July 7, 2019 Texts: Lamentations 3:22-33, 2 Corinthians 8:1-7, Mark 5:24b-34
Dear Friends in Christ,
How many of you remember the show Hee Haw? They had a segment on that show and a catchy tune about “gloom, despair and agony on me.” Do you ever feel like that song? We have many blessings as people of faith and people of this country but we also have gloom, despair and agony and as we look out over the horizon these seem to be building.
You are a smart people gathered here today. You know some of the challenges before us. We hear them so many times we block out their intensity. Taxes going up. Roads being filled with vehicles and now drivers who can light up the funny weed and instead of reaching for the Cheetos they go for the car keys. The continued bashing of people who aren’t in agreement with us. The pseudo sages of our age who have all the answers for you but don’t want to follow their own ramblings.
The agony and despair may hit closer to home with divorce, a loved one who succumbed to drugs or alcohol or gambling. A marriage in a precarious situation because of a health problem. The financial cloud – do I have enough for retirement or college or the house’s next big repair?
We may lift our heads to the heavens and say, “Lord, these must be the last days. Things cannot get much worse before you return in judgment.” (2 Pet. 3:1-4)
You can get a little depressed, can’t you? What if I tell you, “It can get worse.” Please don’t jump up and leave. We are going to find for you today . . .
“JOY OUT OF TRIAL”
Read the Book of Lamentations and see how bad it can get. God rained down ruin on the priests who wouldn’t repent. God destroyed the city of Jerusalem and its idols and defiled temple. God had warned them of this if they turned from the faith of their fathers.
Your personal problems seem more immediate than those of our nation and state. Hang on. It can get worse. Look at the woman in our Gospel. Her illness stayed with her for twelve years. She had to sleep apart from her husband and be isolated from friends and family. She went from doctor to doctor and all this got her was a little lighter pocketbook. When she approached Jesus was she lamenting?
Things can get worse – even in the Church. The new congregations of Macedonia in our Epistle suffered affliction and poverty. Have we suffered like they? Yes, the church on earth has problems but we cannot equate them with some of the early churches. They had lives and money at risk at all times.
Scripture reminds us that things can get worse – much worse. Worse for our country, worse for our Church, worse for ourselves. How can we go forward and take seriously the words of Scripture that say “Rejoice always?” (1 Thess. 5:16)
In Christ, the future is not all gloom, despair, and agony. Far from depression and misery is the Good News of our Lord. When the writer of Lamentations surveyed Jerusalem and the destruction around, he could still say, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end.” ((v. 22) When all seemed hopeless Jeremiah still confessed, “The Lord…will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love.” (v. 31-32)
Look beyond the doom and gloom. Look to heaven. The Lord is master over time and history, there is hope. We have life-restoring Good News when we see our country torn apart by sin and when we drift in our personal lives. There is a tomorrow for those who believe in Christ Jesus.
If your despair is the more personal kind then witness the new life God gave the woman who touched his robe. By the power of God her health returned and sadness was set aside. She could again enjoy her husband’s company in bed and be back in her social circles. God restored a soul and a body.
He did the same for you in baptism. He made you an unbreakable promise: He has claimed you as His own. He reminds you of that in His Word. He communicates that to you when you eat and drink his body and blood. God’s grace brings you a sense of assurance. Come on out from under the covers, face the day, meet the challenge through your Savior.
Gain strength from the witness of the Macedonians. Persecuted with very little to give. They knew of Jesus’ sacrifice so what did they do – they sacrificed. They gave glorious gifts in spite of meager means. The Holy Spirit gave them great joy in their giving. In a country filled with despair, in a world filled with hostility toward God’s Word and purposes, these people became beacons of light to lead the lost to the Lord.
Ignatius was the bishop of Antioch in 107. An arrest takes place. The crime? He was a Christian. He found joy in his martyrdom which was a lion feeding with him as the main course. We don’t stand on the brink of arrest for our faith yet. We will finish the week without being the main entrée for Simba. But, like Ignatius, we have a victorious Savior.
With light from Jesus, gloom, despair, and agony are banished from Christian lives. With power from the conquering Christ, we find peace and healing, whether living in ancient Greece or modern America. With the Lord leading, the Church can unite. I told you it was safe to stay because now you know of Joy Out of Trial.
Amen.