Sermon

1 Peter 4:12-17; 5:6-11

Trial by Fire

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1 Peter 4:12-17; 5:6-11

Trial by Fire

The Rev. Dr. James D. Kegel

Grace to you and peace
from God our Father
and the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

“My becoming a Christian was really a miracle as it is for most Japanese,” wrote Masaru Yamanaga , “and it would not have happened if I had not come down with polio in 1938 at the age of 20. It left me with both legs paralyzed so that I have no power to move them. After I became handicapped, I stopped driving a truck in Tokyo and returned to my country home. I made things with bamboo that grew in the hills, but I became so despondent with my hopeless condition that I often thought of suicide. I cried out to the Japanese gods, to Buddha, but got no answer. It made me feel even more miserable. Then I read in the newspaper a little advertisement from the New Life Association proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ and offering a Bible correspondence course to those who write in . . .I decided to try it and that was the turning point in my life. As I read the Word of God, I came to know the God of creation and the God of redemption-the God who does not cause suffering nor enjoys tormenting his children but who rather suffers with us and even suffers and dies in our place in order that we may live.”

Simone Weil, the great French writer, once remarked,

“The tremendous greatness of Christianity
comes from the fact that it does not seek a supernatural remedy against suffering,
but a supernatural use of suffering.”

St. Peter in our text reminds us that we should not be surprised at suffering:

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal
that is taking place among you to test you,
as though something strange were happening to you,
but rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s suffering,
so that you may also be glad and shout for joy
when his glory is revealed.”

Do not be surprised at suffering. There is nothing strange about Christians suffering. Our Lord suffered and died. One of the goals of the late Pope John Paul II was to show that the pope could suffer and make it a witness to his faith in God. That as he grew weaker, God’s power was made stronger in his life. We too share Jesus’ suffering and will share His glory. Really it is through our suffering that we come near to Jesus and become like him. We are being conformed to the image of God’s Son, as we bear our burdens and trials.

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Now we can suffer for our wrongdoing. That sort of suffering is a punishment-and it is God’s loving purpose that evildoers be restrained and punished. This is a proper use of God’s Law. Peter speaks of the consequences of our wrong actions and says, “Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal or even as a mischief maker.” The original Greek adds another word found only in this passage-do not be a snoop or busybody, someone concerned with minding the business of other people. The whole Epistle of Peter is concerned with the holiness of Christians. This is the purpose of God’s Law, as C.S. Lewis put it, “We might think God simply wanted obedience to a set of rules; whereas God wants people of a particular sort.” God wants a holy people. God wants us to be like God. Sometimes suffering comes as a reminder that we have turned from God’s way.

But the suffering of Christians is often a direct result of committing to follow the Lord. Suffering then is not a curse but a blessing. Sometimes the suffering can even be a cause of a greater blessing as it was for the polio of the Japanese man which brought him to Christ. Our times of worry, anxiety, pain, loss can also be opportunities to come near to the Lord. Our passage tells us, “Cast all your anxiety on him for he cares about you.” God cares about you and wants to be given the opportunity to strengthen you and comfort you and care about you.

Some years ago our family visited Delft in Holland. There we toured the porcelain factory which makes the famous blue and white delftware. We saw a young woman making a vase. It was not blue and white but a muddy, gray-brown-not lovely at all. But then we saw how it was fired under tremendous heat. When the vase came out of the kiln, it was the cobalt blue and lustrous white that we think of when we hear the word Delft. The vase was the same but it needed the heat of the firing to bring out its beauty. It is much the same with us. Somehow the fiery ordeal of suffering is God’s plan to test and prove us and make us fit for God’s Kingdom.

Being a pastor means I have had the opportunity visit many people suffering from cancer and other terrible diseases, the very old and infirm, those so forgetful that they wouldn’t know who I was. I have visited people with AIDS as they wasted away. Sometimes these people get so thin, wasted, even horrible to look at. Yet I would like to think that they are being conformed to the image of God’s Son. As they lose their earthly adornments and attractiveness, they can take on a beauty and serenity; as they give up their earthly powers, they are showing God’s greater power.

Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal-God is not punishing you when you suffer in Christ’s Name. The devil is going about as a roaring, ravening lion, seeking those whom he can devour. It is not a sign, when you suffer, that you have been abandoned or rejected by God. Christianity does not make suffering a punishment of God. In fact there is really no clear answer to suffering in our text; but it is clear that Christians, when they have done no wrong, do not have to blame God or themselves. Suffering is a process of redemption, of becoming like God’s Son; suffering is a result of the devil who inflicts pain and would have us turn away from God’ suffering is a sign of God’s favor in preparing us for the joy of Christ’s coming.

When the Protestant Reformers were trying to decide how one could tell the true Christian Church they came up with what they called the “Marks of the church.” The true Church is “where the Gospel is rightly preached and the sacraments rightly administered.” The Presbyterians added, “where discipline is maintained;” the Lutherans weren’t so strong on church discipline. All the reformers added ‘suffering’ as a mark of the church. Where there is no suffering by Christians, the true Christian Church could not be present. Certainly the Christians of St. Peter’s day knew suffering. Scholars believe that he wrote his letter to the Christians of Asia Minor about 65 AD. It was the time of the Emperor Nero and the first Christian persecution. To Peter, the suffering was a sign that the Kingdom of God was at hand. The suffering in the household of God was a mark that their Christian faith was real and alive and these people who suffered would have great joy when Christ was revealed.

We can never fully understand suffering but we can see the good that it can do even on human terms. Rabbi Harold Kushner has written an excellent little book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. I know many of you have read it. Rabbi Kushner quotes a contemporary teacher who has used this image:

“If someone knew nothing about medicine
were to walk into the operating room of a hospital
and see doctors and nurses performing an operation,
the person might assume that they were a band of criminals
torturing their unfortunate victim.
The onlooker would see them tying the patient down,
forcing a cone over the patient’s mouth and nose
and sticking needles and knives into the patient.
Only someone who understood surgery would realize
that they were doing all this to help the patient not torment the patient.
So too, it is suggested,
God does painful things to us as God’s way of helping us.”

Kushner also quotes the Talmud, a compilation of the rabbis between 200 BC and 500 AD. The rabbis explain the testing of Abraham this way:

“If you go into the marketplace
you will see the potter hitting clay pots with a stick
to show how strong and solid they are.
But the wise potter hits only the strongest pots, never the flawed ones.
So too, God sends such tests and affliction
only to people God knows are capable of handling them,
so that they and others can learn the extent of their spiritual strength.”

Wise words to help us in our suffering. Do not be surprised by suffering. It may be punishment for something you have done wrong but likely not. It may be a way to become a better person, an opportunity to rely upon the Lord and not yourself. It may be a way for you to be proved and tested and molded and conformed to the image of Christ. Your suffering may be a sign of your Christian faith as you bear that suffering patiently for Jesus’ sake. It is a way to make you ready for the great joy to come in God’s Kingdom, a joy that soon will be yours. Just do not be surprised when you are tried by fire. Amen.

––Copyright 2005, James D. Kegel. Used by permission.