God will redeem our suffering in unexpected ways-
There is a theme that weaves through our readings today, so I want to take a look at each of them to follow this thread.
First, we have our reading from Genesis where Joseph reveals himself to his brothers. This is the climax of the story … Joseph had been sold into slavery by his brothers, who then lied to his father that he was killed by a wild animal. Joseph was now a slave, but then was falsely accused of attacking his master’s wife and was thrown into jail. While in jail, he meets the Pharaoh’s cupbearer and correctly interprets his dream. This cupbearer eventually brought Joseph to pharaoh to interpret his dream. This he did, which predicted a terrible famine. He suggested storing large amounts of grain to prepare for the famine. Pharaoh then elevated Joseph to second in authority of Egypt under pharaoh and was put in charge of this massive preparation. … The famine hit the land surrounding Egypt as well, so his brothers were forced to buy grain from Egypt. This is when they meet Joseph, their brother, who they sold into slavery many years before, though they don’t recognize him.
When Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, he looks back on the events of his life and he sees a bigger plan at work. If he didn’t end up as a slave in Egypt, and if he wasn’t falsely accused and thrown in prison, then he wouldn’t have been able to meet the cupbearer who made it possible to interpret pharaoh’s dream. If he wasn’t able to meet pharaoh, then they wouldn’t have been able to prepare for the famine. This would have led to mass starvation, and his family would have been among the victims of the famine. …
Joseph fell victim to injustice after injustice, but in the end, he was put in a place where he became the means by which God rescued the region from starvation. … In this way, Joseph points to Christ, who also endured injustice. He was arrested by corrupt leaders and crucified, but it was through that act that God brought the defeat of death and sin. This is a theme we find running through out the Bible. It’s not that God causes the suffering, but God uses the suffering and redeems it is such a way that it looks like it was a part of the plan all along.
Joseph’s story teaches us that our painful circumstances can all be used by God to bring about good ends. In the moment, we can feel like everything is going wrong. Life can feel incredibly unfair. But God can still bring good out of those circumstances. Romans 8:28 says,
“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God”.
Our suffering will never be meaningless if we offer it to God. Our suffering will always be transformed. Our crosses will be transformed into resurrections. We don’t know when. Maybe we will see it after our earthly life, but our suffering will never be wasted when we offer it to Christ. …
Many of us have stories about the loss of a job, or the breakup of a relationship, or some other life circumstance that left us feeling beaten up by life, but sometimes we see how it created the opportunity for a different and better job, or a different and better relationship. The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once said,
Many of us have stories about the loss of a job, or the breakup of a relationship, or some other life circumstance that left us feeling beaten up by life, but sometimes we see how it created the opportunity for a different and better job, or a different and better relationship. The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once said,
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
I think many of us look back on our lives and find that it makes more sense looking backwards, rather than when we were swimming in the painful circumstances. And I believe we will be able to look back on our life, after this life is over, and see how God used everything that happened to us for our own salvation and for the good of others. … Again, I’m not saying God causes that suffering, but God can transform the suffering when we offer it to him.
In our reading from Romans, St. Paul applies this thinking to the Israel of his day. Paul’s own people weren’t following Christ en masse. The original disciples of Jesus were all Jewish, but Paul sometimes saw more conversions to the way of Christ among Gentiles. Paul’s pattern was to preach in the local synagogue until he was made unwelcome, then he would preach to the Gentiles. In this rejection, Paul saw God making a way to reach the nations. This rejection forced the disciples to look outward beyond their own community of Israel. The discomfort of persecution scattered them like seeds among the nations. So, the rejection they felt in Israel meant that salvation was made available to the nations. … Like Joseph’s story, Paul sees God’s hand directing him. While it confused and crushed him to think of so many of his own people rejecting the Messiah, he also saw that this rejection meant that the nations were hearing about Christ. Paul doesn’t think this means that God has rejected the Jewish people, he sees this as a part of the story of God and His people.
This same thread weaves into our Gospel reading as well. Jesus is approached by a Gentile woman who wants Jesus to help her daughter. Jesus is testing his disciples here. Jesus just spoke about purity and defilement. Gentiles were defiled. A Jewish person couldn’t enter a Gentile home without becoming ritually defiled. But Jesus is challenging this tradition. He is saying that purity and defilement are heart issues. Jesus says that it is what comes out of a person that defiles them, and what comes out of her mouth? She calls him “Lord” and the “Son of David”. She speaks words of faith believing he can help her daughter. She speaks with humility, not entitlement. So, does what comes out of her defile her? No. What do we see in her heart based on her actions? Faith flows out of her heart and Jesus praises her for it and cures her daughter. … This is a test for his disciples to help them learn to rethink defilement and purity as an inward reality. But that’s maybe a different sermon.
When the Canaanite woman approaches Jesus, the disciples urge Jesus to send her away. Jesus complies with the disciples’ request by saying, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel’. As the Jewish Messiah, he is the Good Shepherd sent by God to unify and gather up Israel. Who is the Jewish Messiah to a Gentile? Here we see the traditional defilement and purity lines drawn by their culture. He is saying what the disciples would expect him to say. She continues to beg for help and he replies, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” It wasn’t uncommon for 1st century Jews to refer to Gentiles as dogs. Again, Jesus is testing his disciples who are overhearing this. She replies to him saying, ”Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
This is the same thinking that Paul is using in our reading from Romans. The rejected pieces, the crumbs that fall, are available to be eaten by others who find them precious. She represents the Gentiles who would receive what fell from the table of Israel. The rejection of those pieces made them available to the Gentiles. What seems like tragedy is redeemed and used for God’s purposes. This is Joseph’s story, what seems like tragedy is redeemed and used for God’s purposes. This is the Cross, what seems like tragedy is redeemed and used for God’s purposes. And this is the story of our lives offered to God, as well. There is no way around suffering and tragedy. Our choice is suffering with meaning, or suffering without meaning. Do we believe that God can gather up our suffering and tragedy and redeem it and use it for his purposes, maybe in ways we can’t imagine? Christianity is not for wimps.
I recently read about a monk called Elder Paisios who was visited by a saint who had died. She was visiting from paradise. She spoke to him about her very difficult life and he sighed and wondered how it was possible for a young woman to withstand so much suffering. Her response was:
In our reading from Romans, St. Paul applies this thinking to the Israel of his day. Paul’s own people weren’t following Christ en masse. The original disciples of Jesus were all Jewish, but Paul sometimes saw more conversions to the way of Christ among Gentiles. Paul’s pattern was to preach in the local synagogue until he was made unwelcome, then he would preach to the Gentiles. In this rejection, Paul saw God making a way to reach the nations. This rejection forced the disciples to look outward beyond their own community of Israel. The discomfort of persecution scattered them like seeds among the nations. So, the rejection they felt in Israel meant that salvation was made available to the nations. … Like Joseph’s story, Paul sees God’s hand directing him. While it confused and crushed him to think of so many of his own people rejecting the Messiah, he also saw that this rejection meant that the nations were hearing about Christ. Paul doesn’t think this means that God has rejected the Jewish people, he sees this as a part of the story of God and His people.
This same thread weaves into our Gospel reading as well. Jesus is approached by a Gentile woman who wants Jesus to help her daughter. Jesus is testing his disciples here. Jesus just spoke about purity and defilement. Gentiles were defiled. A Jewish person couldn’t enter a Gentile home without becoming ritually defiled. But Jesus is challenging this tradition. He is saying that purity and defilement are heart issues. Jesus says that it is what comes out of a person that defiles them, and what comes out of her mouth? She calls him “Lord” and the “Son of David”. She speaks words of faith believing he can help her daughter. She speaks with humility, not entitlement. So, does what comes out of her defile her? No. What do we see in her heart based on her actions? Faith flows out of her heart and Jesus praises her for it and cures her daughter. … This is a test for his disciples to help them learn to rethink defilement and purity as an inward reality. But that’s maybe a different sermon.
When the Canaanite woman approaches Jesus, the disciples urge Jesus to send her away. Jesus complies with the disciples’ request by saying, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel’. As the Jewish Messiah, he is the Good Shepherd sent by God to unify and gather up Israel. Who is the Jewish Messiah to a Gentile? Here we see the traditional defilement and purity lines drawn by their culture. He is saying what the disciples would expect him to say. She continues to beg for help and he replies, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” It wasn’t uncommon for 1st century Jews to refer to Gentiles as dogs. Again, Jesus is testing his disciples who are overhearing this. She replies to him saying, ”Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
This is the same thinking that Paul is using in our reading from Romans. The rejected pieces, the crumbs that fall, are available to be eaten by others who find them precious. She represents the Gentiles who would receive what fell from the table of Israel. The rejection of those pieces made them available to the Gentiles. What seems like tragedy is redeemed and used for God’s purposes. This is Joseph’s story, what seems like tragedy is redeemed and used for God’s purposes. This is the Cross, what seems like tragedy is redeemed and used for God’s purposes. And this is the story of our lives offered to God, as well. There is no way around suffering and tragedy. Our choice is suffering with meaning, or suffering without meaning. Do we believe that God can gather up our suffering and tragedy and redeem it and use it for his purposes, maybe in ways we can’t imagine? Christianity is not for wimps.
I recently read about a monk called Elder Paisios who was visited by a saint who had died. She was visiting from paradise. She spoke to him about her very difficult life and he sighed and wondered how it was possible for a young woman to withstand so much suffering. Her response was:
“Father, for the kingdom of heaven, that was nothing. Had I known at the time what awaited me in God I would have tolerated infinitely more” (Kyriacos Markides, The Mountain of Silence, p84-85).
Let’s offer our suffering to God in trust, in faith, believing that God will take that tragedy and redeem it for good. Amen
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