The Privilege of Suffering

Scripture Readings: Jonah 3: 10 – 4: 11 and Philippians 1: 21-30 Sermon title: The Privilege of Suffering Preached on September 24, 2017 One of my favorite TV shows of all time is Seinfeld. It hasn’t been on for a while, but you might remember that Elaine’s most notorious boyfriend was a guy named Puddy, and at some point Puddy became a Christian. Now how did she know? He didn’t tell her that he became a Christian. His behavior never changed – he was still self-centered and one dimensional. In fact, the only reason Elain found out about this major change in her boyfriend was she borrowed his car and noticed that all the radio presets were set to Christian Radio, and he put a silver Jesus fish on the back. Elaine peeled it off. What made me think about this episode, which aired in 1998, was this week’s Scripture Lessons that I just read – both of these lessons describe two men, both of whom would tell you that they are trying to follow God, live righteous lives, but how do you know? How can you tell that someone is serious about following God? The song we used to sing in choir with Mrs. Stephens during Sunday School goes like this: “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love” - not by our preset radio stations and our Jesus fish, but by our love. So, what do we learn about Jonah? What sermon does his life preach? Jonah was really something. Considering all the prophets – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, John the Baptist – all these powerful voices who cried out: “Repent! Change your ways!”; out of all of them Jonah was by far the most successful, doing the least and getting the best results. He preached just once. His sermon wasn’t even that good. We read in Jonah chapter three that “Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out: “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown,” that was his whole sermon. That’s it, and yet, there in chapter 3 verse 5, “The people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and everyone, great and small put on sackcloth.” You don’t have to be Bible scholar to know that this never happens. What usually happens is the prophet proclaims a message, vivid and poetic, over the course of years. Maybe, like Elijah or Elisha, he offers some convincing proof of the validity of his message – a miracle, or a healing – or maybe like Ezekiel or Hosea he lives his message by cooking his meals over cow dung and taking a prostitute for his wife, but even after such miracles or dramatic displays, what usually happens is that no one really listens to the prophet until after someone kills him. Only Jonah preaches one sermon, one sentence long, and immediately a whole city of foreigners repents. You would think he’d be proud, but what happens next is even more surprising than his success. That’s what our 1st Scripture Lesson for today was – Jonah’s response to the most successful prophetic career recorded in Scripture. Following such a dramatic show of repentance he should be preparing his speech for his induction into the Prophet’s Hall of Fame, but instead, “When God saw what [the Ninevites] did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry.” He was so angry in fact, that he wished that he might die. Now, in many ways, Jonah was a righteous man. He dedicated his career to ministry – he was no dresser of sycamore trees like the Prophet Amos – this guy was a professional prophet charged with listening to God, doing what God commanded him, but even if there had been a Jesus fish on the back of the whale that he drove in on I wonder about him, because while he doesn’t steal. He doesn’t use crass language. He probably went to worship every Sabbath day; did he love the people he proclaimed his message to? Isn’t that really, the only thing that matters? Paul on the other hand – think about Paul. You remember 1st Corinthians 13? You should because it’s been read at every wedding in the history of weddings: “If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” I’ll add to that – “even if there’s a Jesus fish on the back of your car, even if you preach through the streets a one sentence sermon, even if people listen to what you say and repent from their sinfulness, if you don’t have love in your heart for your neighbor what’s the point in what you’re doing?” Paul has some very important things to say to the Church today, because while many in our community listen to Christian radio and buy out Hobbie Lobby with all the trappings of Christianity – according to him it doesn’t matter what we listen to or what we hang on our wall if we don’t have love in our heart. I like Paul for making that point. And the whole time I’ve been here I’ve been preaching from Paul’s letters. I hope you don’t mind. We’ve just finished Romans last week, now we’re beginning four weeks of Philippians, and while I preach on Philippians Dr. Jim Speed is teaching a class on Philippians – so by the end of October we should all be experts. Of particular interest when it comes to Philippians is that Paul is writing this letter from prison. This physical location matters, because you can compare where he was in body and where he was in spirit as you read this letter. He wrote to a church that he loved, and you can hear it in his words how much he loved this congregation. He doesn’t start this letter: “To whom it may concern” – no, he writes in verse 12: “I want you to know, beloved.” That’s what he called them. And as you heard this passage from chapter 1 read I’m sure you could tell that here he isn’t so concerned with himself, whether he will be released, whether he will live or die, for in verse 21 we read: “For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, [but if I remain] I may share abundantly in your boasting Christ Jesus when I come to you again.” Consider that love – his love for God is so deep that he has abandoned any concern for his own physical wellbeing. He has surrendered to the will of God, and he is so free from selfishness, so full of love for God’s people, that you know this guy is a Christian. Then, compare Paul, who is in prison, and Jonah, who is not. That is a really a strong juxtaposition. Paul is in prison, but he’s happy. Jonah is sitting outside, but he’s miserable. Why is that? I believe that part of the answer comes from our Book of Confessions. As Presbyterians, we benefit from this beautiful legacy of faith – for generations faithful men and women have struggled to say what they believe. Most often we take advantage of this legacy by using the Apostles’ Creed – we today articulate our faith by saying what they – the first Apostles - believed, and that’s good, but in fact, we have a whole book full of such affirmations of faith. It’s called the Book of Confessions. Another confession besides the Apostles’ Creed is the Westminster Confession, which begins with this question: “What is the chief end of man?” The answer: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” That’s a counter cultural thought, for in our world today, if many were to answer honestly, they might say that their chief end, their purpose, is to make as much money as they can, to gain power and to hold on to it. Some might say that their purpose is to get as many people to pay attention to them as possible. Another might say it is to suck the marrow out of life – that’s from Henry David Thoreau, and it’s a good one, but it’s not the best because when I think about the kind of people who can rejoice, who can embody joy, who are free from the kind of self-centered misery that so many in our culture, like Jonah, suffer from. When I think of people who, even while in prison chains, can find a way to keep a smile on their face, I think of those faithful men and women who could see beyond their present circumstances believing that their lives served a greater purpose – and the greatest purpose of all - to glorify God. Consider Martin Luther King Jr., who wrote his greatest letter from the Birmingham Jail. Or consider Nelson Mandela who said, “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.” That’s Jonah – still so consumed by his hatred of these Ninevites, that even though he’s free he’s in prison, while the Apostle Paul is in prison, but completely free because hatred can’t hold him captive. “Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage. Minds innocent and quiet take That for a hermitage. If I have freedom in my love And in my soul am free Angels along that soar above Enjoy such liberty.” I wrote that poem for Sara yesterday. No, I’m just kidding – I wish I did. That comes from the final stanza of Richard Lovelace’s poem, ‘To Althea, from prison,’ and in these words is the reminder that love can set you free. The world needs to remember that. But, to quote the Everly Brothers: “Love hurts” too. I’ve titled this sermon “The Privilege of Suffering.” I have trouble with sermon titles because I have to come up with them on Tuesday and I often don’t have a sermon written until at least Friday, but this title isn’t so bad because there are those of us who know that suffering can be a gift, a privilege, especially when we suffer out of love. Jonah isn’t suffering in this way. The sun is in his eyes and he’s winning about it. Don’t you hate being around that kind of person? He’s also suffering because he’s only thinking of himself, and that’s the worst. On the other hand, Paul is suffering in body, but this is what he has to say about it: should you face opposition and struggle, know that “[God] has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering with him as well.” When we suffer out of love for God or our neighbor, we suffer with Christ – because we know that Christ suffered out of love for you and me. And his great suffering – he wouldn’t have changed it. He wouldn’t have avoided it. He went to the cross on purpose, because doing anything else would have been abandoning the people he loves and if those are the two options – loving and suffering or abandoning us – God chooses to stay and suffer every time. That’s not unlike the love that you who are parents have for your children. You try to give your children love, and for a while they just soak it up, but try to hold their hand when you know they’re scared walking into Middle School for the first time and see what happens. A few years down the line, you want to give them your stuff and they won’t take it. You know my grandmother told my mom for years that after the funeral, “if you dare drag my furniture out of the house for a yard sale I’ll haunt you for the rest of your life.” Love is a source of suffering – you love people and it’s hard because it’s like your heart is outside your chest. The people who you love disappoint you. They hurt themselves. They do foolish things – and don’t you know that our Father in heaven knows all about it. But what did he do? Even after death on the Cross he rose again three days later so that he could love us more. Love hurts, but if there’s love in your heart you’ll be free, even in prison. And love shows – because even if there’s a fish on your car, if you cut in front of someone and give them the bird they’ll see who you really are. We’ll go out into the world today – and may they know that we are Christians by our love, and I charge you with this for two reasons: 1. Because that’s one way we glorify God, thereby living our purpose 2. Because our creator just happened to make living out our purpose the only thing that will bring us joy and fulfillment. So, even when it hurts, go on loving and be free. A groom told me a story last Monday night. He was talking about his wedding day. How nervous he was about remembering his vows. There he was up in front of the church – friends and family all around – “what if I freeze and it’s time to speak but nothing comes out?” he’s thinking to himself. But then the doors open. The congregation stands. And he sees his bride, the woman who will soon be and is now Beth Eckford, and in his heart, despite the fear and anxiety that had been coming him, now, upon seeing here, there is only joy and peace. Love does that. Thanks be to God. Amen.