ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
January 27, 2022
Many of your homes have been impacted by COVID. Many of you know the fears and grief brought about by this virus. Some of you know firsthand the stress and anxiety caused by this virus. There are some families and some parts of our society affected more than others. A question asked by some people and implied by others is the question humans have been asking since their brains developed to the point of exploring such things: Why do bad things happen to good people? There are plenty of scientific reasons to explain the pain caused by COVID, including whether or not someone was vaccinated, underlying health concerns or the wearing of a mask. Yet most of the time, the question goes beyond what might be learned from more empirical research. People are looking to answer theological questions such as: Where is God’s involvement in these things? They are looking for a correlation between ethical/unethical behavior and divine protection or punishment. So when Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount how God sends rain upon the righteous and the unrighteous, he would have turned a lot of heads. Most religions of the day suggested one of two things: 1. God gives people exactly what they deserve; 2. God is indifferent to the choices of mortals and only gets involved with human affairs when it serves God. For Jesus to suggest God’s graciousness is offered to both those whose actions align with God and those whose actions do not align with God would have been radical – probably nonsense to most. Some of the disciples of Jesus, upon meeting a blind man, wanted to know who sinned: the man or his parents? They were looking for an explanation of the blindness, yet they assumed it had to be divine punishment toward someone. Jesus immediately stepped outside of the cause/effect argument. Again and again, Jesus had no interest in blaming God. Instead, he celebrated God’s presence amidst the suffering and loneliness, the disease and rejection. God is not to be understood as the source of our pain, but the One who faithfully walks alongside us in every moment and every situation. No matter your circumstances or choices in life, God loves you beyond measure. That’s our beginning and our end.
Thank you, Lord God! Thank you for sharing and showing your love when life is good and when it is not so good; when my choices have honored you and not; when I made it to worship on Sunday and when I made a lame excuse for skipping. Your love is greater than anything I can do or say or believe. Thank you! Amen.
