3^rd Sunday in Lent at Epiphany on February 24, 2008

John 9:1-7,13-17,34-39 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" ³ "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. ⁴ As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." ⁶ Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. ⁷ "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. …  ¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. ¹⁴ Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath. ¹⁵ Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. "He put mud on my eyes," the man replied, "and I washed, and now I see." ¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others asked, "How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?" So they were divided. ¹⁷ Finally they turned again to the blind man, "What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened." The man replied, "He is a prophet." …  ³⁴ To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out. ³⁵ Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" ³⁶ "Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him." ³⁷ Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you." ³⁸ Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him. ³⁹ Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."

Not the Why, But the Work of Suffering

As we travel through a world that is hindered by the sting of sin, we encounter a myriad of suffering. Some of this suffering we have brought upon ourselves. Driving too fast on slippery roads can bring painful problems. Disobeying our parents will bring confining consequences. Lying to the IRS will bring a penalty that is quite taxing. Years of excessive bad habits can finally reach critical mass. We are well aware that consequences may follow sinful actions.

It is much more difficult for us to understand why the seemingly innocent become victims. Why is the life of a young husband and father snuffed out by the careless actions of a drunk driver? Why is a woman with three small children deserted by her husband? Why should a grade-schooler have to undergo chemotherapy? Why does a tornado rips through a sleepy village and claim its toll?

So many “why” questions. We want to know: “Why has the Lord allowed this agony and anguish, these pains and problems? Why didn’t God stop them before they arrived? Why hasn’t God removed them now that they are here? Why, if God won’t take away these hurts, doesn’t He take the time to explain?” The sad, soulful scream of the unanswered “why” becomes for many people – maybe many of you – a spiritual wall between you and God; a barrier you haven’t been able to climb over or go around.

It's hard to understand why God would do what He seems to be doing. As a parent or grandparent, you love your children. When your little ones are sick or injured, you would do whatever is necessary to make them better and take away their hurt. You would, if you could, take their illness and pain into your own body. You would do this because you love them. The difficulty and frustration is that although you have the love and desire to help, you don't have the power to make the wish a reality. But the omnipotent, all-loving Triune God isn't supposed to have our limitations or shortcomings.

That’s why, when we see ongoing suffering and terrible pain descend upon someone we love, we quickly come to some strange and often wrong conclusions. Some of us end up thinking that the Father doesn't care; others begin to believe that God is helpless; while others think that their stern almighty Lord, upset about some deep and dark transgression, has sent divine punishment. This last theory, the one about God punishing sinners, was the one the disciples settled on when they and the Savior came upon a man who had been blind since birth.

As [Jesus] went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" The disciples were aware of many Old Testament examples where nations, families, and individuals were punished because of something they had done wrong.

Mary was a cancer patient in the hospital. This usually positive Christian woman was crying with her face buried in her hands. Her husband, sitting at her bedside, was equally disturbed. Thinking she had received some troubling prognosis from the doctor, the pastor about their distressed state. She explained that well-meaning friends had just stopped by to visit. They asked her, "Have you looked back on your life to figure out what you did that would make God give you cancer?" The why question. It is a common thought that plagues parents whose children are gravely ill, and they ask if God was punishing them for some transgression from their younger days. The why question.

Satan incited our first parents to eat the forbidden fruit. It was because Adam and Eve did not remain with God, but instead followed Satan, that our whole world has been plunged into sin and suffering. Disaster and death certainly were not a part of God’s design for human life. The Lord’s perfect creation was twisted and tainted by what happened in Eden .

We mistakenly believe that Adam and Eve were the first to experience pain and suffering. I believe it was the Lord who first felt this pain and heartache. We talk so much about the tragic suffering of the innocent, but the heavenly Father is the real definition of "innocent suffering." The Lord lost what He created; what He loved; what He treasured most. He had done no harm. In Him there is no evil - only good and love and life. Then He was the first to experience how the evil deeds of others impact even the innocent.

We are so quick to charge God with wrongdoing and demand, “Why did You allow this to happen? Don’t You care?” Notice how when God was hurt, when His children rebelled, when His perfect creation was ruined, He didn’t ask Adam and Eve: “Why? Why did You do this to Me when I gave you such a beautiful life? Don’t you care?” Of course God cared and He does care. That’s why He didn’t ask why. Instead He answered the question of “how”. He immediately planned how to restore life and rescue His creation from the grip of death. He again becomes the Author of life. He instantly demonstrated how much He cares by giving the promise of a Savior who would crush the serpent’s head, but whose heel would be struck by sin.

Jesus the Savior showed just how much God cares. “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) Jesus has proven His love, just how much He loves by giving His life for us. He showed how much He cared during every moment He walked among us. He showed how much He cared by resisting the temptations that causes us to stumble. He showed how much He cared when He kept the laws we have broken. He showed how much He cared when He, on Calvary 's cross, died the death that our sins demanded. "He, the innocent Son of God, took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, (He) was stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that has brought us peace was upon Him, and by his wounds we are healed." (Is 53:3-5).

Would you give your life for your children? Jesus has done that and more. Jesus has given His life for those who rejected Him; who didn't love Him; who lied about Him and hated Him; whose sins nailed Him to a cross. No, my friends, if your life has hurt or horror, it is not because Jesus doesn't care. Nor do your pains and problems remain because Jesus is helpless or impotent. He who could still a storm with a word; who could feed thousands with a young boy’s lunch; who could summon a friend back from death, is more than the Master of whatever difficulties you may have. Jesus will take care of His followers' problems, either at the time of the resurrection or before.

Still, that doesn't answer your question: "Why do sorrows and sufferings, pains and problems come?" Jesus gives us a clue to that most important question in His reply to the disciples. He told them, "Neither this (blind) man, nor his parents sinned. This has happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." And exactly what does that mean?

If you are having difficulties; if you are carrying a cross; if you are worried, afraid, depressed, despondent, troubled, or terrified; if you are feeling alone, lost, unloved and lonely; if you are unsure of tomorrow and saddened by today; no matter what hurt has touched your life, it has come because God wants to work.

What does that mean, “God wants to work?”

Perhaps God uses a heart attack to wake up a person who is dead in sin and unbelief. Maybe He uses a job loss or a critical illness to allow people the chance to see they can’t make it through life alone. Maybe He used 9/11 to turn a wayward nation back to the true God. God is giving people a chance to be turned to Him. God has possibly allowed this cross to come so that they might know He is calling them to faith. He may use horror or heartache to work His gracious salvation.

But why are those who are already saved suffering? God wants to work. God is putting heat under your faith to make it purer in the forge of adversity. He is hammering upon your faith and making it stronger upon the anvil of hard times. “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance.” (Rom 5:3) Christ, our Savior, whose life, suffering, death, and resurrection gives believers eternal life. But it is also true that Jesus is our Brother, Defender, Counselor and Friend, whose presence we feel in adversity, whose love we experience in trial, and whose perseverance we imitate in suffering.

Why do you have a cross a cross to carry? God wants to work and display His awesome power in your life. If you are suffering or are in some heartrending situation, God may be using you to demonstrate how He can cure the incurable and bring Hope to a hopeless situation. He may be giving you the chance to show those who are watching, how a faithful Christian handles adversity. When Paul had his thorn in his flesh, the Lord told him that His Divine strength would be shown most clearly when it would be silhouetted against Paul’s weaknesses. Peter encourages: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³ But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” (1 Pet 4:12-13)

Or maybe you find yourself forced to stand by, seemingly helpless, as you watch the suffering of someone you love. You, too, want to know, “Why?” Again, the answer is that God wants to work. God has entrusted you with the opportunity to love somebody in a special way; to perform some very special acts of Christian kindness; to practice in a unique and tangible way what you believe. St. Paul said it far better than I: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God" (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). St. Paul was saying: "God wants to work through you to share the love you have received from Jesus. His is displaying His power to comfort and save through you.” The faithful and the weak, sufferers and spectators, know this: your loving God, your healing God, your saving God, is working to bring you closer to Him.

Why do bad things happen? It's because we live in an imperfect world. It has nothing to do with God's power, or His ability to love, or His sense of judgment. It has everything to do with the fact that sin was unleashed on God's good creation. And now we live with the consequences of an imperfect world. Now God’s amazing grace becomes a sweet sound in the dissonance of our sinful world. When we are lost, we appreciate being found. When we are blind, we know it is God who makes us see. The Light of God’s love shines even brighter in the darkness of our world.

The important thing to remember when confronted by any suffering is that God is not the cause, but He is our comfort. He is not the instigator of our troubles, but He is the author of our tranquility. He will give us the peace to handle each situation in life, the power to rise above it and the promise of a perfect life to come in heaven.

A poem reads: "All the way my Savior leads me; what have I to ask beside? Can I doubt His tender mercy, Who through life has been my guide? Heav'nly peace, divinest comfort, here by faith in Him to dwell? For I know what'e'er befall me; Jesus doeth all things well." That poem was written by a lady who lost her sight at the age of six weeks. A doctor made a mistake and took away her vision. What a cross to carry. Why did God allow it to happen? The woman – a Christian woman who was given the ability to memorize great sections of the Bible, who wrote over 8,000 songs of praise to the Lord – explained why: "Blindness," she said, "is the best thing that could have happened to me. How in the world could I have ever lived such a helpful life had I not been blind?" She is not asking why blindness, but she is seeing how can God is working through her blindness. God is doing the same in you. Amen.