Have you ever been troubled by a sermon? I was - just this morning, which may seem strange because today's a Saturday. Glenn bought me a great Christmas present last year, a Squeezebox internet radio. It lets me subscribe to all kinds of podcasts from around the world and listen to them, not at the computer, but anywhere in the house I put the radio. Usually I have it by my bed - great to listen to while I'm going to sleep. But this morning I was listening while everyone else was sleeping in on a Saturday morning.
One of my favourite podcasts comes from Western Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC. They podcast their sermons, and they're great. I love listening to them. When I'm teaching Sunday School and doing pulpit supply I don't always get to hear a sermon, and I look forward to listening to these ones.
I thought listening to some inspirational words on "the word" would be just the thing to start my weekend off. Today I listened to Pastor John Wimberley Jr's August 17, 2010 sermon entitled "Worn Down by Injustice". It was based on Luke 12:32-40 and Isaiah 1:1, 10-20.
I was listening attentively, until Pastor Wimberley said this:
To de-stress our efforts to change the world, ourselves or our relationships, we need to stop thinking we have to or can solve all our problems. Has God been able to end war, eliminate poverty or protect the environment? Well, why do we think we will have some kind of instant, magical success in these and other areas? God does not expect us to solve problems God hasn’t been able to solve.
What!?
I cannot believe that a preacher, from the pulpit, said something that would indicate God is not omnipotent. Yes, there are wars, poverty and environmental damage evident throughout our world. God has solved them - but we choose not to. God has already given us the answer - love. If we loved one another we would not make war with one another. If we loved one another then those who are in difficult circumstances would be cared for by those with abundance. If we loved one another we would cherish our world and not destroy it.
Biblically Matthew 19:26 tells us that "with God all things are possible".
God rules the lives of individuals and nations yet does not negate our freedom and responsibility.
We cannot fully comprehend nor is it our task to justify God's rule of the world. We experience evil in the midst of life. Yet evil cannot ultimately prevail, for it is against God's will.
We have been given our freedom to choose how we live and how to use the creation that God has given to us. To claim that God has not been able to solve the problems of the world is to ignore the wisdom that God has given us. Jesus preached and taught about God's love and its possibilities for us and our world - the fact that a great many humans have chosen to ignore this generous offer should not been seen as an inadequacy on God's part.
I am always glad when a sermon challenges my faith and my actions. Those kinds of sermons reawaken an awareness in me of the condition of our world and the condition of my call. So I am thankful for Pastor Wimberley's words because they gave me food for thought today. They caused me to question my understanding of God's power in the world and in me. I hope that is the message that his congregants took away from that sermon. I'm afraid it might not have been. Someone who is hungering for the strength of God in their life may have left empty - thinking that God cannot solve the world's problems. And that makes me sad. Preachers have a great responsibility when they step up to the pulpit to build people's faith up, and not tear it down.
Yours in Christ, Jennifer
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