WEBVTT 00:00:00.910 --> 00:00:08.669 In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the 00:00:08.669 --> 00:00:20.269 Holy Spirit. Christ is risen. The last few Sundays, 00:00:20.410 --> 00:00:28.410 the Gospels have been lengthy and filled with 00:00:28.410 --> 00:00:40.880 tremendous spiritual teachings and insight. Like 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:52.759 today, it covered 38 verses. Now the rector has 00:00:52.759 --> 00:00:55.399 given me only 40 minutes to give this sermon. 00:01:00.750 --> 00:01:10.349 So I want to limit this homily to one brief question. 00:01:12.030 --> 00:01:17.989 And I quote, As Jesus passed by, he saw a man 00:01:17.989 --> 00:01:24.370 who was born blind from birth. And his disciples 00:01:24.370 --> 00:01:32.719 asked him, Rabbi, who sinned? This man or his 00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:42.019 parents that he was born blind. This question 00:01:42.019 --> 00:01:52.219 relating to one aspect of man that has been discussed 00:01:52.219 --> 00:01:58.140 since time memorial. That is to say suffering. 00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:04.780 appears in this ninth chapter of the Gospel of 00:02:04.780 --> 00:02:13.860 St. John. It's a question that I'm sure all of 00:02:13.860 --> 00:02:21.740 us at one time or another have raised. And at 00:02:21.740 --> 00:02:29.439 one time or another, in different wording, we 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:35.199 are confronted with the question of why. Man's 00:02:35.199 --> 00:02:47.259 most continuous, perplexing, disturbing and haunting 00:02:47.259 --> 00:02:53.259 questions, why? Now in raising the question, 00:02:53.360 --> 00:03:00.900 the apostles... We're looking for some explanation 00:03:00.900 --> 00:03:09.479 from Christ to answer this one word, why. But 00:03:09.479 --> 00:03:15.539 Jesus did not say why the man was born blind. 00:03:18.560 --> 00:03:24.020 Jesus did not say that it was the man's sins. 00:03:26.189 --> 00:03:32.909 Or his parents. Jesus never really elaborated 00:03:32.909 --> 00:03:41.990 on the question. Because at that time, in the 00:03:41.990 --> 00:03:49.310 Old Testament teaching, the fact is that if man 00:03:49.310 --> 00:03:57.780 was sick, he therefore sinned. But Christ rejected 00:03:57.780 --> 00:04:06.219 that explanation. Jesus said, neither had this 00:04:06.219 --> 00:04:10.199 man nor his parents. And I want to emphasize 00:04:10.199 --> 00:04:16.480 this. But that the works of God should be made 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:25.259 manifest in him. That the works of God. So Jesus 00:04:25.259 --> 00:04:29.709 used this. Moment then. To reveal the power. 00:04:31.449 --> 00:04:37.889 And the glory of God. Through Christ. By restoring. 00:04:38.850 --> 00:04:44.370 The sight to the blind man. And it was on this 00:04:44.370 --> 00:04:51.110 occasion. That Jesus said. I am the light of 00:04:51.110 --> 00:05:00.240 the world. But the fact remains, there is innocent 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:08.399 suffering in this world and we know it. Individuals 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:18.480 suffer not because of sin necessarily, but individuals 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:24.399 do bring pain and suffering and sorrow and grief. 00:05:25.120 --> 00:05:31.759 Upon themselves. When they either forget. Or 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:37.680 they reject. Or they drift. From God's teachings. 00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:48.579 That's a spiritual law of gravity. Now from the 00:05:48.579 --> 00:05:53.319 Christian perspective. Doubts and questions about 00:05:53.319 --> 00:06:00.449 God. and human suffering should always be filtered 00:06:00.449 --> 00:06:06.990 through what Jesus taught and accomplished through 00:06:06.990 --> 00:06:10.689 his teachings, through the cross, and through 00:06:10.689 --> 00:06:19.709 the resurrection. These divine events are not 00:06:19.709 --> 00:06:26.899 only historical facts. But they are also windows 00:06:26.899 --> 00:06:40.459 permitting us to see some spiritual truths. Suffering 00:06:40.459 --> 00:06:48.139 is not without meaning. And the reason I say 00:06:48.139 --> 00:06:52.379 this is because God himself shared suffering. 00:06:54.959 --> 00:07:00.899 God so loved the world that he gave that he gave 00:07:00.899 --> 00:07:10.199 his only begotten son who bore our griefs carried 00:07:10.199 --> 00:07:17.620 our sorrows and was wounded for our sins as we 00:07:17.620 --> 00:07:26.110 hear the prophet Isaiah tell us. What is so remarkable 00:07:26.110 --> 00:07:34.209 is that Christ left the joy and beauty of heaven, 00:07:34.310 --> 00:07:42.689 entered into our world, taking upon himself our 00:07:42.689 --> 00:07:50.149 human nature. And so therefore he saw, he felt, 00:07:50.269 --> 00:08:01.480 and he experienced. This world. Of sin. But there's 00:08:01.480 --> 00:08:08.939 another aspect to this. Whole issue. Throughout 00:08:08.939 --> 00:08:14.620 my ministry. Both in counseling. And in hearing 00:08:14.620 --> 00:08:22.269 confessions. I have heard. More than I could 00:08:22.269 --> 00:08:29.089 tell you. The agonizing cries of those who said, 00:08:29.170 --> 00:08:35.909 Father, I'm suffering and in despair because 00:08:35.909 --> 00:08:44.289 God could never forgive me for what I have done. 00:08:50.509 --> 00:08:54.769 Or I have heard this, I have made bad choices 00:08:54.769 --> 00:09:03.710 and immoral decisions that even God himself could 00:09:03.710 --> 00:09:16.230 not forgive. Or my sins are beyond God's ability 00:09:16.230 --> 00:09:24.269 to forgive. And I could go on. It's a sad litany. 00:09:25.450 --> 00:09:31.710 But it's true, my dear people. It's true. But 00:09:31.710 --> 00:09:38.409 I want to say to you that on the basis of the 00:09:38.409 --> 00:09:46.350 Bible, I want you to know that our heavenly God 00:09:48.330 --> 00:09:55.009 through our Son, the Redeemer, has the divine 00:09:55.009 --> 00:10:01.750 power to remove our sufferings and forgive us 00:10:01.750 --> 00:10:08.730 our sins. We have an awesome God, the God Himself 00:10:08.730 --> 00:10:16.409 who was crucified in order to heal our sicknesses. 00:10:17.870 --> 00:10:24.490 What is a handful of sand thrown into the ocean? 00:10:25.870 --> 00:10:30.710 Not a single grain remains visible on the water. 00:10:32.169 --> 00:10:35.350 And that's what happens when we come to Christ 00:10:35.350 --> 00:10:42.190 with contrition and offer our sins and seek his 00:10:42.190 --> 00:10:46.639 forgiveness. This is precisely what happens to 00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:52.139 our sins. They are dumped in the ocean of God's 00:10:52.139 --> 00:11:02.799 love. So never say to me, God won't forgive me 00:11:02.799 --> 00:11:15.759 because of what I did. He already has. They are 00:11:15.759 --> 00:11:19.820 nothing, our sins are nothing in comparison to 00:11:19.820 --> 00:11:25.080 the awesomeness and unlimited ocean of love of 00:11:25.080 --> 00:11:29.500 God. Do we not hear in our prayers constantly, 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:35.279 God is compassionate and merciful. Who loves 00:11:35.279 --> 00:11:40.860 the sinner. That seems like a contradiction, 00:11:41.100 --> 00:11:46.100 doesn't it? God loves the sinner. We are his 00:11:46.100 --> 00:11:54.879 creation. He died for us. The enemy of our salvation 00:11:54.879 --> 00:12:01.960 is the devil. No need for me to offer any philosophical 00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:13.580 theories. The devil is one who repeatedly tells 00:12:13.580 --> 00:12:21.220 us, in different and in compromising ways that 00:12:21.220 --> 00:12:28.480 God is powerless when it comes to our human suffering. 00:12:36.019 --> 00:12:42.259 The devil tells us there's no way you could ever 00:12:42.259 --> 00:13:01.720 be forgiven. He also tells us that we are dreamers 00:13:01.720 --> 00:13:15.580 if we think, if we think we could just clothe 00:13:15.580 --> 00:13:24.240 our sins. With pride in self -righteousness. 00:13:31.720 --> 00:13:36.200 Isn't it true? And this is what's so remarkable. 00:13:38.259 --> 00:13:43.799 There are Christian history tells us. That there 00:13:43.799 --> 00:13:47.240 are those who have sinned mightily against God. 00:13:49.870 --> 00:13:53.809 But through sorrow and faith were not only saved. 00:13:54.429 --> 00:13:59.950 But reached the highest pinnacle of holiness. 00:14:02.210 --> 00:14:09.409 How could we forget Mary of Egypt? Zacchaeus. 00:14:13.409 --> 00:14:19.009 Peter who denied Christ three times. With blasphemy. 00:14:21.389 --> 00:14:36.769 Mary Magdalene, and we could go on and on. St. 00:14:36.950 --> 00:14:44.909 Gregory, the theologian, wrote these words. No 00:14:44.909 --> 00:14:49.039 matter what difficulties may come, what pain 00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:55.759 and suffering may bring. They are means of medicine. 00:14:58.580 --> 00:15:03.279 Life in the final analysis is not what happens 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:14.580 to us, but what happens within us. Accepting 00:15:14.580 --> 00:15:20.490 pain does not mean that we should be happy. I 00:15:20.490 --> 00:15:22.769 sure don't get up in the morning and say, well, 00:15:22.789 --> 00:15:32.490 Lord, give me one more punch in the gut. But 00:15:32.490 --> 00:15:37.330 there is reason behind suffering, which is not 00:15:37.330 --> 00:15:44.090 always understood from the Christian perspective. 00:15:47.529 --> 00:15:51.350 The great Christian preacher St. John Chrysostom 00:15:51.350 --> 00:15:58.669 observed that pain and suffering can only bring 00:15:58.669 --> 00:16:06.210 us closer to God. So we rejoice therefore not 00:16:06.210 --> 00:16:10.389 in the fact that we suffer but in the confidence 00:16:10.389 --> 00:16:23.100 that our suffering can be transformed. And as 00:16:23.100 --> 00:16:30.179 you and I continue our pilgrimage of faith in 00:16:30.179 --> 00:16:38.259 this school of life, we are at times confronted 00:16:38.259 --> 00:16:48.220 with the problem or problems of illness, sorrow 00:16:48.220 --> 00:16:59.519 and grief, agony, Of body and mind. And so. It's 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:07.680 human I guess to ask why. Saint Paul who was 00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:15.380 no stranger. To. Suffering as we heard in today's. 00:17:15.460 --> 00:17:23.349 Epistle reading. Who suffered beatings. Torture. 00:17:24.289 --> 00:17:30.509 Imprisonment. Shipwreck. He continued preaching. 00:17:33.390 --> 00:17:40.710 And this is what he had to say. Now we see in 00:17:40.710 --> 00:17:50.450 the mirror dimly. Now we know only in part. Only 00:17:50.450 --> 00:18:03.019 in part. Lest we think that we can answer these 00:18:03.019 --> 00:18:12.740 questions. Let me remind you what the great prophet 00:18:12.740 --> 00:18:20.859 of the Old Testament said. God's thoughts are 00:18:20.859 --> 00:18:27.720 not our thoughts. And his ways are not our ways. 00:18:33.880 --> 00:18:46.660 The mystery of why can be transformed into these 00:18:46.660 --> 00:18:57.960 words which Jesus said before. He passed on before 00:18:57.960 --> 00:19:03.220 he was crucified. In his farewell message in 00:19:03.220 --> 00:19:11.660 John's gospel, he said, Do not let your hearts 00:19:11.660 --> 00:19:21.140 be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in 00:19:21.140 --> 00:19:24.980 me. In the name of the Father. The Son and the 00:19:24.980 --> 00:19:25.460 Holy Spirit.