[Propertalk] Fwd: Fwd: Sermon for April 3

Thu Mar 31 23:10:28 EDT 2011

Forwarded:

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "N. Lane" <nlane2 at stny.rr.com>
> Date: March 31, 2011 2:57:25 PM EDT
> To: "Joseph Parrish" <joeparrish at compuserve.com>
> Cc: <sermons at clergy.net>
> Subject: Re: [Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon for April 3
> 

> This is primarily for the person who wrote the sermon below:
>  
> First, my credentials for my comments. I was born disabled,  taught Religion and disability in several seminaries and grad schools, developed and published theological articles on spirituality and disability, was a diocesan staff officer who spoke and lead workshops world wide, teaching clergy and laity how to be welcoming and inclusive. Including the importance of discarding stereotypes and victimizing theology for an  Incarnational Theology.
>  
> Blindness and disability are not tragedies. They can and do cause suffering but most of us live with, rather than suffer from (_____disability). Disability can be caused by many things which are not our sins (from accidents,  drunk driving, addicted mothers and abusive fathers, wars,disease, to doctors who can't leave a golf game for an inconvenient delivery). 
>  
> John's story is about a man with faith to see and believe in God's power to heal and transform lives.  The Pharisees and disciples are stuck in their learned "ism's of prejudice and stereotype so can't or won't see how God is working in the man.
>  
> I was invited to advise a new student who was born blind at a small college. The campus was hilly and had several bridges over ravines. But Sue had learned to find her way around campus and was doing well as a student.
>  
> The prayer group in her dorm decided to pray for her healing, without her requesting or approving a need to be 'healed.' After several months sight had not been given to Sue so the group declared her evil and sinful.I  came in at this point. As the object of numerous prayer groups for close to 40 years I understood the problem at once.
>  
> Sue had faith in God and used it to get on with life in the face of many obstacles, exclusion, and hurtful prejudice.
> The prayer group lacked faith to see God Incarnate in her, to see that she had learned to successfully negotiate the campus, the cafeteria, and the village. She lived with their prejudice and their pronouncement of evil and guilt briefly but her faith enabled her to believe God did not call her to endure this abuse and she transferred.
>  
> I highly recommend The Healing Homiletic by Kathy Black and The Disabled God by Nancy Eiseland.
>  
> In peace, Nancy Lane
> The Rev. Nancy Lane, Ph.D., Solitary
> http://ahealingministry.com
> “You never know what form love will take, but you can trust that it is there, and you can trust your desire for it…Seek the presence of love everywhere.  Let there be no dark corners.” ~Gerald G. May in The Awakened Heart~
>  
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Joseph Parrish
> To: propertalk at stsams.org
> Cc: propertalk.topic at ecunet.org ; y
> Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2011 12:43 PM
> Subject: [Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon for April 3
> 
> 
> 
> 
>     Begin forwarded message:
> 
>> From: "Sermons.com" <sermons at clergy.net>
>> Date: March 31, 2011 12:56:19 AM EDT
>> To: JoeParrish at COMPUSERVE.COM
>> Subject: Sermon for April 3
>> 
> 
>> Sermon for the Lent 4: 
>> 
>>     John 9:1-41 – “Why Did God Allow That to Happen”   
>>   
>> John 9:1-41 the sermon titled "Why Did God Allow That to Happen?"] 
>>  
>> Tragedy can strike so quickly and capriciously. While going about our every day lives, in a moment, in the blink of an eye, the world can be changed. Look at Japan just a few weeks ago. Look at Haiti just last year. As a nation we have been living with the awful reality since 9-11. Thousands killed for no reason by complete strangers, who assumed, somehow in their mind, they were doing some good for this world. Think about the recent spate of shootings and the effects of these acts on families and communities. Then there are natural disasters: tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes...If you have avoided tragedy at this point in your life thank God that you have been spared, but consider yourself lucky as well. Recognize it is only a matter of time.
>>  
>> For we all ask this question at one time or another in one form or another: why did god allow that to happen? Most of us know that God does not CAUSE tragedy. The Bible states clearly that God does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men (Lamentations 3:33) .The greater problem for most believers is this: Why does God ALLOW such awful things to happen?
>>  
>> Jesus' disciples asked our Lord this thorny question 2000 years ago. They met a man one day who had been born blind. In the first century, most people believed that all suffering was the result of sin. So the disciples asked Jesus, "Who sinned in this case, this blind man or his parents?"
>>  
>> There was even one school of thought that believed that a person could sin prior to birth, while still in the mother's womb. Imagine that! "Tell us, Jesus," they begged, "why was this man born blind?" Jesus did not respond with a neat, simple answer to the problem of human suffering. And I am not going to serve you a simplistic batch of biblical stew that will cause you to declare, "Aha, finally I have solved the mystery of evil and suffering in this world."
>>  
>> I am suspicious of anyone who talks too glibly about this age-old mystery. I recall a humbling episode from a British movie entitled, "Whistle in the Wind." A group of kids had experienced the death of their pet kitten. They had prayed fervently that the cat would get well, but instead it died. They couldn't understand this. So, they went in search of the local vicar or pastor. They found him in a teashop, taking a morning break, enjoying his tea and newspaper. They asked him, "Why did God let our cat die?" The good pastor was not delighted to be interrupted with the matter of a deceased cat. But out of duty he laid aside his paper and launched into a long, complex, theological response to this question. The children stood and listened intently. When he finished he wished them well and went back to his newspaper. The children walked away somewhat bewildered. One little boy, holding his older sister's hand, looked up at her and said, "He doesn't know, does he?" How perceptive children can be. Never in this world will we understand all the mystery surrounding suffering. But with God's help we can gain some helpful insights. That is my purpose this morning.
>>  
>> 1. Notice first that Jesus does not answer the first question: Why was this man born blind?
>> 2. Notice second that he answers this question: What good can this tragedy produce?
>>  
>> The rest of this sermon following the outline above can be obtained by joining www.Sermons.com.
>>  
>> 
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>> 
>> 
>> --
>> 
> 
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