On Sunday October 1, in Las Vegas , Nevada U.S.
history.
I preach this message within a
context, that is, remembering that there is also blessing, joy, wonder, love, and
goodness in the life we live. But that
fact doesn’t diminish the horror of last Sunday. As a Christian, as a pastor, as a student of
the Bible, I call it an act of evil. Others
many disagree. This is how I see it.
Within seconds it was sheer
pandemonium. People at first thought
the sound was fireworks. They assumed it
was a part of the show. But then people
started falling around them from being hit.
And at that moment terror, panic, confusion and shock began to race
through the crowd, as people starting ducking for cover, running in all
directions, trying to get away from the rifle fire. The shooting lasted 10 minutes which must
have felt like an eternity. And in that
span of time, some 500 people were injured and wounded and 58 concertgoers died,
murdered by one man. Many people are in
hospitals in critical condition. There
has been widespread speculation about the shooter’s motive, but that still
remains unknown. Memorial services are
currently being held.
I can’t imagine the fear people
felt, having never experienced anything like it myself. Have you?
First responders, police, firefighters, EMT’s, paramedics were quick to
rush to the scene. They ran toward the
gunfire. We have also heard of many
stories of heroism. Strangers helping
strangers, friends helping friends, people shielding others who themselves were
killed. A man saved 30 people before he
was shot in the neck. A husband died
protecting his wife. A couple trained in
first aid, turned to the wounded administering CPR, making tourniquets, and
saving lives. A marine commandeered a
truck and drove dozens of people to the hospital. A wounded man put his body over 2 strangers
to shield them as bullets rained down. Many
people in the midst of chaos acted with amazing courage to help their fellow
concertgoers. Our prayers go out to the
victims, to their families, to the wounded, to the first responders, to the
people of Las Vegas .
Amidst the swirl of emotions we
feel at hearing of such carnage, such a horrific act immediately raises
questions. Not only questions like who
was this shooter, what drove him to a heinous act, but philosophical questions
like - why do people commit such evil acts, why does evil exist, what is evil, what
is the origin of evil, can evil be defeated.
For believers, in addition, it raises theological questions, like why
does God allow evil, what does God do about evil, is God more powerful than
evil or is evil more powerful than God? Is
the Bible or our Christian faith silent in the face of evil? How would you answer these questions?
The first thing to say is this, if
there is no God, then theoretically there is no problem. If one is an unbeliever, an atheist, if one
does not believe in a good God who created and who rules the world then
logically there is no intellectual problem.
If we live in a chaotic, purposeless
and meaningless universe, with no intelligent designer or sovereign God, we
have no right to expect that decency, and morality and justice should prevail
in this world. Wickedness should never
be a surprise. We are on our own. We are alone in this vast universe. Logically, evil is not a problem for
unbelievers.
Evil is a problem for believers, for
Christians. And the deeper your faith, the
closer you are in your walk with God, the more firmly you trust in a good, loving
and powerful God, the more vexing is the problem of evil. If God exists and if God is loving and
merciful, why is evil so pervasive?
Ideas about evil and suffering
have been discussed down through the centuries.
For example, some have explained that all suffering and evil comes from
God; God uses it like a hammer to punish sin and immorality. Some evangelists like Rev. Pat Robertson have
stated that hurricanes like Katrina and earthquakes are God’s punishment on
sinful and disobedient cities and nations.
It’s possible, but I don’t believe it.
Others have said evil is
necessary for the good of the whole, like leaven is to dough. Others have theorized that evil is only an
illusion, and everything will come out good in the end. Still others have said evil is a mystery, there
are no answers. Some have asserted that
human beings are the cause of evil in the world and at least partly responsible
for natural disasters because we have polluted the environment. Human beings with our free will are without
question guilty in terms of moral evil, such as this shooting.
Jewish and Christian thinkers
have basically made the following three theological arguments. First, God is all-powerful, all-loving, all-knowing
and all-present. This is the central
biblical claim about God the creator of the world, the one who formed Israel and the
church, and the ruler of the universe. Other
thinkers have said God is all-loving, but not all-powerful, and that explains
why evil exists. God is too weak to do
anything about evil. Still other
thinkers have asserted that God is all-powerful, but not all loving and that
explains why evil exists. God just
doesn’t care that evil exists. What do
you think? I believe in the traditional
Judeo/Christian view of God, based upon scripture, that God is all powerful, all
loving, all knowing and all present. But
yes, that position leaves many questions.
I bring four answers or responses
which come out of our orthodox and traditional Judeo/Christian understanding of
God.
First, God is involved in the
world and in evil with us! That sounds
strange I know. It is saying that God is not beyond evil, above evil, basking
in the splendors of heaven. God
entered this world in the person of Jesus Christ to save sinners, to bring
salvation to the world. Jesus is fully
God and fully human. God was incarnate
in Jesus of Nazareth to accomplish His will in the world both then and today. Jesus was subjected to the worst evils that
humans can devise. Jesus experienced
rejection, persecution, humiliation, beatings and was crucified upon a cross. God chose to personally become one of us, one
with us and one among us and subject himself to evil in order to atone for our
sins, to forgive us, to make our relationship right with God, to bring us back
into fellowship with our creator. God
understands, God knows, God is empathetic to the pain humans must at times go
through because Jesus himself was subjected to it. We pray to a God who understands our pain. The
letter of Hebrews in speaking about Jesus says:
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with
our weakness.”
Second, God battles against and
conquers evil today. There is a strange
story in the Gospel of Matthew. It takes
place in the town of Gadarene , on the eastern
side of Sea of Galilee, in the northern region of Israel . We read that two demon possessed men came out
of the tombs to confront Jesus. They
were extremely strong and violent and no one dared go near them. They shout, “What do you want with us, Son
of God?” “Have you come to
torture us before the appointed time?”
“If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
Jesus doesn’t hesitate, he says “Go!”
Jesus casts out the demons from the men and sends them into this herd of pigs. The entire herd of pigs rush down a steep
bank and drown in the sea of Galilee. The
swineherds, like shepherds, only for pigs, race to town to report what has
occurred to the two men and to the pigs.
The whole town goes out to meet Jesus and pleads with him to leave their
region.
Like any story in the Bible it
must be interpreted. How would you
interpret it? Here are some possible
interpretations. The message of the
story is that Jesus hated pigs? He
despised pigs that went around snorting and wallowing in the mud. The message of the story is that in Judaism
pigs are unclean, they are not Kosher, and should never be eaten. Jews hold that
view today. The message of the story is
that Jesus should not meddle in the local economy, in this instance, the pig
industry, because it always got him into trouble. Any of those interpretations are possible. I believe the story is saying something else,
that Jesus, the Son of God, has power over evil, personified here as demons, and
conquered evil in his day and continues to do battle against and conquer evil
today. I offer that interpretation for
your thinking.
The third response is God cares, God
loves the world and God loves us. The
Holy Spirit instills courage and comfort in our faith today in the midst of
tragedy and crises. God gives us the
strength and power to endure and overcome evil. God assures us of his presence with us in
all times. God promises that nothing can
separate us from his love. God gives us
the power to endure and overcome evil ourselves through faith.
In Romans 8 we read these
inspiring words: “If God is for us, who
can be against us? God sent his own Son
to be with us, among us and for us. Who
will separate us from God’s love. Hardship,
distress, persecution, famine nakedness or peril or sword? No, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him who loved us. I
am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things
present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height or depth nor anything else
in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ
Jesus our Lord.”
In II Corinthians we read: “Praise be to the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who
comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble, with
the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”
Finally, we hold onto the promise
that God will ultimately conquer all evil and establish a new earth and heaven. This is the glorious message of Easter and
the resurrection. God raised Jesus from
death on Easter, the message of Easter is that in Jesus’ resurrection, God has ultimately
conquered sin, death and evil. Further,
as believers we have the promise and assurance of the second coming of Christ, when
evil will be vanquished forever and God’s kingdom, God’s reign, will become
visible to all.
Rev. 21: “I saw the holy city, coming own out of
heaven from God, and I heard a loud voice from the throne: Saying See the home
of God is among mortals, God will dwell with them, they will be his peoples, God
himself will be with them, God will wipe every tear from their eyes, death will
be no more, grieving and crying and pain will be no more.”
Author Dinesh Dsouza wrote: “Evil
and suffering poses an intellectual, spiritual and moral challenge for
Christians. But it also poses a
formidable challenge for atheists and unbelievers. Because suffering is not merely an
intellectual and moral problem, it is also an emotional problem. Suffering wrecks hearts. Atheism may have a better explanation for
evil and suffering, but it provides no consolation for the people. Theism, faith, which doesn’t have a good
explanation, nevertheless, offers a better way for people to cope with the
emotional consequences of evil and suffering.”
We place our trust and our hope
in Jesus. The good news, of our faith, the
light in the midst of darkness, is that in Jesus Christ God has overcome, is
overcoming and will finally overcome evil.
Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment