I have three tasks in the sermon this morning. To unpack the lessons from scripture, to eulogize our
brother Gary, and to kick off our season of stewardship. Let’s see how I do.
“Oh my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer; by night as well, but I find no rest.” Psalm 22 is
a very familiar psalm, but is far from one of the happy ones. Unlike the 23 rd psalm that follows it, this not
a sweet hymn of praise and pastoral love. This is a psalm of lamentation, full of hardship, of pain, of
pleading. “Be not far from me, for trouble is near and there is none to help.”
Job likewise is full of pain and trepidation. “My complaint is bitter; his hand is heavy despite my groaning.
God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me; if only I could vanish in darkness and thick
darkness would cover my face.”
I think we can all identify with these feelings at some point in our lives. When times are good, we tend to
take things for granted. It is all too easy to think that the good times come from our own efforts. But
when life changes and hard times appear, we feel betrayed. If we feel that we have earned the good
times, we usually don’t feel that we deserve the bad times. Then it is all too easy to complain to God as
Job did, “Today my complaint is bitter.” Why God, why have you forsaken me?
Do you ever find yourself uttering those words? I know that I do. And yet, in those times, it is helpful to
stop and reflect. What is it that has caused you to complain? I sometimes find myself going about my
day, thinking that everything is fine. And then, as they say, life happens. I spill coffee on my clean white
shirt. I accidentally delete the contents of my email box. I get into a fender bender. And I find myself
saying, Why God, why me? And in my self-centeredness, I feel justified in my question. After all, my
problems are more important than everyone else’s, so my compliant is totally reasonable, isn’t it?
And yet, in the overall scheme of things, these bitter complaints of mine are nothing. There are others
who face far greater hardships on a daily basis. Who am I to complain about spilled coffee when there
are those among us who have no food to eat? I sat writing this sermon in my comfortable office, typing
on my laptop computer, eating a granola bar, and I feel I have the right to complain? Wow, as my Jewish
friends would say, what Chutzpah!
If I complain so bitterly over a fender bender, what will happen when life really hits hard? What happens
when a job is lost and foreclosure is a real possibility, or when the biopsy comes back with a cancer
diagnosis, or when a loved one dies? Those are the times that we begin to understand how petty our
everyday complaints become. When we realize that our whining and complaining are just that; we get a
rude awakening and a bit of a reality check. And those are the times when we swallow hard, and ask God
to forgive our pettiness.
I can’t tell you why we suffer. Philosophers and theologians have been pondering this question since the
beginning of time. I wish I could tell you why God lets bad things happen to good people, but I can’t.
What I can do however, is to assure you that we have an advocate in Jesus.
When we are in pain, we need not be afraid to approach God, for Jesus understands our pain and our
weakness. The Son of God came to earth not as a king or a ruler but as a humble child. He lived and laughed
and loved as we do; making friends, feeling pain, and suffering. And he knows how we feel when
things go wrong.
Since Jesus understands us, we need never be afraid to approach God with our pleas for help. In our
times of pain, He is with us. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit come to us, strengthen and comfort us,
and help us to bear our burdens.
Job knew this. Even after all of the unbelievable troubles that befell him, Job kept his faith in God. In the
midst of his agony, he proclaimed “For I know that my redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand
upon the earth. Then in the flesh I shall see God.” And that my friends, is the good news of today’s
lessons. No matter how bad our troubles, God is with us; now and unto the end of times.
This morning we also remember our departed brother Gary Koinm. I first met Gary and his beloved Sam
when I stepped in to perform a wedding ceremony when a fellow priest fell ill. The wedding was in the
chapel at Christ Church, while another service was taking place in the church. When I apologized for the
loud ranchero music, Gary laughed and said he was from Texas and this was a little touch of home. I knew
then that we would get along fine.
Gary loved the Lord, loved music and loved to study. He got involved with the Education for Ministry
program and formed strong friendships with his fellow scholars. He joined our choir and loved the
worship, the camaraderie and the opportunity to praise God through song. The choir has prepared a
special anthem this morning as a tribute to their friend and colleague.
As his health declined, he always kept up a positive attitude. He had a ready smile, a quick wit, and told
terrible jokes. I am pleased that he came into my life and proud to have called him a friend.
By now you will have received a letter from me introducing the idea of transforming generosity. Jesus is
asked by the young man in the gospel what he needs to do to inherit eternal life. He learns, much to his
chagrin, that keeping the commandments is not enough. “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and
give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard
this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
Jesus talks about money in the gospels more than anything else. Why? Because we are so consumed by
it. We want to love God, but Jesus teaches us that we must love God more than we love money and
possessions. That is the trick. I don’t think Jesus was telling this young man that poverty was the only
path to eternal life, but was instead putting a deliberate challenge in his path to help him see how
misaligned his priorities had become.
How do we set our priorities? How would our church —how would we — be transformed if each of us
remembered these words of Jesus? Establishing new priorities for ourselves and for our church means
transforming how we think about generosity. That transformation will call upon us to look for generosity
in every aspect of our lives. Now as we enter our stewardship season for the coming year, I hope you’ll
join me as we work together to transform generosity in our church, our community and our lives.