to be killed who were two years old and under. Of course, that's when Joseph, Mary, and Jesus took off to Egypt. They returned only after they heard the news of Herod's death. A large part of the anxiety was created by the fact that Herod was such an evil person. Herod destroyed practically everybody who was any threat to his power, including adherents of religious groups. He executed 45 Sadducees and confiscated their property. Herod conspired to have one person drowned, and later executed his wife, mother-in-law, and brother-in-law.1
In short, Herod was a power-hungry ruler whose actions reeked of evil. We can't explain his actions, or the actions of anybody else who acts in evil ways. And despite our best efforts to create an atmosphere of cooperation and kindness, it is unrealistic to think we are going to eliminate from the face of the earth divisive, rude, evil people. Our only choice, unless we want to give in or give up, is to work around the evil. Yes, this is an imperfect world, but that does not relieve us of our responsibility to work for what is good and right. If anything, the evil present in our world only accentuates the need for us to do something.
Someone penned a few thoughts and titled the piece "Anyway."2
People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.
Love them anyway!
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Do good anyway!
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway!
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway!
Honesty and frankness will make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway!
The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway!
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for some underdogs anyway!
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway!
People really need help but may attack you if you help them.
Help people anyway!
Give the world the best you have and you will get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway!
There are always going to be poor people around, but that didn't stop Mother Teresa from doing more than her part to help those she could. Many people in our country are kept out of owning a home for various reasons but that hasn't kept Jimmy Carter from driving nails and painting walls for Habitat for Humanity. There may never be widespread peace in the Middle East, but that hasn't stopped any number of people from devoting their time and talents toward creating pockets and places of peace. College and professional sports are riddled with cheaters, but that hasn't kept some people from playing by the rules.
People responsible for things like Pan Am Flight 103 and the Oklahoma City bombing will continue to live in this world, as will people who destroy their families and create unnecessary conflict at work, but we must not let them have the final word. Churches will always have people who create problems, but we are not going to quit supporting the work of the church. On lots of days we will feel like we are not appreciated for what we do, but that doesn't mean we are going to stop doing what we do. We are going to be treated badly from time to time, but we are going to keep believing that love will win out. People will abuse the welfare system, but that doesn't mean we are going to turn our backs on those we are called to serve. Diseases are going to continue to strike, but we are going to continue to support the research that will one day cure those diseases.
A lot of these situations test our commitment. It's easy to love the church when things are going well. Anybody can cheer for a winning basketball team. We are attracted to problems that have easy solutions. However, how committed we are in the face of monumental challenges reveals how deeply we believe in something. When problems arise and conflict erupts and support erodes, we are forced to make a decision. Will we let the presence of evil in all its many forms cause us to back down or step back or give up, or will we recognize the problems but go ahead anyway?
It's not a hypothetical situation. It's the reality in which we live. It's the question before us, right now. And a hungry, hurting world awaits our response.
____________
1. Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan, eds., The Oxford Companion to the Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), pp. 281-82.
2. Source unknown.
