Sermon for March 7th

Is God in control of natural disasters, like those we have witnessed recently in Haiti and Chile? Yes. In fact, to argue that God is not in control of these events is to strip him of the glory he deserves, “Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; worship the Lord in holy splendor. The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl, and strips the forest bare; and in his temple all say, “Glory!”.

Does God create earthquakes? What does the Bible say? When Jesus died there was an earthquake. When the women went to the tomb, there was an earthquake, for an angel of the Lord rolled away the stone. In Acts chapter 16, when Paul and Silas had been thrown into prison, suddenly there was an earthquake and they were set free. In Revelation chapter 11, John has a vision of a great earthquake where a tenth of a city falls, seven thousand people are killed and, according to the Word of the Lord, “the rest are terrified and give glory to the God of heaven.” In Matthew, Mark and Luke Jesus explains that earthquakes will be one of the birthpangs to tell us when Jesus is coming again.

The prophet Nahum reminds us, “A jealous and avenging God is the Lord, the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and rages against his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger but great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in the whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, and he dries up all the rivers; Bashan and Carmel wither, and the bloom of Lebanon fades. The mountains quake before him, and the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who live in it. Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and by him the rocks are broken in pieces.” Does God create earthquakes? Yes. Of course he does.

But, what about suffering? Does God cause suffering? Yes. Does God cause all suffering? No. We cause a great deal of it all on our own, don’t we. We suffer at the hands of others. Others suffer at our hands. Much suffering is caused by sin. God will not take the blame for that—for the sins that we commit. However, as sinners, we do suffer at God’s hands. 1 Samuel 2:6, “The Lord kills and makes alive. He brings down to the grave and he raises up.” Deuteronomy 32:39, “See now that I, even I, am he; there is no god beside me. I kill and I make alive. I would and I heal; and no one can deliver from my hand.” Isaiah 45:7, “I form light and create darkness. I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things.”

We suffer God’s judgment. We suffer God’s wrath. One might even say we suffer God’s resurrection finally for we are perfectly passive in that regard as well. Evil actions can cause suffering, but not all suffering is evil. Perhaps that is why we call the occasion of our Savior’s crucifixion and death “Good Friday.”

Jesus asks in Luke chapter 13 today, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?” It appears that some Jews had been killed while sacrificing in the temple at Jerusalem and the question Jesus poses to those around him is this: Do you think you are more righteous than they because you have not suffered the same fate? Jesus responds to his own question, “No, I tell you; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.”

We are all unholy, unrighteous, sick sinners apart from Jesus Christ. We deserve nothing but punishment for our sins. But when earthquakes or tornados or floods or accidents or diseases happen to us, our first instinct is to say that God had nothing to do with it! These are bad things! And God is good! We want to get God out of the picture. Why? Because to confess God’s responsibility is to confess our own responsibility.

Yes, God causes earthquakes. Because of sin? Yes. Because of sin. So what should we do? Blame the Haitians for being sinners for we know that they are? No one is righteous. Not even one. What should we do? Rebuke the Chileans for being unrighteous for we know from scripture that this too is a fact? Shall we blame and accuse those people? No. We should repent of OUR sins. We should repent knowing that it is but by the grace of God that we are not living out on the streets in front of our own devastated houses. We are no better or worse because we are all at God’s mercy.

Jesus goes on, “What about those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” You see, Jesus does not absolve the eighteen victims who were killed when a tower fell on them as if they were guiltless. But neither does he absolve the others still living in Jerusalem who were spared. It is only because God is merciful, and patient, that we live to theologize about earthquakes in far away lands rather than suffering from their effects ourselves.

Jesus told this parable, “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil? The gardener replied, “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.”

Immediately after calling those around Him to repentance in the face of God’s judgment, in the face of great suffering, Jesus tells this parable about a fig tree. How much more clearly could He make His point? You and I are not bearing fruit. We should be cut down. Suffer an earthquake Suffer persecution. Suffer an accidental falling of a tower upon us—but God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Still, as long as we refuse to confess our sins and refuse to believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior—we will not bear fruit. We will be cut down eventually. For apart from Jesus you can do nothing.

Now for the good news: Manure! Hallelujah for manure! That’s the good news. For you have a patient and loving gardener in Jesus Christ who cares for you enough to pile it on so that you might grow and bear fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. This is what God expects from us and, in order to produce, he fills our lives with manure (to put it biblically).

What does this manure look like? Suffering. Persecution. Hardship. Distress. Sometimes famine, nakedness or sword. Sometimes earthquakes. As Saint Peter’s first letter points out, “Rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold and gold, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” Sometimes it’s the manure in your life that ends up being the blessing because, very often, it is the suffering sent from God that brings you to faith in Jesus Christ alone. The suffering caused by the two recent earthquakes certainly isn’t good. But if they cause us to repent of our sins, then God has used even such an awful thing as an earthquake for our good.

It was the manure in Joseph’s life that showed him God’s glory. He was tossed in a pit and sold as a slave to Pharaoh by his eleven brothers. He was wrongly accused of coming onto Pharaoh’s wife and thrown into jail. But from this fresh pile of manure came the great confession of faith that Joseph told his brothers, “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.” Praise God for manure!

Jesus was betrayed, abandoned, rejected, beaten, mocked, crucified and buried. And from this suffering came the most glorious event of all time: Jesus rose from the dead by the glory of His Father so that you too might walk in newness of life. Thank God for the manure he sends!

Is God in control of natural disasters? Yes. Does God cause suffering? Yes, very often he does. But, when you look at your life, I pray that you might realize that even in the most horrible events you have gone through sometimes bring you closest to God’s heart. In all things, even suffering, God works for the good of those who love Him. When you realize that you are too weak to live on your own and begin to trust in Jesus as your fortress. When you finally confess that your sins have turned your world into a mess and you surrender your life to God. Yes God creates earthquakes. But even in all of this suffering, he promises that he is working for good. When he sends the manure: repent. When he sends the manure: trust in Him alone. Perhaps by the power of the Holy Spirit, as God works through this suffering, you and I will finally start producing fruit for the kingdom of God! Amen.