What is the good of suffering?

Reflection on Matthew 5:1-11

Is anyone into cooking?
How about eating?
Maybe both?

Myself, I love curries.
Good cooks know that one of the secrets of the trade
(especially the curry trade but other foods too)
is toasting the spices.

You get your pan, add a little oil or butter,
heat it a little.
then you toss in your cumin, cinnamon, turmeric or whatever,
and in a couple of seconds the aroma from the spices fills the kitchen.
Love it.

Then you quickly take the pan off the heat and add your other ingredients
before the spices burn.
Burnt spices are no good.
I hate that smell.
Of course I only know I hate it - cuz I’ve done it - but nevermind.
The point is – toasting the spices releases their flavour,
improves the dish

We know that’s a little true of people too.
A little heat can help us perform better.

Really?

We know that suffering is in our world
and when bad things happen
especially to good people
we want to know why!

Maybe we’re all philosophers, asking why all the time.

But in this passage Jesus doesn’t help the philosophers.
He is talking to people about practicalities.
Something has happened, is happening,
what next?

Well, if you are sad – you will be comforted.
It isn’t forever
If you are merciful – you will be shown mercy.
Practical stuff .

The last one is interesting though,
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you,
persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
because great is your reward in heaven,
for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Good News!
Really?

Maybe when we read this passage in a comfortable church
safely in Canada
with the only real religious persecution we generally face is
slight unfriendliness or indifference,
(no Merry Christmas at the shops)
it’s hard to really resonate with that idea.

It loses something in translation
becomes soft and fuzzy.
A nice thing to say, easy.

But persecution is not easy.

Let’s go back and think how Jesus followers lived.
Let’s think about who Jesus is speaking to.
Who are Jesus followers?

Many of them had left their families to follow Jesus.
Essentially abandoning their families.
A big problem for ageing parents,
who had no social services to rely on,
who couldn’t possibly hope for a reliable nursing home when they became infirm.
I’ll bet their families weren’t happy with them.
In a rigid and violent society like the one Jesus lived in
where you could be sentenced to death for such disrespect
that’s a big deal.

What about how the authorities see these followers.
Some of the traditional Jewish authorities
are none too happy with Jesus’ followers.
First they perceive Jesus as a threat.
People can get mean and defensive when threatened.
Second, Jesus is saying stuff they don’t agree with,
and you have to agree with the religious authorities
or you will be punished severely.
The Roman authorities aren’t happy with Jesus followers.
They don’t like troublemakers.
They don’t like alternative visions.
They are not into compassion or kindness
or much of what Jesus talked about
and encouraged in his followers.

So these followers are the targets of at least 3 groups.
They face possible death or severe punishment from all three,
- depending on who catches them first.

And Jesus is trying to let them know that this is as it has always been.
Prophets are almost never well received.

Keep in mind that a prophet is not someone who tells your fortune
but a person who calls people back into right relationship with God
by speaking truth about what people are doing,
and what God wants people to be doing.

That is not always the same thing.

The people listening to Jesus know the stories of some of the prophets.
They know the truth of what Jesus says.

People who spoke truth or demanded change have never been that welcome.

The prophet Jeremiah, was a threat to the authorities of his time and here’s what happened to him.
When the priest Pashhur son of Immer, the chief officer in the temple of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the LORD's temple.

The prophet Ezekiel was exiled from Israel

Moses, the greatest prophet of ancient Israel
was ignored and betrayed by his people,
including his own brother.

It is not easy to speak truth.

And even though I downplayed the idea of facing persecution in Canada,
It does happen.
We know that there are good people
Who stand up for what is right and good
And pay a penalty for it.

Perhaps they are eventually proved correct.
But before then
they are ridiculed,
ostracised,
threatened,
and,
well,
persecuted.

In other places in the world many people
Christians and others
face exactly the kind of threats that faced Jesus disciples.


But usually, the kind of persecution we face in Canada
is a feeling of not making a difference.
We experience some kind of paralysis.
A persecution of “what can I do?”
Noam Chomsky, a well known activist and academic,
wrote, (and I am paraphrasing a bit)
“You know I give talks all over America,
and afterwards people come up to me and ask what can I do.
I never hear that from people in Turkey or Central America,
where people are facing real danger.
There they just tell you what they’re doing”

Victor Frankl talked about the idea of transformative suffering.
Whatever terrible things we are experiencing are a learning opportunity,
a chance to learn and grow.
Frankl wrote his first book on the topic
while he was in a camp for displaced persons after WWII.
He was Jewish, and had just come from the death camps.
He knew about suffering,
and had experienced transformation.

All of this musing about persecution comes with a little warning
Sometimes I wonder if some ways Christians
(those who live in safe places, like Canada)
don't try to become martyrs.
We want to try this out.
We want to be righteous too.
So maybe we invent strange ways that we are persecuted.

Or maybe we convince ourselves that we are being persecuted
when we’re just wrong.
Think of David Koresh,
holed up with his group of followers,
convinced –
or at least convincing those that believed in him –
that the authorities are out to get him.

But the fact is that persecution
suffering
trials
tribulations
difficulties
obstacles
make us better people.

It doesn’t sound like it should be right
but we know,
somewhere deep down,
that it is true.

And if we are really honest
we don’t have to invent suffering.
It’s there.
Health, family problems, environment, social justice.
There are lots of opportunities for us to learn and grow.

Of course all of this comes with the proviso that too much suffering
can destroy us.
Like the spices,
perfect toasting – good flavour
too much – burnt.

Jesus knows this truth as well
and is trying to remind people of it.

But he is saying so much more.
Because beyond suffering there is the healing presence of God.

"When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain;
and after he sat down,
his disciples came to him.
Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Even when you are sad and depressed
God is with you.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
Even when you are caught in the midst of grief,
God is with you.

"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."
Even when you have nothing, you are important to God
God is with you

"‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."
Even when you are treated unjustly,
God is with you

"Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy."
When you treat others with mercy and compassion
God is with you.

"‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."
When you are looking for God you will find God,
God is with you.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
When you work for true peace, people will know that you are with God and
God is with you.‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
When you are persecuted,
God is with you.

It all sounds very simple but it speaks to a profound truth,
which is the first line of our United Church creed.

We are not alone, we live in God’s world.

We are not alone

When we stand up for our beliefs
for justice
for mercy
for peace
for others
we are not alone.

The old maxim,
safety in numbers
is based on that idea that you are better off with others.

Well, we are not alone.
The God of mercy stands with us when we offer mercy or compassion.
The God of justice is with us when we call for what is right.
The God of peace is there when we strive to make peace.
We are not alone.
We are blessed.

We are blessed.

In the recent movie,
Evan Almighty,
the character God catches up with another character
and offers some profound advice,

“When people pray for courage
I give them opportunities to be courageous.
When people pray for family unity
I give them opportunities to know what it means to be a family.”

But what the movie character God does not say
is that the real God
is there
helping us be courageous.

The other night I watched one of the most amazing documentary moments
I have ever seen.
The documentary was about the sub prime mortgage crisis.
There is a lot of evidence that this kind of mortgage
was given out mainly to people of colour,
Hispanic or black.
Rich or poor – this group is way
way
over represented in the sub prime mortgage market.
And the effect of this crisis is felt much more in some already besieged communities.
Racism, poverty and now bankruptcy and homelessness.

But
there is still hope.

The footage I saw was of a church in a community
that has been devastated by this crisis.
Yet
They were dancing and singing praise to God.
Because they know that they are not alone.
They know that even in destitution,
homelessness,
and seeming hopelessness
there is hope
And they knew what they were doing to change it too.
Lawyers, community activist told the documentary makers what they were doing.
No paralyis
Action
Transformation
God alive in hearts and minds.

God is there.
They are not alone.

So
Seek truth
speak truth
be brave
be strong
God is with you
You are not alone.