Jeremiah 31:31-33; John 12:20-33
Which
is better, no God or an unfaithful God? Sometimes, when confronted by the
calamities and chaos of life, one can sink to an undesirable place where we
wrestle with the very existence of that mysterious and sometimes aloof presence
we call God. This is not just a 21st century problem and it is not
just a dilemma faced by folks who lack faith. Many of the great theological
minds of any era find themselves wondering aloud why God allows the existence
of that which causes humanity harm. I have no answer to this question but I
certainly have a lot of angst. Why does God allow evil? Why does it sometimes
seem God is unwilling to confront evil? Why haven’t we found a cure for various
forms of cancer? Why is God withholding the final piece to so many puzzles? Is
God even in the conversation? Where is God when God is needed most?
These
are question which I grapple with most often during the season of Lent. While
these questions are applicable during any season, Lent introduces us to music
and Biblical texts that are filled with somber and conflicting chords. This time of year has a darkness which opens our
souls to conversations that might not emerge when the flowers are in bloom and
the birds are cheerfully singing. During
Lent, God’s Holy Word dares us to look deeply into its very core for meaning. During Lent, God’s Dangerous Word challenges every
presupposition, every truth, every grain of logic that is the foundation of our
very being.
Trust me; it is much
easier to give up chocolate for Lent than question the roots of our empirical
thoughts. If you dare to dive headfirst into the turbulent waters of the “Word
of the Lord”, you might want to wear a life preserver.
Imagine the year is 587
BCE. Zedekiah is King of Judah and the city of Jerusalem is surrounded by the
armies of Babylon. The water supply has been cut off and food supplies are
non-existent. We know what is about to happen. It is recorded in our history
books. Babylon stormed the walls and captured the city. The Temple was
destroyed. King Zedekiah was decapitated after he witnessed the execution of
his wife and children. The leaders of the city were enslaved and taken into
captivity. It is not difficult to imagine this happening because this scene
continues to be played out today in the same corner of our world.
In the midst of this
chaos, Jeremiah and the King stood together. Both knew what was going to happen
to Jerusalem and the King knew his death was imminent. In anger, in fear, in
desperation, Zedekiah turned to Jeremiah and spat out the words, “If God cares,
if God values life, if God is going to give us some hope, then God better show
up right now.” Zedekiah must have been asked himself why he bothered talking to
a man who represented an absent God. The King probably wondered if God even existed. Why
does it always take a catastrophe to raise questions about God’s fidelity and
existence? The ambiguity and pain of our ordinary lives are more than
sufficient to cause a raised eyebrow or two.
A number of years ago
Ralph Frink was diagnosed with cancer. The prognosis was grave and Ralph took
it seriously. His team of doctors worked aggressively, successfully allowing Ralph
to enthusiastically jump back into his active life style. Last fall the cancer
returned. Again Ralph insisted the doctors be aggressive in their treatment.
Last month Ralph was feeling so good, despite being in the midst of Chemo, he and some friends headed out to one
of their favorite greasy spoons. When
you are in the best of health these places guarantee indigestion. When Chemo
has destroyed much of your resistance to fight infection, greasy spoons
guarantee much worse.
Ralph entered the
hospital February 22 and he finally came home Thursday. If you are counting,
that is twenty-seven days to kill an infection. Cancer didn’t put Ralph on the
8th floor of the University Hospital. Salmonella was the culprit.
Regardless of the cause, the 8th floor was a lot closer to heaven
than Ralph wanted to be.
At the conclusion of
each visit Ralph, Pat, and I would spend time in prayer. These were holy
moments. They were also private moments. But I want to share this. At the
conclusion of each prayer Ralph would say, “God, thank you for being with Pat
and my daughters.” Ralph’s faith reflected a realistic understanding of his own
illness and a belief that God would be with his family ………. regardless.
Hope is holy language.
Hope is the affirmation that God will be our God and we will be God’s people. Hope
confirms that God will be with us……….. regardless.
It began with a
rainbow across the sky announcing to Noah that life was precious. It continued
with a promise to Abraham and Sarah that they would be the parents of a nation.
It was written down in stone at Sinai and handed to Moses. Each covenant was a
fulfilled promise.
But Zedekiah could see
no future. In his eyes the promise was about to be destroyed by flames. He feared
not only for his life, he feared for his dynasty. In anger he screamed, “Where
is God? Why has God left us?”
Jeremiah, knowing his
death was also less than a breath away responded, “God did not leave us. We
left God.”
If those had been
Jeremiah’s final words, they would have secured his place as the ultimate
prophet of doom. But Jeremiah had one more word for his desperate King. “The
covenant that we broke will no longer be written in stone. Next time God will
write it upon their hearts.”
The cynic would say,
“What good did that do Zedekiah or Jeremiah? They still died.” Fortunately the world does not live on
cynicism alone.
One of our great oral
historians, Studs Terkel, shares the story of an interview he had with Jessie
de la Cruz, a migrant farm worker in Southern California. Studs asked, “What is
it that keeps you going?”
Jessie responded, “We
have a saying around here, La esperenza
maera ultima; Hope dies last. If
you lose hope, you have lost everything.”
Realizing all you
preacher types will raise your hands because you don’t want to look bad, if any
one else has ever heard the name King Zedekiah before today please raise your
hand. Now raise your hand if you have previously heard of the Prophet
Jeremiah. You see,Hope Dies Last!
600 years later Jesus was
having a conversation with his disciples. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem for
the last time and in the tradition of the Gospel of John where no secrets are
kept, Jesus told them what was about to happen. He began with a metaphor.
“Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains a grain of
wheat. But should it die, it will bear much fruit.” The disciples looked at him
as if they had missed something. Jesus then explained, “If you lose your life
for my sake, you will live.”
Again the disciples
got a bit perplexed. It always bothered them when Jesus talked about death.
Jesus smiled and responded, “Should I plead with God to save me? Nonsense, this
is why I came. Who can stand against God? Not the powers of this world. La
Esperenza Maera Ultima.”
I’m sure none of the
gospels quote Jesus speaking Spanish, but he did speak the language of hope.
According to Walter Wink, when Jesus mentioned The Powers he was referring to the structures and institutions of
that day. Jesus lived in the midst Roman Empire. By now the Babylonian Empire
was a forgotten speed bump along the road of history. While we have heard of
the Roman Empire, raise your hand if you can tell me who was Emperor of Rome
when Jesus died? It was Tiberius, another forgotten name. But the name of Jesus
lives on because, hope dies last.
Hope drives our faith,
hope sustains our faith, and hope revives our faith. Of course one person’s
hope is another’s wishful thinking. Zedekiah was hoping to be saved from death.
Jeremiah hoped for the continuing presence of God in God’s people. The disciples were hoping to make it to their
next meal. Jesus was hope personified.
Hope is to live in the
present and beyond. Moltmann reminds us, “God’s hidden future announces itself
and exerts its influence on the present through the hope it awakens.”
Jeremiah wasn’t thinking
of himself. He was already looking for a day when the captives would return to
Jerusalem. Jesus wasn’t thinking of himself. He was looking to a day when the
captives would return to his empty tomb.
La Esperenza Maera
Ultima. New Empires and institutions are born every generation. A new
personification of evil seems to raise its ugly head every day. But as Isaiah
reminds us, “Like the grass of the field both wither and die. But the Word of
our God will stand forever.”
Open
your Hymnbooks to page 432 and let’s read together.
May the God of
hope go with us every day,
Filling all our
lives with love and joy and peace.
May the God of
justice speed us on our way,
Bringing light
and hope to every land and race,
Praying, let us
work for peace, singing share our joy with all.
Working for a
world that’s new, faithful when we hear Christ’s call. And God’s people
say, Amen.
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