{"id":48,"date":"2013-03-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-03-03T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/2013\/03\/03\/sunday-3rd-march-2013-growing-through-pain\/"},"modified":"2013-03-03T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-03-03T00:00:00","slug":"sunday-3rd-march-2013-growing-through-pain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/2013\/03\/03\/sunday-3rd-march-2013-growing-through-pain\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday 3rd March 2013 &#8211; Growing through Pain"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><font size=\"4\"><strong>The Word This Week:<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n<ul style=\"\">\n<li style=\"\"><a style=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=120#hebrew_reading\">Isaiah 55:1-9<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u2022\u00a0<\/li>\n<li style=\"\"><a style=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=120#psalm_reading\">Psalm 63:1-8<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u2022\u00a0<\/li>\n<li style=\"\"><a style=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=120#epistle_reading\">1 Corinthians 10:1-13<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u2022\u00a0<\/li>\n<li style=\"\"><a style=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu\/texts.php?id=120#gospel_reading\">Luke 13:1-9<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><font size=\"4\"><strong><span><\/span>Thoughts on the Word:<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately I didn&#8217;t get to write you a sermon this week, so I have provided one on today&#8217;s Gospel written by Samuel D. Zumwalt, which I sourced <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de\/predigt.php?id=4112&#038;kennung=20130303en\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span>I apologise for my lack of writing, and will seek to not disappoint again next week! I do hope you get something out of the sermon below though. <\/span><br \/>___________________________________________________________________________________________<br \/><span><\/span><br \/><span><\/span>Sermon on Luke 13:1-9, by Samuel D. Zumwalt<\/p>\n<p>  There  were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans  whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2\u00a0And  he answered them, &#8220;Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners  than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3\u00a0No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4\u00a0Or  those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you  think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in  Jerusalem? 5\u00a0No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.&#8221; The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree 6\u00a0And he told this parable: &#8220;A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7\u00a0And  he said to the vinedresser, \u2018Look, for three years now I have come  seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should  it use up the ground?&#8217; 8\u00a0And he answered him, \u2018Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9\u00a0Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'&#8221;<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>  <strong style=\"\">GROWING THROUGH PAIN<\/strong><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span> In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. <br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>  \tWe were back for the first day of classes after our seminary internship  (or vicarage, as we called it back then). Old friendships were being  renewed, and our first war stories from vicarage were being shared.  That&#8217;s when Professor Robert Werberig, an artist, poet, and pastor,  walked into the classroom to teach a course entitled &#8220;Pastoral  Theology.&#8221; It was one of the most valuable classes future pastors would  take although we didn&#8217;t know it at the time. He sat closest to us on top  of his desk, lighted a cigarette, inhaled and exhaled a drag, looked  deeply into our eyes, and said in his native New Yorker accent:  &#8220;Everything bad that has ever happened to you is a blessing!&#8221;<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>  \t There was a collective gasp from among this group of upperclassmen. We  were stunned, and some of us looked at each other as if to ask, &#8220;He  didn&#8217;t really just say that, did he?&#8221; Doubtless the next thought by each  student was immediately to recall the worst thing that had ever  happened to us. And you could sense this rising cloud of anger.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>   \tProfessor Werberig said it again: &#8220;Everything bad that has ever  happened to you is a blessing. If you were attacked by a large dog when  you were a child, it was a blessing. If you were jilted and betrayed by  someone you loved, it was a blessing. If you had a serious illness, it  was a blessing. If you experienced the painful death of a loved one, it  was a blessing.&#8221; And he paused to take another drag off his cigarette.  (People actually could smoke in classrooms in those days.) And one  person after another was ready to explode at him with seething anger.  &#8220;I&#8217;m not listening to this&#8221; was in the air.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>  \tProfessor Werberig  said: &#8220;The blessing is not that something terrible happened. The  blessing is that because you had those terrible things happen to you,  you will better be able to minister to others in their suffering and  their losses!&#8221; That last sentence probably kept us from throwing him out  the window to fall eleven stories to the street below, but we were not  convinced that he wasn&#8217;t being mean and insensitive.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>  \tDuring the  remainder of that session, our professor began to teach us how to  reflect on our lives and on our interactions with others. He led us in  what could be called a Socratic dialogue in which he allowed people to  offer their objections and then asked engaging questions. By the end of  the class, we were not happy with Professor Werberig but he had led us  through some of Paul&#8217;s teaching in Romans 5 and 2nd  Corinthians 4-5. My three roommates and I spent the rest of the evening  talking about that class. It was a conversation that continued for the  next three weeks as we reflected together on our year of internship and,  of course, on the bad things that had happened in our lives.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>  \t Two years later, Professor Werberig had returned to parish ministry, and  I was a clinical resident at Parkland Hospital in Dallas and his  part-time pastoral assistant in a parish in Irving TX. The year after  that I began to serve as pastor of an LCA mission congregation on the  south side of Dallas, and Robert Werberig continued to be my mentor,  confessor, and friend for many more years to come. He died two years  ago, but I think of him often with fondness and with gratitude to God  for Pastor Werberig. When I was 25, I wasn&#8217;t ready to hear what he had  to say, but I learned more about pastoral ministry from Bob Werberig  than I did from most of my professors before or since.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>   NARCISSISM AND THE OLD ADAM OR EVE<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>   \tWe are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. We confess that  every week as we begin worship. From our first parents right on down to  us today, our root sin (in Luther&#8217;s words) is we do not fear, love, and  trust God above all else. This is our age-old rebellion. We didn&#8217;t fall,  as if it were an accident. We rebelled, and we still rebel.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>  \t Professor Werberig exposed this truth about his students when he  challenged us to think about someone other than ourselves. We were (at  least metaphorically) ready to stone him for suggesting that our own  painful experiences could somehow work for good. Instead we went  immediately to our own sense of loss and hurt and heartache as if ours  were worse than anyone else&#8217;s because, well, they were ours!<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>  \t Let&#8217;s think for a moment about these queries of the crowd to Jesus in  Luke 13 concerning terrible events in that day&#8217;s news. Roman governor  Pilate had mixed the blood of Galileans with that of their sacrifices.  Jesus, why did that happen? A tower fell in Siloam killing 18. Jesus,  why did that happen? Notice how Jesus answers. Essentially He says this  life is short, fragile, and not all there is. Therefore repent, because  it could be you! You can almost hear the words of Psalm 90:12 on His  lips: &#8220;So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto  wisdom.&#8221;<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>  \tWhen bad things happen to strangers, we often get cold  chills a little later as we think about how that could have been us. We  say, &#8220;I passed through that very intersection not more than a minute  before that terrible wreck.&#8221; We say, &#8220;That tornado came within six  blocks of my house.&#8221; We say, &#8220;I know somebody that used to work with  her, and she was five years younger than me!&#8221; We say, &#8220;I can&#8217;t help but  think how that could happen to anybody.&#8221;<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>  \t Now when bad things  happen to us, it is entirely different. We feel the loss in a deeply  personal way, because our relationships are irreplaceable. The statute  of limitations on grief does not run out. How could it? We are the sum  of our relationships (Spanish philosopher Jose Ortega y Gasset wrote &#8220;I  am I and my circumstance&#8221;). It takes time to come to a place of  acceptance about the new and not better circumstance. Our losses can, in  time, become occasions for growth as empathetic and caring persons. Yet  the narcissist in each of us can also become so wrapped up in these  personal tragedies that we can become embittered and destructive, trying  to throw God out of our world.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>  \tThe old Adam or Eve in us is a  born narcissist. He or she is the center of the universe, and that makes  it God&#8217;s responsibility to explain Himself to us. One often overhears  people talking about their loss of faith because of the terrible things  that happened to others or to themselves. Instead of recognizing that  God is God and we are not, the old Adam or Eve builds a rather childish  case for why he or she is not a believer or not a worshiper. Only a  narcissist looks at her or his own tragedies and losses as if they were  weightier than all those that happen or happened to others. A walk  through an old cemetery can be an eye-opener for the person who is  willing to become a recovering narcissist. The older the cemetery the  more stories one finds of inexplicable losses. Hang out in a hospital  waiting room, and you will always find people with painful stories.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>   \tJesus&#8217; parable in Luke 13:6-9 is, of course, a judgment parable. It is,  again, not an explanation of why bad things happen to people (good,  bad, or otherwise). Jesus&#8217; parable challenges God&#8217;s people then and now  to look at their (our!) lives through God&#8217;s eyes. Is God the center? Am I  seeking to do His good and gracious will? Am I ready to learn from and  grow through the pain in my life? Or will my end game simply be to live  and to die unto myself as if this were all there is? Jesus&#8217; parable is a  call to repentance, to turn from the old narcissistic life to the new  God-centered life! The point of God&#8217;s Word of judgment is always, in  this life, to drive us out of ourselves to His mercy in Jesus Christ!<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>   IT MAKES THINGS GROW<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>   \tManure is still a popular fertilizer even for people far removed from  the farming world. Doubtless there are farm folks having a good laugh as  each townie or suburbanite pays for those bags of manure at the home  improvement store. Work it into the soil at the right time, and manure  puts fruit and vegetables in the garden and gorgeous blooms in the  flowerbed. Small wonder, then, that Jesus uses such an obvious example  to teach us about how the bad things in our lives can become blessings  as the Holy Spirit helps us to grow and deepen in faith, hope, and love.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>   \tGod&#8217;s best answer to the narcissist in me and in others is the innocent  suffering and death of His beloved Son Jesus. Through His saving work  on the cross, God&#8217;s Son Jesus has destroyed the ultimate power of sin,  death, and evil. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13, &#8220;now we see through  a mirror dimly but then face to face.&#8221; Our capacity for grasping the  Master&#8217;s plan is always limited by our mortality. On this side, death  always seems to be the worst thing imaginable because it cuts off lives  far sooner than most of us are ready and separates us from our most  treasured earthly relationships.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>  \tThe great good news of Jesus  Christ our Savior moves from the objective to the subjective. This  Gospel gets applied to each person who is baptized when Christ&#8217;s work is  declared for this one! Let&#8217;s be clear. Baptism is not our work. Baptism  is God&#8217;s gracious work of choosing us sinners for the sake of His Son  Jesus. It is what Augustine called a visible Word, God&#8217;s Word joined to  the earthly stuff of water to declare a new child of God where there was  none (John 3:5). This one is marked with Christ&#8217;s holy cross and sealed  with the Holy Spirit. This one has been buried and raised with Jesus to  share in the life and love of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This one is  set apart and joined to the people of God of every time and place. As  Peter says, &#8220;Once you were no people, but now you are God&#8217;s people; once  you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy&#8221; (1 Peter  2:10).  <br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>  \tSo then what is our response to God&#8217;s work for us and  in us? Repent and believe this good news is for you! Trust the promise  made to you in your Baptism. Of course, the old narcissist in me and you  won&#8217;t leave us alone until he or she is finally dead and buried. The  old narcissist still tries to turn faith into something we do, when, in  fact, faith is the trust God the Holy Spirit calls forth from us as we  hear this Good News of Christ&#8217;s saving death and resurrection. Jesus has  lived the life none of us can live and died the innocent death none of  us can die. All this, says Luther, God&#8217;s Son has done that I may be His  and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting  righteousness, innocence, and blessedness (Small Catechism, 2nd Article of the Creed).<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>   \tThis life is short, fragile, and not all there is. That&#8217;s the point of  today&#8217;s story and parable in Luke 13:1-9. The old narcissist in us  fights going into the waters of Baptism and into the grave, because he  or she doesn&#8217;t want to let God be God. How stupid is that?<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span> When  the new child of God in us faces the pain and suffering of this life, he  or she knows that her or his suffering has been joined to that of  Christ Jesus. Our pain and suffering stinks just like manure; Christians  are not masochists. But with God&#8217;s help, we can grow and deepen as  children of God who, in turn, become blessings to those we serve.  <br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>   \tThis is why Paul can write: &#8220;&#8230;we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing  that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and  character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God&#8217;s  love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has  been given to us&#8221; (Romans 5:3-5).   <br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>  \tYes, Robert Werberig was right. I hated it then, and I still don&#8217;t much like it.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span>  In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><br \/><span style=\"\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Word This Week: Isaiah 55:1-9\u00a0\u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Psalm 63:1-8\u00a0\u00a0\u2022\u00a0 1 Corinthians 10:1-13\u00a0\u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Luke 13:1-9 Thoughts on the Word: Unfortunately I didn&#8217;t get to write you a sermon this week, so I have provided one on today&#8217;s Gospel written by Samuel D. Zumwalt, which I sourced HERE. I apologise for my lack of writing, and will seek &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/2013\/03\/03\/sunday-3rd-march-2013-growing-through-pain\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Sunday 3rd March 2013 &#8211; Growing through Pain&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}