Seeking The Presence Of God
Sermon
Living In Hope
Cycle C Sermons for Lent and Easter Based on the Second Lessons
It is a well-known cliché that “God never gives us more than we can handle”, but I have sometimes found that not to be so. When my youngest brother died of brain cancer at age five, it was more than I could handle. When my first husband was emotionally and physically abusive, it was more than I could handle. When my second husband and I lost our twin sons at birth, it was more than I could handle. The COVID pandemic was more than we could handle. Wars and violence are often more than we can handle. Homelessness, poverty, grief, and loss are often more than we can handle.
And by the way, I don’t think God caused all those things to happen, short of creating us and our world, giving us free will, and allowing us to mess up on our own or collectively. Paul seems to be writing about this very thing: “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NRSV). I am reminded of an amendment to the cliché I first mentioned. Somewhere in my memory I think it was authored by Mother Teresa, although I cannot find the original source. The revision is, “I know that God won’t give me more than I can handle. I just wish he didn’t trust me so much.”
I have felt that way. Haven’t you? Clearly, he knew suffering and hardships. Our Hebrew ancestors did as well. Paul had some harsh things to say about how the Hebrew people utilized their connections and relationship with God. Paul recounted the sins of the people and indicated they were punished for their wrongdoing. Paul claimed they were punished as an example for us. The Israelites were indulgent, giving in to their own desires and their own will, and therefore they received punishment from God. Theologically, I am not sure I can agree with Paul. I don’t think God aims a mighty finger at those who turn away from righteousness and sends plagues and punishments to individuals or groups. I think God could choose to do that, but I think God is much more concerned with calling us into communion than shunning us.
Think about it. We know what is good and right in our interactions with each other. We know that hate and anger expressed toward our neighbor hurts us almost as much as it hurts them. Think about indulging our sweet tooth. A little sweet is okay, but pampering ourselves with all the sweets we can imagine eating wrecks our health and our waistline. Seeking to follow our own path sometimes gets us in trouble with ourselves, with each other and with God. Breaking relationships through our own whim and indulgence is not really a good thing.
Somehow some of the Corinthians thought that by nature of their baptism and their continuing Holy Communion participation, they could actually do anything else they wanted. Paul used the example of the Israelites in the wilderness, identified as the chosen people, misunderstanding their role. To be chosen was not only to be set apart but was to be an example for those who have not been. It’s like a pastor, a minister of the church, having to live into the ministerial code of ethics. It doesn’t mean a minister might not make a mistake, but it does mean that a minister knows they are an example of one faithful to God, one set apart, and one whose example is monitored. There are expectations.
Paul reminded the people of Corinth and us that it is not good to get overconfident about our place in God’s realm. It is not good to fail to set an example of one who lives exemplifying the gift of the Spirit, in faithfulness to God. No, we don’t earn our way into God’s grace. We have already been given grace. What we do is act according to the grace we have been given. Acting in righteousness is our way of demonstrating our gratitude for the gifts we have been given by God. We shouldn’t get overconfident or overindulgent in our self-assurance, especially so much so that we no longer see God’s call on our lives as the most important.
Lent is a time for reflection, introspection, and a renewing of our promises to God. Lent is a time to journey with Jesus, witnessing his service to us and his love for us. Lent is a time to grow into a deeper relationship with God and into a deeper practice of our faith. Lent is a time to seek God and to call on God for forgiveness and mercy. Lent is a time to reflect on how we are giving thanks for the grace and forgiveness as well as the presence of God in our lives.
We all have the capacity to turn to faithfulness and to be God’s grace to others. The Corinthians forgot that for a little while. They focused instead on what they wanted, what they desired, and how sanctified they thought they had made themselves through their faith practices.
Again, we all have the capacity to turn to faithfulness and to be God’s grace to others. That is our call as followers of Jesus.
“Some years ago, the noted Australian poet, Victor Daly, was dying in a Catholic hospital. One day, while he still had strength and a lucid mind, he invited the nuns who were nursing him to gather around his bed so he could express his appreciation to them for their kindness and care. After thanking them with well-chosen words, the nun who was in charge said to him, “Victor, you shouldn’t thank us. You should thank the grace of God.”
With the insight and the wisdom of the true poet that he was, he said to her, ‘But aren’t you the grace of God?’”1
We, too, are called to be the grace of God, to live with faithfulness, and as Paul writes, God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength. But with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13 NRSV). God will not ask us to be more faithful than we have been given the grace to be.
There is much we are called to be and do as faithful followers of Jesus. Yet God will not really ask us for more than is possible for us to give. God will equip us for whatever the demands are on our life. I mentioned before that I don’t think God points a mighty finger at us and causes bad things to happen to us. I think rather, God is walking beside us, as close as our own breath, when bad or tragic things happen to us. We have two choices: we can move into the embrace of God and seek to feel deeply God’s presence or we can move away from God angrily asking God why we were not spared. The choice is really ours ― that is our gift, and sometimes our curse, of free will.
Bad things happen to all of us. Struggles come into the lives of most of us. None of us are spared the loss of someone we love, the illness of someone we care about. Many of us experience natural disasters and sometimes disasters of our own making. Yet, we are never alone. When we do not feel God, God has not moved away from us; more likely we have moved away from God. The question for the Jesus follower is: who do you seek in those natural and human-made disasters, in that time of pain and loss? Who do you look for? Whose strength do you rely upon?
Some years ago, I wrote a book, “Navigating The River Of Grief.” In it, I spoke with many people who were grieving and talked about where they encountered God in their grief. While the folks were in different stages of their grief, had very recent losses, in some cases within a few weeks, to every person they mentioned feeling the presence of God. They all, these people of faith, felt the accompaniment of God with them in their grief and loss. Many of them spoke about being angry with God, about expressing their anger toward God. That was my experience as well. Yet, these folks, and others with whom I have worked, felt the presence of God in their challenges and knew God was with them.
When have you felt the presence of God? It might have been in the whisper of a breeze on a cool day. It might have been in the hug of a child or grandchild. It may have been hearing a piece of music or a hymn that touched your spirit. It may have been in prayer or in contemplation. It might even have been in the moments when you gathered strength to face a challenge or to do a hard thing. In those moments, I personally say a silent or even a spoken prayer for strength, for understanding, for God to surround me and embrace me. You see, contrary to the old cliché, I don’t think God gives us things to handle, I think God handles things with us ― walks with us, talks with us, empowers and enlightens us.
It is our calling and our gift to live into our faithfulness. We are not to indulge ourselves with our self-righteousness or our individual positions of piety, rather we are to come to God, to come humble before God to gain the wisdom, the courage and the faith to step into whatever difficulties we are facing. This Lenten season, maybe we can focus a little on reflection, introspection, and a renewal of our faith promises to God. As we do so, we can ask to feel, even more clearly, God’s presence with us in the hard things we encounter. Amen.
1 Milo Thornberry , http://www.maherconsulting.com/bumc/sermondetail.cfm?ID=252.
And by the way, I don’t think God caused all those things to happen, short of creating us and our world, giving us free will, and allowing us to mess up on our own or collectively. Paul seems to be writing about this very thing: “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NRSV). I am reminded of an amendment to the cliché I first mentioned. Somewhere in my memory I think it was authored by Mother Teresa, although I cannot find the original source. The revision is, “I know that God won’t give me more than I can handle. I just wish he didn’t trust me so much.”
I have felt that way. Haven’t you? Clearly, he knew suffering and hardships. Our Hebrew ancestors did as well. Paul had some harsh things to say about how the Hebrew people utilized their connections and relationship with God. Paul recounted the sins of the people and indicated they were punished for their wrongdoing. Paul claimed they were punished as an example for us. The Israelites were indulgent, giving in to their own desires and their own will, and therefore they received punishment from God. Theologically, I am not sure I can agree with Paul. I don’t think God aims a mighty finger at those who turn away from righteousness and sends plagues and punishments to individuals or groups. I think God could choose to do that, but I think God is much more concerned with calling us into communion than shunning us.
Think about it. We know what is good and right in our interactions with each other. We know that hate and anger expressed toward our neighbor hurts us almost as much as it hurts them. Think about indulging our sweet tooth. A little sweet is okay, but pampering ourselves with all the sweets we can imagine eating wrecks our health and our waistline. Seeking to follow our own path sometimes gets us in trouble with ourselves, with each other and with God. Breaking relationships through our own whim and indulgence is not really a good thing.
Somehow some of the Corinthians thought that by nature of their baptism and their continuing Holy Communion participation, they could actually do anything else they wanted. Paul used the example of the Israelites in the wilderness, identified as the chosen people, misunderstanding their role. To be chosen was not only to be set apart but was to be an example for those who have not been. It’s like a pastor, a minister of the church, having to live into the ministerial code of ethics. It doesn’t mean a minister might not make a mistake, but it does mean that a minister knows they are an example of one faithful to God, one set apart, and one whose example is monitored. There are expectations.
Paul reminded the people of Corinth and us that it is not good to get overconfident about our place in God’s realm. It is not good to fail to set an example of one who lives exemplifying the gift of the Spirit, in faithfulness to God. No, we don’t earn our way into God’s grace. We have already been given grace. What we do is act according to the grace we have been given. Acting in righteousness is our way of demonstrating our gratitude for the gifts we have been given by God. We shouldn’t get overconfident or overindulgent in our self-assurance, especially so much so that we no longer see God’s call on our lives as the most important.
Lent is a time for reflection, introspection, and a renewing of our promises to God. Lent is a time to journey with Jesus, witnessing his service to us and his love for us. Lent is a time to grow into a deeper relationship with God and into a deeper practice of our faith. Lent is a time to seek God and to call on God for forgiveness and mercy. Lent is a time to reflect on how we are giving thanks for the grace and forgiveness as well as the presence of God in our lives.
We all have the capacity to turn to faithfulness and to be God’s grace to others. The Corinthians forgot that for a little while. They focused instead on what they wanted, what they desired, and how sanctified they thought they had made themselves through their faith practices.
Again, we all have the capacity to turn to faithfulness and to be God’s grace to others. That is our call as followers of Jesus.
“Some years ago, the noted Australian poet, Victor Daly, was dying in a Catholic hospital. One day, while he still had strength and a lucid mind, he invited the nuns who were nursing him to gather around his bed so he could express his appreciation to them for their kindness and care. After thanking them with well-chosen words, the nun who was in charge said to him, “Victor, you shouldn’t thank us. You should thank the grace of God.”
With the insight and the wisdom of the true poet that he was, he said to her, ‘But aren’t you the grace of God?’”1
We, too, are called to be the grace of God, to live with faithfulness, and as Paul writes, God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength. But with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13 NRSV). God will not ask us to be more faithful than we have been given the grace to be.
There is much we are called to be and do as faithful followers of Jesus. Yet God will not really ask us for more than is possible for us to give. God will equip us for whatever the demands are on our life. I mentioned before that I don’t think God points a mighty finger at us and causes bad things to happen to us. I think rather, God is walking beside us, as close as our own breath, when bad or tragic things happen to us. We have two choices: we can move into the embrace of God and seek to feel deeply God’s presence or we can move away from God angrily asking God why we were not spared. The choice is really ours ― that is our gift, and sometimes our curse, of free will.
Bad things happen to all of us. Struggles come into the lives of most of us. None of us are spared the loss of someone we love, the illness of someone we care about. Many of us experience natural disasters and sometimes disasters of our own making. Yet, we are never alone. When we do not feel God, God has not moved away from us; more likely we have moved away from God. The question for the Jesus follower is: who do you seek in those natural and human-made disasters, in that time of pain and loss? Who do you look for? Whose strength do you rely upon?
Some years ago, I wrote a book, “Navigating The River Of Grief.” In it, I spoke with many people who were grieving and talked about where they encountered God in their grief. While the folks were in different stages of their grief, had very recent losses, in some cases within a few weeks, to every person they mentioned feeling the presence of God. They all, these people of faith, felt the accompaniment of God with them in their grief and loss. Many of them spoke about being angry with God, about expressing their anger toward God. That was my experience as well. Yet, these folks, and others with whom I have worked, felt the presence of God in their challenges and knew God was with them.
When have you felt the presence of God? It might have been in the whisper of a breeze on a cool day. It might have been in the hug of a child or grandchild. It may have been hearing a piece of music or a hymn that touched your spirit. It may have been in prayer or in contemplation. It might even have been in the moments when you gathered strength to face a challenge or to do a hard thing. In those moments, I personally say a silent or even a spoken prayer for strength, for understanding, for God to surround me and embrace me. You see, contrary to the old cliché, I don’t think God gives us things to handle, I think God handles things with us ― walks with us, talks with us, empowers and enlightens us.
It is our calling and our gift to live into our faithfulness. We are not to indulge ourselves with our self-righteousness or our individual positions of piety, rather we are to come to God, to come humble before God to gain the wisdom, the courage and the faith to step into whatever difficulties we are facing. This Lenten season, maybe we can focus a little on reflection, introspection, and a renewal of our faith promises to God. As we do so, we can ask to feel, even more clearly, God’s presence with us in the hard things we encounter. Amen.
1 Milo Thornberry , http://www.maherconsulting.com/bumc/sermondetail.cfm?ID=252.
