“Why is there so much pain, death, illness, poverty and no kindness if there is a God?”
Song: I the Lord of sea and sky
I, the Lord of Sea and Sky (Here I Am, Lord - 3vv+refrain) [with lyrics for congregations] - YouTube
Prayer:
God our Father, life pulls us in many directions, and presents many possibilities
Sometimes, we don’t know which way to turn.
There are many claims on our time, so many demands for our attention, that the very range of choices before us drives us to distraction.
It is then that we need you.
Yours in the ultimate claim on our lives; help us to listen for it in all the other claims that are made on us.
Because we cannot do everything, help us to get our priorities right, to know what you want us to do know, and what we have to leave.
May the stress and strain of life not break us, but make us stronger,
For Jesus’ sake,
Amen.
Taken from “More contemporary prayers”
Reading: Psalm 6:
Song: Beauty for brokenness
Beauty for Brokenness - Lyric Video - YouTube
Reading: John’s gospel, chapter 9: verses 1 to 14
Reading: Romans chapter 1: verses 18 to 32 The Message
I would like to recommend “The Message” translation, available online, but any translation you prefer will do.
Song: At even, ere the sun was set
At Even, Ere the Sun Was Set - YouTube
“Why is there so much pain, death, illness, poverty and no kindness if there is a God?”
Some weeks ago, our church was part of a group which ran a stall in the local fayre. At this stall we asked people, “if you could ask God a question, what would it be.” Once we had collated the answers, this was the most popular.
Two parts are relatively easy to deal with.
Firstly, Death is a part of life. It has been said that the only two things certain in life are taxation and death.
The modern society does not talk about death much. In the Victorian era, death was so common, that it was accepted and talked about. Nowadays, because we have made such advances in medicine, death has been delayed for most of us, and we don’t talk about it as much. Indeed, people in the affluent west have come to expect that medicine can overcome every malady, and prevent death entirely.
But, like it or not, we are all going to die eventually. But the age to which we can expect to live is now much greater than in history. Since the beginning of the Victorian era, life expectancy in this country has roughly doubled. This means that we notice early and unexpected deaths more. Because medical science has developed what we now call palliative care, messy and unpleasant deaths are more noticeable than they used to be, but in fact are generally rarer.
Of course, there are unexpected deaths, and death caused by others. This, I will deal with later, along with other types of suffering
As Christians, we believe that Jesus’ death and resurrection mean that death is the transition from this world to the next. That death is not to feared, because its power has been conquered.
Secondly, To say that there is no kindness in the world is to overlook a great deal. If you have encountered the book, or film “Pollyanna” you may be familiar with one of two quotes, or even both of them. The book contains the quote "When you look for the bad, expecting it, you will get it". The film, on the other hand contains the quote "When you look for the bad in mankind expecting to find it, you surely will" This is attributed to Abraham Lincoln. Pollyanna, on the other hand, played “The glad game” when she always looked for the best, and rejoiced in it.
If we look for the best, then we need to look no further than the medical advances mentioned earlier. Let’s not forget that all these advances are discoveries about the world, and who we believe made the world. The more we discover about God’s creation, the more we have to be glad about. If we take a close look at the world, now and in history, there are many examples of people who spend their lives being helpful to others. I believe that to say that there is no kindness in the world is the result of not looking for it. Of course, there is always scope for more. That is up to us; when Jesus urged us to be salt and light he is urging us to improve the world, and the reason for this is given in Matthew’s gospel “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” By doing these deeds, we are making God evident to people.
This leaves us with pain, illness and poverty, and unexpected death. These, I will call “Suffering”.
There are different sorts of suffering, which seem to have different causes:
Illness; both physical and mental. There seems to be a lot of illness around, is there really more than there used to be? Or are we just better informed? Certainly, as I mentioned earlier, nowadays we seem to be able to cure, or at least treat, many more illnesses than we could. As a boy, I lived in a town where there were people who had been crippled by polio; people who were clearly affected by rickets; older people talked of diphtheria. There was an outbreak of smallpox, and a mass vaccination programme in the West Riding area. Tuberculosis and brucellosis were around, especially in agricultural areas. Many occupational conditions have reduced in occurrence as our understanding of the causes has increased. Most of these diseases are now mercifully rare, and for that we should give thanks.
As I mentioned when the Christian Ethics and Social Action Committee “Values Day” material looked at mental health, and out attitudes to it, there are many people who inhabit “Dark Places”. Our job as Christians is to bring light into these people’s lives.
“Natural disasters”. It is sometimes to describe things over which we appear not to control in this way. We certainly seem to hear about more of them than before, perhaps we have more news reports, or perhaps the pictures are more vivid than the old typescript descriptions in the newspaper, days after the event. Certainly, the events as we now hear about them seem to be getting bigger, and more severe.
People suffering as a results of the actions of others. We cannot live in the modern world, and not see people suffering as a result of what other people do. All manner of crimes are committed, against property, and against people. Whilst some may seem trivial, they can have a serious effect on a person, especially their health.
People dying as a result of the actions of others. The largest numbers of these are as a result of war. Contrary to what you might think if you watch the news, the numbers of people dying as a result of war are now much smaller than for most of history, but they are still unacceptable.
People suffering as a result of their own actions. There have always been people who will do things which result in their own harm. There is little that can be said about this, other than that many of them should have known better.
It might seem that I have not really attempted to answer the question so far. Indeed, I have simply attempted to identify the problems better. Up to now, there has not been any common thread apparent, but I believe that we have one to offer as an answer.
The author and theologian C.S. Lewis wrote this; “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A person does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?”
The “straight line” with which we can compare the world, is the perfect world created by God. When God created humans, he gave them the freedom of will, the freedom to make choices. Whilst undoubtedly this allows people to create evil, it also allows them to create love, goodness and joy. Unfortunately, many more have chosen the former (evil) and rather fewer have chosen to create love, goodness and joy. This simple choice then is at the root of the problem of suffering.
Paul was well aware of this nearly 2000 years ago; “Since they didn’t bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil, grabbing and grasping, vicious backstabbing. They made life hell on earth with their envy, wanton killing, bickering, and cheating. Look at them: mean-spirited, venomous, fork-tongued God-bashers. Bullies, swaggerers, insufferable windbags! They keep inventing new ways of wrecking lives. They ditch their parents when they get in the way. Stupid, slimy, cruel, cold-blooded. And it’s not as if they don’t know better. They know perfectly well they’re spitting in God’s face. And they don’t care—worse, they hand out prizes to those who do the worst things best!
Paul refers to sins in many places of his writings, but envy in one of the commonest. If you think about the sufferings that we looked at earlier, many of them can be considered to have envy at their root. The desire to possess something that one does not own is behind much crime, and many wars.
When Jesus was confronted by the man born blind, he said that “this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” and then proceeded to heal him. There are many people in the world who are suffering, and in whom “the works of God might be displayed”, but they are denied the opportunity of experiencing the wonders of God’s work by greedy, grasping people. As long as incalculable sums are spent on weapons, there will be a shortage of funds for healthcare.
Natural disasters pose a problem, in the past they were often described as “Acts of God” especially by insurance companies, anxious to avoid paying out! Many of them seem to be made worse by the greed of people. People continuing to live in earthquake zones, flood plains, and in the shadow of volcanoes because they can get wealthy in these places. People who are forced to live in such places so that other people can get wealthy on their backs are similarly trapped.
The weather increasingly seems to be causing problems. In many places the climate seems to be changing for the worse. Storms, floods and related problems are causing increasing difficulties. Of course, there have always been such events, my town was flooded 50 years ago when we had a freak storm in July, we came home from holiday to find my brother bailing out the cellar with a bucket. But people continue to live in these places. About 16 years ago, Sheffield, and much of the Don Valley downstream was flooded. But we still live and work here! Placing our faith in the newly improved flood defences.
In the case of such disasters, it seems that at least a portion of the blame can be laid at the door of humanities lack of concern for the perfect world created by God. In the book of Genesis we were made stewards of creation, but our stewardship is looking poor at the moment. How much of this is down to greed?
Finally, we must think of People choosing to suffer/sacrifice themselves for others. This is a sermon in its own right, but it can only be given a brief treatment today. We must remember that is was through Jesus’ suffering that God sought to put the world right; to repair the broken relationship between humanity and God. In the first letter of Peter, the writer assures us that we will all have to undergo suffering because of our beliefs, that it will not always be easy, and that our suffering is following in the footsteps of Jesus. Our suffering for our faith, is our share in God’s purpose to improve the world.
When we suffer, we need to remember that God will not ask us to suffer anything that He has not already suffered. When God chooses not to deliver us from suffering, he is there, suffering alongside us.
I’ll finish with another quote from C.S.Lewis which I think goes a long way to answering the question.
'There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right, then, have it your way.''
Song: Thou whose almighty word
Thou whose almighty word - YouTube
Prayer:
Father, what happens to us is a great test of character, and our trials leave us the worse or the better, depending on how we react to them.
We thank you for Jesus: he was made perfect through sufferings.
Help us, too, to use our trials and sufferings positively, to face difficult situations and to make the best of them.
Father give us sympathetic understanding now as we pray for those in situations of stress and strain.
We pray for those suddenly thrust into a new situation and having to adapt themselves to a new way of life. Help them to discover what changes in themselves you want them to make.
We pray for those who feel their lives are spent in a backwater, unrecognised and unacknowledged. Keep them lively and alert, and bring them to see how their faithfulness has its part in your plan.
We pray for people with work problems. Save them from being embittered, and, if they cannot escape, give them the courage they need.
We pray for all those who are under great pressure. Give them the strength they need to see them through.
Father, we thank you for all your people in the past who have come through hard experiences and proved their faith. Help us, too, to persevere to the end, and to use our trials positively and creatively to your glory.
Amen.
Song: Come let us sing of a wonderful love
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