Theodora
05-07-2006, 06:16 AM
...was preached last Sunday and was posted on-line at http://www.firstplymouth.org/sermons/index.html#Sunday_April_30,_2006
I've really liked this pastor's work (only the most recent sermons are posted on-line, however) and, with reference to some of Illuminated's thoughts yesterday, this came to mind as a sort of continuing the "conversation."
An excerpt:
Some people also use God as a way to explain personal tragedy. Rabbi Kushner tells the story of a woman named Helen, who noticed herself getting tired after walking several blocks or standing in line. She chalked it up to getting older and having put on some weight. Then she began to stumble and fall over things. So she made an appointment with her physician.
The diagnosis was multiple sclerosis. All she could think about was, why should this happen to me? Was God personally reaching out to punish her for something she had done? She said, "I've tried to be a good person. I have a husband and young children who need me. I don't deserve this."
Her husband tried to console her. He said, "You can't talk like that. God must have reasons for doing this, and it's not for us to question God. You have to believe that if God wants you to get better, you will get better, and if God doesn't want you to get better, there has to be some purpose for it."
She didn't want to question God or be angry with God. But her husband's words only made her feel more abandoned and bewildered. On top of it all, she felt guilty for being angry with God. And suppose God had sent her this affliction, how could she ask God to cure her. If it was God's will that she be sick, would she be going against God's will if she tried to get well?
To believe in a loving God does not mean that you believe God causes bad things to happen to you or to anyone else. In too much of the loose talk about God, people don't think through their assumptions and implications
I'm really not well enough myself to deal with some of the implications I see in this situation, but though I don't have "answers" for this kind of dilemma, for me it's important to believe that we DON'T need to "fake" our true thoughts/feelings when we come to God in prayer. (Logically--we couldn't do this anyway!--but I think there's always a kind of hidden "tape" playing that "nice people"/"good Christians" don't feel these negative feelings or have these questions.) I have been validated in my own faith journey by various authors who do give "permission" to struggle with these basic questions of the faith. I've come to believe that that is a HEALTHY thing to do and, though uncomfortable for us, that coming through these "valleys" can eventually bring us back to solace and more acceptance of who we "are" and "WHERE" we are in the present.
Grace and peace to you all this day--
Theodora
I've really liked this pastor's work (only the most recent sermons are posted on-line, however) and, with reference to some of Illuminated's thoughts yesterday, this came to mind as a sort of continuing the "conversation."
An excerpt:
Some people also use God as a way to explain personal tragedy. Rabbi Kushner tells the story of a woman named Helen, who noticed herself getting tired after walking several blocks or standing in line. She chalked it up to getting older and having put on some weight. Then she began to stumble and fall over things. So she made an appointment with her physician.
The diagnosis was multiple sclerosis. All she could think about was, why should this happen to me? Was God personally reaching out to punish her for something she had done? She said, "I've tried to be a good person. I have a husband and young children who need me. I don't deserve this."
Her husband tried to console her. He said, "You can't talk like that. God must have reasons for doing this, and it's not for us to question God. You have to believe that if God wants you to get better, you will get better, and if God doesn't want you to get better, there has to be some purpose for it."
She didn't want to question God or be angry with God. But her husband's words only made her feel more abandoned and bewildered. On top of it all, she felt guilty for being angry with God. And suppose God had sent her this affliction, how could she ask God to cure her. If it was God's will that she be sick, would she be going against God's will if she tried to get well?
To believe in a loving God does not mean that you believe God causes bad things to happen to you or to anyone else. In too much of the loose talk about God, people don't think through their assumptions and implications
I'm really not well enough myself to deal with some of the implications I see in this situation, but though I don't have "answers" for this kind of dilemma, for me it's important to believe that we DON'T need to "fake" our true thoughts/feelings when we come to God in prayer. (Logically--we couldn't do this anyway!--but I think there's always a kind of hidden "tape" playing that "nice people"/"good Christians" don't feel these negative feelings or have these questions.) I have been validated in my own faith journey by various authors who do give "permission" to struggle with these basic questions of the faith. I've come to believe that that is a HEALTHY thing to do and, though uncomfortable for us, that coming through these "valleys" can eventually bring us back to solace and more acceptance of who we "are" and "WHERE" we are in the present.
Grace and peace to you all this day--
Theodora