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| SERMON 3rd Sunday of Lent March 7, 2010 The Rev. Charles W. Messer |
| 667 Mount Road, Aston, PA 19014 610-459-2013 |
| Small Parish - Big Heart The little church you've been looking for! All are welcome! |
| Our Mission: To worship the Lord To serve the community To grow the church |
| Exodus 3:1-15 Psalm 63:1-8 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 Luke 13:1-9 |
God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength,
able to endure it.”
I’ve been thinking about my buddy Matt Tew lately. He died 13 years
ago of a drug overdose. My family and his were very close growing up.
Our families took vacations together. We went to the same church. Both
mothers were named Gale and grew up together. Matt’s family was lots
of fun to hang out with.
All of that changed after Matt died. His parents, who were at one time a
gregarious pair now sullen and heartbroken, blamed themselves for
Matt’s death. “This is payback,” I remember Mr. Tew saying to my dad
after the funeral; payback for not being tougher on Matt as a kid,
payback for working too much and not spending enough time with his
boys, payback for sins committed when he was a teenager. The time
had come to pay the piper and God had come to collect.
How many of us see God that way. Oh no, not me. Calamity strikes and
we wonder what we did wrong. We scrutinize our behavior, our
relationships, our diets, our beliefs. We hunt for some cause to explain
the effect in hopes that we can stop causing it. What we want control.
We want fairness.
In Jesus' day, there was no question about fairness. The assumption
was that disease, suffering, and death bore a direct correlation to bad
behavior: the greater the sin, the more likely the misfortune. So the
crowds asked Jesus about the Galileans executed by Pilate, or those
killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed; what evil had those people
done to deserve their fate?
Do you think that because these people suffered in this way they were
worse sinners than all of you; worse offenders than you?
Death happens, Jesus says. Bad things happen and none of us going
through life are innocent – it doesn’t take tragedy for us to know that.
However, it’s easy to play Monday morning quarterback; it’s easy to
play backseat Jesus when we’re the ones who aren’t suffering. Would
we have a different view if we lived in Port-Au-Prince or Santiago,
Chile? I’m sure all of us have heard about the tragedy of the suicides of
two teenage girls from Norwood. Tragic isn’t a strong enough; two girls
so hopeless to put themselves in the path of a speeding train seems to
go beyond the limits of the word tragedy. It boggles my mind to think of
the heartbreak these parents must be going through. Like Matt’s dad, I
wonder if they also thought that this was payback.
“So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No
testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. 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.”
The death of a child; the death of my child would seem to be a test
beyond my capacity to live, much less endure. Some of you here have
had to bury children. Such an experience, I’d imagine, you don’t ever
fully heal from. The apostle Paul writes these words to the church in
Corinth at a time when things were going ok, a time when tragedy and
disaster was something that happened to other people. In other words,
Paul says tragedy comes to everyone; it’s a fact of life. Yet in the midst
of tragedy God is faithful; even though we walk through the shadow of
death thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Faithful to never leave us.
God is faithful that no difficulty is beyond our ability to endure. God is
faithful and provides a way out. God is faithful. Remember that; let that
burn into your soul. You will need to know this someday.
This is the beauty of the Christian faith, this is why we need each other;
to believe that God is faithful – especially in tragedy – while others
cannot. When I am lost in grief and unimaginable heartbreak and pain, I
need you to believe for me that God’s faithfulness will see me through.
You need to keep the faith for me until I can; so that when you
experience calamity I will believe for you. In the end, all that we can do
for those poor, grief stricken parents is to believe for them that God is
faithful to see them through.
On occasion I have run into Matt Tew’s mom and dad while visiting my
parents. They have aged years since Matt’s death. Their one time happy
demeanor is now reserved cynicism. However, if you were to ask them
how they made it through that awful time following his death, they’d be
quick to tell you it was God.
God isn’t in the game of payback. Instant Karma may get you though,
but God isn’t making a list and checking it twice to see who’s overdue
for disaster and personal turmoil. God loves us so much; not just God
will see us through tragedy but will go through tragedy with us.
Finally, for those of you who are struggling; struggling in a way that
leaves you hopeless enough so to consider suicide remember your
feelings of hopelessness are a lie. Shame, fear, and embarrassment are
lies we tell to ourselves. Talk to someone, talk to me; but just say
something. There is always hope. God is faithful. 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.
able to endure it.”
I’ve been thinking about my buddy Matt Tew lately. He died 13 years
ago of a drug overdose. My family and his were very close growing up.
Our families took vacations together. We went to the same church. Both
mothers were named Gale and grew up together. Matt’s family was lots
of fun to hang out with.
All of that changed after Matt died. His parents, who were at one time a
gregarious pair now sullen and heartbroken, blamed themselves for
Matt’s death. “This is payback,” I remember Mr. Tew saying to my dad
after the funeral; payback for not being tougher on Matt as a kid,
payback for working too much and not spending enough time with his
boys, payback for sins committed when he was a teenager. The time
had come to pay the piper and God had come to collect.
How many of us see God that way. Oh no, not me. Calamity strikes and
we wonder what we did wrong. We scrutinize our behavior, our
relationships, our diets, our beliefs. We hunt for some cause to explain
the effect in hopes that we can stop causing it. What we want control.
We want fairness.
In Jesus' day, there was no question about fairness. The assumption
was that disease, suffering, and death bore a direct correlation to bad
behavior: the greater the sin, the more likely the misfortune. So the
crowds asked Jesus about the Galileans executed by Pilate, or those
killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed; what evil had those people
done to deserve their fate?
Do you think that because these people suffered in this way they were
worse sinners than all of you; worse offenders than you?
Death happens, Jesus says. Bad things happen and none of us going
through life are innocent – it doesn’t take tragedy for us to know that.
However, it’s easy to play Monday morning quarterback; it’s easy to
play backseat Jesus when we’re the ones who aren’t suffering. Would
we have a different view if we lived in Port-Au-Prince or Santiago,
Chile? I’m sure all of us have heard about the tragedy of the suicides of
two teenage girls from Norwood. Tragic isn’t a strong enough; two girls
so hopeless to put themselves in the path of a speeding train seems to
go beyond the limits of the word tragedy. It boggles my mind to think of
the heartbreak these parents must be going through. Like Matt’s dad, I
wonder if they also thought that this was payback.
“So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No
testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. 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.”
The death of a child; the death of my child would seem to be a test
beyond my capacity to live, much less endure. Some of you here have
had to bury children. Such an experience, I’d imagine, you don’t ever
fully heal from. The apostle Paul writes these words to the church in
Corinth at a time when things were going ok, a time when tragedy and
disaster was something that happened to other people. In other words,
Paul says tragedy comes to everyone; it’s a fact of life. Yet in the midst
of tragedy God is faithful; even though we walk through the shadow of
death thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Faithful to never leave us.
God is faithful that no difficulty is beyond our ability to endure. God is
faithful and provides a way out. God is faithful. Remember that; let that
burn into your soul. You will need to know this someday.
This is the beauty of the Christian faith, this is why we need each other;
to believe that God is faithful – especially in tragedy – while others
cannot. When I am lost in grief and unimaginable heartbreak and pain, I
need you to believe for me that God’s faithfulness will see me through.
You need to keep the faith for me until I can; so that when you
experience calamity I will believe for you. In the end, all that we can do
for those poor, grief stricken parents is to believe for them that God is
faithful to see them through.
On occasion I have run into Matt Tew’s mom and dad while visiting my
parents. They have aged years since Matt’s death. Their one time happy
demeanor is now reserved cynicism. However, if you were to ask them
how they made it through that awful time following his death, they’d be
quick to tell you it was God.
God isn’t in the game of payback. Instant Karma may get you though,
but God isn’t making a list and checking it twice to see who’s overdue
for disaster and personal turmoil. God loves us so much; not just God
will see us through tragedy but will go through tragedy with us.
Finally, for those of you who are struggling; struggling in a way that
leaves you hopeless enough so to consider suicide remember your
feelings of hopelessness are a lie. Shame, fear, and embarrassment are
lies we tell to ourselves. Talk to someone, talk to me; but just say
something. There is always hope. God is faithful. 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.
To contact us: Calvary Episcopal Church 667 Mount Road Aston, PA 19014 610-459-2013 OFFICE The Rev. Charles Messer, Rector Fr. Chuck: frmesser@calvaryepiscopalrockdale.org Website: mail@calvaryepiscopalrockdale.org Office: calvaryoffice1@verizon.net |
