Why Does Tragedy Happen?

Pastor Burcham's Sermon

Sunday, September 11, 2005

  (Pictures shown of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.) It looks like something created from some computer or in a studio someplace out in California . But it wasn't a Hollywood production. It wasn't a movie. It was real.

The forecasters said it was going to hit hard. They said New Orleans would become like a swimming pool because it was caught between Lake Pontatrain and the Mississippi and it would fill up just like a bowl. We took it seriously, kind of. But didn't most of us go on with our day-to-day routine? And didn't we half way expect, when we came home, on the evening news we'd learn about once more it was a near miss, one more example of how the media hypes something so much and then nothing really happened.

This time the event was even larger than the hype that went into it. Everyone of us has been affected by the disaster that has happened because of Hurricane Katrina, some of us more personally than others. We may know friends or relatives that lived in the path of the storm or maybe it's just the fact that our heart aches as we look at the images of what has happened down there or we see the people sardined into the Astrodome down in Houston or the people who are displaced who are flying all around the country, even here into Des Moines.

Or maybe we even have a different emotion that strikes us and we feel a little bit guilty about it. Have you felt a little bit angry? Angry the storm had to hit. Angry of the fact you had to pay over $3.00 a gallon for gas. Angry over the fact they say heating costs will skyrocket and it will cost us more this winter than any other year in the past to keep warm. There is a whole range of emotions that happen when a disaster strikes, and there are a whole lot of questions we'd like to have answers to. But the one burning question we need to address is how do we respond?

How do we respond to this disaster? For that matter, how do we respond to any disaster that happened? Because disasters come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. They come with a magnitude of being a national disaster. Maybe it's a Hurricane Katrina. Maybe it's an Asian Tsunami. Maybe it's a terrorist attack. Or maybe the disaster is the unexpected news the doctor gave you last week. You see, some disasters, some devastating news, that makes the front page of all the papers and it occupies all of the airwaves. But other disasters just you and a few other people know about. But for the people who are affected, they're equally devastating. They carry with them the same emotions and the same questions.

The gospel writer, John, tells us about a disaster that happened to a man and his family, his parents. Jesus is walking along and scripture tells us He comes across a man who was born blind. You know when that baby boy was born to his parents, that was a disaster in their lives. They didn't see it coming. They couldn't have expected it. And certainly, at that time, in that culture, what was a blind baby going to do? It was disastrous to them. It was devastating news to them. So, as we look at how Jesus responds to this man born blind, I believe we get some insights on how we can respond to disasters, both national disasters and disasters that happen in our own personal life.

Scripture says Jesus is walking along and He comes across a man who is born blind. Immediately, His disciples then pose a question to Him. Their attention doesn't go to the man to see if they can help him but instead the question goes to Jesus. You see, they want an explanation. They want to know why. They want to know what the cause is. Why was this man born blind but all these other people were not born blind? Why has this happened? They'd like to have somewhere to point the finger, to put the blame someplace. Why was he born blind? They asked the question this way, “Master, who sinned? Him or his parents?” Now that probably seems like a rather strange question to ask unless we understand the context. At that time, the rabbis were teaching that every sickness, every disease, everything you had to suffer could be traced back somehow to sin. They're saying was there is no death without sin and there is no suffering without inequity. So, in other words, if he was born blind, then we should be able to point back to some sin that either his parents committed or he committed. And the rabbis at the time had no problem pinning the blame on the parents or even pinning the blame on the unborn child in the womb, that somehow in the womb that child had sinned. And as a result of that, he's born blind. You see, they want to be able to point their finger at something, some event that caused this to happen. They want to affix blame someplace. Was it the parents? Or was it something he's done?

Aren't we doing the same thing right now? Aren't we trying to affix the blame someplace? Are we not looking to point the finger at someone or some agency? You've noticed it. I've noticed it. All of the news stories have changed. No longer are we focusing so much upon the people, so much upon the devastation and the destruction but now the airways and the newsprint are all filled with one person blaming another person who's blaming another person who is saying this agency didn't respond. They weren't ready for it. How come the levies weren't done? It was the Corps of Engineers. No, it's the President. No, it's the Congress. We want to point the finger someplace. We want to affix blame on someone because we want to answer the question of why. Why did it happen?

Jesus addresses the question, but He doesn't address it the way the disciples would like. Jesus answers the question by saying, “There's really only one viable explanation. It has nothing to do whether this man sinned or whether his parents sinned.” Although the disciples were on the right track when they say, “Who sinned?” I'm kind of surprised Jesus didn't retort back to them, “Who hasn't sinned?” Now you're getting closer to the truth of answering the question of why did it have to happen. It wasn't because of some particular thing his parents did. It wasn't because of some action this man did while he was inside the womb. But who hasn't sinned? In other words, we live in a sin-filled and fallen world. It is important for us to realize, especially at times of natural disasters like this, the world we live in is not the world God had originally designed and created for us. If you go back to Genesis 1 and Genesis 2, the world God had created and designed was a perfect world. It was a world that was free of sin. It was a world that was free of disasters. The world He had created had no hurricanes. It had no tsunamis. It had no earthquakes. It had no suffering. It had no pain. Because it had no sin. But when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, when they thought they knew more than God, when they sinned against God, perfection was lost. God's perfect world and His perfect creatures were now imperfect. And when Adam and Eve fell, all of creation fell with them.

We don't live in a world God had originally designed. We live in a fallen, sin-filled world. And because this world is imperfect, because this world is broken, we have to deal with hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, pain, suffering, disease. It wasn't part of God's original plan. That's the reality we live in. Disasters, both natural and personal, are not something God wanted. It's certainly not something God does. God certainly didn't send the hurricane, and God certainly didn't afflict you with sickness. God mourns and is saddened by the fact of what has happened to the coast. He is saddened by the displaced families. He's saddened by all the destruction that's there. That's not how He wanted it for us. But because we live in a fallen world, that's the reality. The reality is we have to live with those things happening to us. So what Jesus really does to the disciples is He says, “You know, you're actually asking the wrong question. You keep asking the question why. You should be asking the question how. Instead of asking why did this happen, ask how is God going to use it. How is God going to turn this around and use it for good and use it to accomplish His will?” That's essentially what Jesus said. He says, “Neither this man nor his parents have sinned. But this is done so the work of God may be shown in his life.” Jesus would use this opportunity to show Himself as the Savior He was. He didn't like it the man was born blind. He certainly isn't the cause for the man being born blind, but He will use that disaster in that man's life. He'll use that devastating thing that happened to him for the glory of God and for the good even of that man.

If you go on in Chapter 9, you find out a lot of people heard about what Jesus did, about the fact He restored the sight to this man who was born blind, unheard of. A lot of talk was going on, some of it good and some of it bad. But they were all talking about Jesus and the miraculous thing He'd done. But even more important than the talk about Jesus is what happens in Verse 38. In Verse 38, Jesus comes across the man again. And in His discourse with the man, the man looks up at Jesus and he says, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped. This man came to faith in Jesus as his Lord and Savior because of the act of compassion of Jesus, of seeing his need, of restoring his sight. He restored not only his physical sight but his spiritual sight so he could see Jesus for who He was. He wasn't just a great teacher. He wasn't just a rabbi. He was the Son of God. He was his Savior. He was the one that would grant him salvation. Jesus used this disaster in this man's life to bring him to faith and give him an eternity of sight, an eternity with Him in heaven.

In fact, if you trace through Jesus' ministry, He uses every opportunity, good opportunities, bad opportunities, wonderful things happening in people's lives, like a wedding, devastating things happening in people's lives, like their son dying. But Jesus uses both the good and the disaster to show Himself to be the loving and compassionate Savior He is. So people would know Him as their Lord and Savior.

Even look at Jesus' last moments alive. He's hanging on a cross, His own disaster, if you will. He's hanging there with the weight of the sin of the world upon His shoulder and yet He uses that opportunity to reach out to the thief next to Him. And because He reached out to the thief next to Him, He turned that disaster around and He said to the thief, “Today you and I are going to be in paradise. You're coming with me.” God uses even disasters to do His work and to bring about His will. God can turn around the worst situation and use it for His good.

The stories are already starting to come out from the hurricane, stories of people testifying to their faith, testifying to the reliance upon God and for His protection and seeing them through. I watched one this week from Adam Cooper. He's from Goldport , Louisiana . As he stood amongst the rubble of once what used to be his church, he faces the camera and he says, “The storm was unbelievable. He says the winds never stopped. They just kept gusting and gusting and they never let up and we thought it would never end.” He says, “But my wife and I and this other person we were sheltering with, we just prayed. We prayed to God for protection not only of our lives but also of our property. And then we turned to the Psalms. We turned to Psalm 46 and to Psalm 130.” And then he says, “That's what sustained me, my wife, and this person sheltering with us.” That's what sustained him. He knew God was his refuge, his strength. And ever helped in a time of trouble.

You see, in the midst of the disaster, they turned to God and they felt His presence and they felt His protection. And they probably felt closer to their Savior at that moment than many other times in their life. God would use even something disastrous as losing everything they have to bring them to a closer relationship with God.

Romans 8:28 says, “All things work together for the good of those who love Him.” It's at times of disaster, both national disasters and personal disasters in our lives, that we have to cling to that promise, knowing and believing that even out of devastation, God can turn things around and God can bring something good out of that. That's the answer Jesus gave to His disciples. It's not so much about why, but it's about how. Looking for the way about how God will turn this around. But Jesus went on from there and Jesus said, “We need to seize the moment, Disciples.” He says, “It's time for us to get to work.” Do you notice what Jesus said? He didn't say, “I must be about the work of the one who sent me.” He said, “We, we must be about the work of the one who sent me.” He's saying to His disciples, “It's time for us to mobilize. It's time for us to reach out with the love of God.” It's exactly at moments like this when we run into disastrous situations, when lives are devastated, that's when we need to act. That's when we need to show Jesus as the light of the world. His disciples did exactly that, and history shows they changed all of history. They turned the world upside down with the good news of Jesus and salvation that is found only in Him.

Now, my friends, is the time for the church of Christ to act. It's time for us, the believers in Jesus, to mobilize. It's time for us to seize the moment, to do the work the Father has given to us, to love unconditionally, to shed the light of Christ to the people who've been afflicted by this disaster. It's time for us to show the love of God to as many people as we can.

I know that many of you have given to the relief efforts, whether it's Lutheran World Relief, whether it's the Red Cross or some other worthy organization that is down there doing the work. I know there are just as many if not more of you who are eager to do more, eager to get some hands-on experience, eager to impact some lives. And the time is coming when we will mobilize. The time is coming when we will act. I'm here to tell you this morning there is a group of members and staff who are getting together and they're finding out and they're collecting all the information of the different ways in which we can respond so when we do, we do it in the most helpful way. Because right now there are conflicting reports that are coming into the office, one saying we should send supplies, another one saying please don't send supplies, one that says send people down and the other one says don't send people down. We're going to collect all that information. We're going to find out what the truth of the matter is and then we're going to present to you, the members of Gloria Dei, an action plan for how we're going to respond to this disaster, how we're going to reach out with the life of Christ. And I feel confident this congregation will mobilize and we will move forward in a powerful and dramatic way.

I also need to say, just as much as there are national disasters, families are devastated down south, my guess is you know people who are dealing with personal disasters, devastating news in their lives. It doesn't make the front page. It just makes the full circle of friends. The same word from Jesus applies to us about that. We need to seize the moment. We need to reach out to these fellow members. We need to put our arms around them and share with them the love of Christ and let them draw strength from this body of believers. Because tragedies, disasters, they come in all shapes and sizes. Some are national. Some are personal. The effect on the people is the same, the same range of emotions and the same questions are there.

It's time for us to stop asking the question of why, though, and start asking the question of how. How is God going to turn this around? How is God going to use this to build up His kingdom? And maybe the most important question how is God going to use me? Amen.

Copyright 2005 Gloria Dei Lutheran Church