March 30, 2014

Several events of recent weeks which haunt us all led me to give thought to how Jesus has responded to questions about evil and suffering in the world.  The mysterious disappearance of the Malaysian airliner, on what appeared to be a routine flight, is an event likely to cause us all heartache and grief.   It is hard not to picture ourselves possibly being on such a flight.   And the tragedy last weekend in Washington state, of a mudslide destroying a town, an example of the suffering and tragedy caused by our natural, still forming, world.  These, along with so many other events of suffering and tragedy which tug at our hearts and haunt us, lead us to look within Scripture for understanding and hope.

In the months after 9/11/2001, many people posted, sent and resent emails telling of inspiring stories that arose from the horror of that day.  One very popular one that made the rounds, which I’ve since lost, read something like this.

Charles was well known for his dedication to his work.  Always at work a half hour before anyone else, he was the steady one in the busy office.  By the time, his colleagues rolled in each day, he had already been on the phone with colleagues in Tokyo and Frankfurt, hearing how the business day went in these capitals of commerce.  His hard work and dedication had served him well, landing him the highly coveted corner office with window views in several directions.

On the second Tuesday in September, Charles was up as early as ever.   As he was saying good bye to his wife and family, he noticed his baby daughter had smeared some baby food onto his white shirt and favorite silk tie.  Grumbling at what this would end up costing him, he raced upstairs to strip off that shirt and tie, replacing them with others from his fully stocked closet.

Heading out to the garage, he groaned as he saw that his Jaguar had a flat tire.  Too late to repair that, he rushed in to get the keys to his wife’s mini-van.  Tossing the child seats from the mini-van onto the soft leather upholstery of his Jaguar, he grumbled some more as he backed the van out of the garage and headed for the train station.  Given how the day was going, he was not surprised that somehow he managed to be stopped by a red light at every intersection he traveled through.

Once on the train and heading to the city, he was in his rhythm again, calling on the cell phone his colleagues throughout the world.  A few of them commented at his calling later in the morning than they were used to and expressed concern for his well-being.   Looking at his watch, grumbling about the dirty shirt, the flat tire, the red lights, he realized he would be getting into the office after 9 am for the first time since the day the baby was born. 

Then the day grew worse.  His cell phone stopped working.  Not noticing that others also were complaining that there cell phones no longer worked, Charles muttered a few profanities at how his day was going.  When the train was stopped at Grand Central Station and everyone was ordered off of it, he looked down the street at the flames and smoke and realized why his cell phone no longer worked.  Because of the soiled shirt, flat tire, red lights, not only was he late for work, he was still alive.  For you see, his office was on the 73rd floor of the World Trade Tower, and if he had gotten to work at the time he intended to, he would have been killed by this time.

The email concludes--The lesson in this--Be grateful for the dirty shirts, flat tires and red lights you encounter in your days.  It may be the hand of God seeking to keep you alive.

That is certainly one way to understand the sequence of events for Charles that day.  That it was the hand of God hard at work, protecting him.  He was blessed to have more effective guardian angels than others.

However, I don’t believe that’s true and would challenge the theology of this at several levels.  One, I would argue we all need to be thankful for closets full of clothes, alternative ways to get to work and those small moments each day, when we are forced to stop in our busy lives; time we hopefully use for renewal.

But more importantly, if you subscribe to the thinking that this was the hand of God at work, smearing Charles’ shirt, flattening his tire and causing one red light after another, then you need also to be willing to author and distribute a second email that might read like this.

Marian was an overworked single mother of three children.  Try as she might, she struggled to keep the good jobs that she managed to get, but time and again, the needs of her children forced her to make tough choices, choices that several employers found unacceptable.  But at last, she had gotten a great job as a prep chef at a well -known restaurant.  The day before had been troubling, and her boss had given her a warning that her job performance and her commitment to her job needed to be a priority in her life.  And so, on the second Tuesday of September, she got up earlier than usual, laying out her children’s clothes for the day and instructing her oldest daughter of how important it was that she wash and dress her siblings, and that they all get to school on time.  She needed to get to work early that day, early enough to make all the coffee and put out the pastries.

She caught an early morning subway that day, exiting at the end of the route.  Taking a deep breath of the outdoor air on that cool morning, she headed inside for the 110 story ride to the top, where she worked at the Windows of the World restaurant.  It was apt to be a long day once she started, but she needed this job as her children were highly dependent on her as the sole breadwinner in the family.

Marian’s family and friends have every right to ask and deserve an answer to the question, “If God was so busy soiling shirts and causing red lights for Charles, where was God for Marian?”

In today’s lesson, we hear Jesus being challenged as news has arrived of Pilate’s slaughter of worshippers at the Temple.  Details are sparse here and it appears to be just another example of Pilate exercising his power to insure it remain unchallenged.  And yet, news of this touches those who hear it and who ask themselves the same question so many of us have asked, “Why them and not us?  Why today and not yesterday?”

As our understanding and collective faith in God has grown and developed over the past 20 centuries, we struggle with this question asking the familiar question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”   But in the days of Jesus, it was commonly understood that tragedies such as being slaughtered while at worship or having a tower fall on you were not random acts, but signs of God’s judgment.  And so, the question asked of Jesus that day implied that it was God at work, singling out and allowing other sinners to be slaughtered. 

The good news of God’s love that Jesus came to bring, challenges this thinking.  Jesus does not want people, then or now, thinking that someone else’s misfortune or tragedy implies in any way, shape or form, that those of us who witness this and do not directly suffer, are favored by God. 

Jesus challenges those who would believe and proclaim this to apply the same standard to themselves and their friends who suffered when the tower fell at Siloam.  Just as I say to you today, if you’re eager to believe that Charles was spared on 9/11 because he was in God’s favor, then you’ve an obligation to also tell Marian’s family and friends that it was the will of God that she got to work early and died as a result.

Jesus reminds those hearing his words that rather than seeing ourselves as among those God favors, we are wise to repent and work to make ourselves right with God.  A clergy colleague tells the story that at a youth retreat one year, those attending were urged to rewrite this story and the parable which follows in contemporary language.  A basketball player on the high school team who was there used the word “pivot” to replace “repent.”  In his experience, when one pivots, a sudden and dramatic turn is made to put the player in the right position, a very apt description of what we are called to when we are called to repent.  (Illustration from Ray Medeiros, United Church of Bernardston, MA Midrash message board)

And then Jesus tells a parable about an unproductive fig tree.  For three years, a farmer has watered and nurtured this tree and it has not yet produced one piece of fruit.  In his frustration, the farmer makes plan to cut it down, but the gardener pleads for one more year, one more growing season to try and nurture it along and make it productive.

Coming at the end of Jesus’ warning that every day is precious and that we are all wise to look at our lives, pivot and turn away from the ways of sin and death and turn toward God, this parable is a haunting reminder of God’s grace and mercy. We live as the beneficiaries of Christ’s willingness to plead for our lives and his efforts to nurture us towards growth and productivity as disciples. 

One of the best contemporary examples of what life is like when one realizes how tender life is and at what a blessing each day is comes in the conclusion of the movie “Saving Private Ryan.”  This wonderful movie tells the story of a family who receive the devastating news during World War II, that three of their four sons have died in combat on D-Day, and that the Army is making every effort to safeguard their one remaining son.  The story tells of eight brave men, who head behind enemy lines to find Private Ryan and return him to safety.  As the story is told, one by one, each of the eight rescuers dies, the last one being Captain John Miller.  As he lay dying, he says to Private Ryan, “Earn this.”

From that scene of Private Ryan holding Captain Miller, the scene fades to the modern day, when a much older Private Ryan travels with his extended family to France, leading them through the massive cemetery in Normandy, finally finding the grave of Captain John Miller, US Army.  Through teary eyes, he says, “I tried to live my life the best I could.  I hope that was enough.  I hope in your eyes it was enough to earn what you did for me.” 

Jesus hoped that by leaving them with a parable to reflect on and learn from, their original questions about life, justice and God would not overwhelm them.   So too we are left at the end of Saving Private Ryan not with the questions as to whether it was fair and just for eight men to die in order to save one, or why would God let any family suffer the deaths of three sons to war in one day, but with the image of Private Ryan speaking from the heart.  Acknowledging the costs of his life, recognizing that he got the second chance, just as the fig tree did, and that he hoped he lived his life in ways that would honor the costs and sacrifice. 

          As is so often the case with the parables Jesus told, this one ends in a mystery, much like the life we lead.  We have the chance, you and I, to finish the parable for ourselves in the living of these days.  What are we doing with our second, and third, and fourth chances?  Are we living our lives in ways that produce fruit and building the kingdom?  Or are we just soaking up the water and taking up space? 

          With the blessing of every day comes the chance to pivot or repent and turn our ways to follow in the ways of Christ.  Thanks be to God for this good news and the power it brings us to live life full and abundant, now and forever.  Amen.