Sermons for the Month
All Things Work Together For Good … In Time
DATE: 7/28/02
SERVICE: 10th Sunday After Pentecost
TEXT: Romans 8:26-39“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
I have a confession to make. There have been times in my life when, if someone had said to me, "Well, you know Jean, all things work together for good for those who love God…" I would have wanted to smack that individual. Why? Well, it's because what was being said seemed so flippant and so far from the truth. I hate to admit that, but it's true. I'm reminded of the class I taught at St. Luke Lutheran Community to nursing assistants. The topic was death and dying, and my focus was primarily on the grieving process, something that anyone who faces a major life change experiences. We would talk about denial, anger, bargaining and then we would come to depression. I would always ask that class how they would react if they were having a down day and someone came up to them, got right in their faces, and said, "It's a beautiful day, the sun is shinning and you should be happy, happy because God loves you." (I'd usually demonstrate this with one of the students.) Every time I taught that class the response was the same. They would hesitate for a moment but then, practically in unison, they would say, "I'd want to smack that person." We would then discuss how disrespectful it is to gloss over the emotional pain of the residents who had faced great upheaval in their lives. That's why I am so careful whenever this text from Romans is read or quoted. Especially as I get to know you better, and I hear of the challenges you are facing, or have confronted in your lives, I do not want to use Paul's words as a quick and easy response to suffering because when they are used in that way this text becomes nothing more than a self-help saying with little depth of meaning. I want us to take a close look at what Paul means when he says that, "…all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to God's purpose…." Is he saying that there is good in every difficult situation? The answer to that question is a good Lutheran response; it is both "yes" and "no". It's no if we misunderstand what Paul is saying as implying that in every tragedy one can find meaning or goodness. While it's true that positive things can happen in the midst of difficulty - like people coming together to support one another or the Holy Spirit enabling people to face what seems impossible - it is not true that everything happens for a reason or that bad events occur so that some kernel of goodness might be revealed. There are times when it is nearly impossible to give meaning to that which seems senseless. And because that's true, it is even more significant that Paul would say, "yes", if he was asked whether or not all things work together for good. In order to understand what he meant we have to place his comments in context. Throughout Chapter 8 of this letter to the Romans Paul is looking at the big picture. He's remembering that what God intended the world to be, and what actually happened, is two different things. God intended perfection, harmony, and a world free from disappointment, betrayals, loss and tragedy, a world that God would lovingly control. But people had something else in mind. The story of Adam and Eve shows us what happened when people decided they wanted to be like God - that is to be God of their own lives. Because of that choice, all of creation, including creation, was corrupted. But, someday, Paul says, that is going to change. Through Jesus all have been forgiven and, as it say in verse 17 of Chapter 8, we are joint heirs with Christ. What that means is this: someday we too will inherit the perfect, harmonious world that God intended for us in the first place. When Jesus returns everything will change, things will be then as they should be now. You see, for Paul this is not just wishful thinking or a Pollyanna view. His words, "All things work together for good," are a confession of faith. He is confident that the future is not in our hands and that whether we are good or faithful is not the deciding factor, but that our redemption is an act of God, a gift to us that we have neither earned nor deserved. When Paul talks about those whom God "foreknew" and "predestined" he is not saying that some people are chosen to be saved, and some are not. What he is saying is that God knows our destiny, and it sure looks good. We have been called, justified and will one day be glorified. In other words, things might get pretty bad in this world. No doubt, Paul says, those to whom he is writing will suffer because they are Christians. That's why Paul says, in verse 18, "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is about to be revealed to us." The future glory so outweighs the present suffering that there is practically no comparison between the two. That's what Paul means when he says, "All things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to God's purpose." Now, admittedly, that concept is a bit hard to get a hold of when we are faced with disappointment, uncertainly, loss and tragedy. We want to know that all things work together for good NOW. And lest we get discouraged I do want to emphasize that often, through the power of the Holy Spirit, good does reveal itself in the midst of difficulty. The opening words of today's second lesson are comforting, reminding us that when we are so overwhelmed that we do not know what to pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. We need the Holy Spirit's help because until our lives end, or until Jesus returns, we live in an imperfect world and sometimes goodness will be very hard to find. As was stressed last Sunday, the weeds and the wheat will grow together. That's why when Paul spoke of all things working together for good he was looking forward with confidence to that day when God will make all things new. So it is that these words have a depth of meaning that is eternal. Only when we understand that should they be on our lips because they have then moved beyond the world of self-help slogans into the realm of religious truth. For that reason this section of Romans 8 is one that I am trying to commit to long-term memory. Let me tell you more about that decision. At St. Luke I met a wonderful volunteer named Martha who is in her mid-80's. Her eyesight will soon leave her, and her hearing is very shaky. So, for the past few years she has been committing large portions of scripture to memory so that when she can no longer hear or read the Bible, the words will be with her. I did not understand the significance of that until my last Sunday at St. Luke Lutheran Community when there was a tornado in North Canton. In fact, it touched down not far from the facility. The lights went out, and there were no auxiliary lights in the Chapel. So there we sat in the dark, 60 to 70 people. At least 50 of them were in wheelchairs. We could not move anyone due to the storm; of course the elevators could not be used. I could not even see my hand in front of my face. I jokingly said - although I don't suppose it was all that funny - that I didn't know if people were alive or dead. What were we going to do there in the dark? That's when Martha came forward and began to recite scripture from memory. Her words were eternal and meaningful, not the fluff of popular sayings. It touched us all. She inspired me to begin memorizing passages that are significant to me. Today's second lesson is one of them. Although there have been times in my life when it was difficult to hear these words, I could never deny their truth. Even when events in my life did not seem to be working together for good, I was strengthened by the Holy Spirit to face the present. And, I was given faith to believe in a day when goodness will prevail. Indeed, nothing in this life or the next can separate us from God's love. The future is guaranteed, and all things do work together for good … in the end. AMEN