The Problem of Pain

Pentecost 5, Proper 7

June 23, 2024

Fr. Tim Nunez

May my spoken word be true to God’s written word and bring us all closer to the living word, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

In The Princess Bride, the Dread Pirate Roberts says to Princess Buttercup, “Life is pain, your highness. Anyone that says differently is selling something.”

Among the most difficult questions, perhaps the most difficult question, of faith is the problem of pain. The basic question goes something like this:  We know that God is good. We know that God is perfect. We know that God is all loving. We know that God created us in his image. So, if God is perfectly good and perfectly loving, why does he permit such awful and constant pain, suffering and evil in the world?

CS Lewis wrote a book called The Problem of Pain. He notes two key points that may help us understand why things are the way they are. One is that God created a rational, logical universe that operates under the laws of physics. That’s really good. In order for us to move about and engage our world in this universe, it has to make sense. If I drop this iPad, it’s going to fall. From this height, even with its case, it would likely break. It doesn’t matter that it is devoted to holy purposes. It doesn’t matter that it belongs to the church, or that it carries the Bible within it, or that it’s holding many sermons. Gravity is a physical law of our universe. It is a fact of our existence. If I climbed up on this pulpit and stepped off of it, I’d fall. Now, God may send his angels to catch me lest I dash my foot against a stone, but, that’s not likely. I’m pretty sure I’d break something. Someone would have to call an ambulance.

Second is the fact that God has given us free will, which is essential to the very core of our being and of our faith. Love is the most important thing. God desires a loving relationship with us and desires for us to have loving relationships with each other. Jesus summarized the law in two principles: loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves. Love has to be a choice. If it’s compulsory, it’s not truly love. And by giving us the power to choose love, God also gives us the power to choose against it, against him and against each other, which we do to our great sorrow terribly often. Remember, Adam and Eve’s first sin was not biting the fruit; it was their decision to eat it, to choose their own will instead of God’s will.

Both of those elements would come into play if I were to exercise my free will to choose wrongly and throw a book at dear Connie, setting here on the front row as she always does. It’s not going to turn into a bag of feathers midway. Connie would suffer some indignity and possibly physical pain, and I would suffer the consequences of my evil action. God’s gifts of our sensible universe and free will and the problem of pain would be demonstrated. They could only be addressed by further acts of free will, like apologizing, true repentance, restitution, forgiveness, and so on.

Those points make sense and are helpful when thinking about this question. But they are of cold comfort. The pain, the evil, and the suffering are still rampant if better understood. And they are not God’s ultimate answer. To take a step closer to God’s answer, we should look at his servant Job.

Before we look at today’s reading from Job, let’s remember that Job is the first of five books of wisdom in the Bible, along with Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. It is so old we have no idea how old it is, but it is certainly older than Judaism and very likely the oldest book in the Bible. It may be the oldest piece of literature that we have. Let that soak in.

It begins, “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. (Job 1:1) Satan, the accuser, wants to show God that Job will turn against him if sufficiently provoked. God tells him to go ahead. Job loses all his possessions and all of his children. Then he is stricken with loathsome sores. The oldest piece of literature is about an innocent, righteous man suffering with God’s permission. His friends come and encourage him to admit whatever he had done to incur God’s wrath. But Job correctly denies that he did anything wrong. His wife tells him to “curse God and die,” but Job won’t give up.

Job refuses to turn away from God, but he simply wants to know why. And it’s not a whiny sort of “why me?” Job is seeking to understand. God’s response to Job, as we see in our reading this morning, is, “Who are you to question me?” God summarizes and ends his response with, “Shall a fault-finder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.”

Job apologizes and repents, and God restores him fully and then some. That certainly reminds us of our place before God. Be careful not to find yourself judging God. Remember we are seeking God. We don’t know what good is apart from God. God’s answer to Job is not God’s fully revealed answer to pain and suffering. We get further revelation with Jesus in this boat on the Sea of Galilee.

The Sea of Galilee is about 700 feet below sea level and sits well below the surrounding hills and mountains. Storms can come very suddenly. And isn’t that life? Things seem calm and safe then suddenly, boom, you are in it. And where is Jesus? He’s on the boat, just as he was. Everyone is scared and freaking out, but he’s asleep on the cushion. He rebukes the wind, calms the sea, showing his authority. Then he rebukes his disciples because their fear reveals their lack of faith.

If we know Jesus, know him for who he is, then we have nothing to fear. Just get in the boat and go where he is going. He may well rebuke the wind and calm the sea. Or, he may tell you to get out of the boat and walk to him. Or, he may simply be with you as the winds batter you and the sea tosses you.

Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?

I was serving as chaplain at Camp Wingmann last week. On Wednesday afternoon I was helping the counselors try to calm an 8-year-old girl who was sobbing with homesickness. We tried reassuring her, reminding her of all the care and support she had in her counselors and friends, and that she was more than halfway through the week. I’ve felt horribly homesick. I knew, and we all told her, that if she could just push through it, she would be fine and would have a real victory. Finally, after about an hour of that, she had to go to the next activity and off she went.

Eventually, one of the assistant directors called her mom. When mom heard her daughter in the background begging to leave, she asked to talk with her directly. Mom said something like, “You stop that this instant. We don’t treat people that way. I’ll see you Friday.” The little girl said, “Yes ma’am.”  That was some great parenting! She was bright and cheery the rest of the week and on Friday actually told me she wished she could stay another day.

I told her several times how proud I was of her, and she saw what we had all said was true.

Jesus knows that all the horrible pain and suffering we experience and see in this life is like that homesickness, that if we can just keep our hearts and minds focused on him, truly trusting him in faith, then like Paul that faith will give us purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech and the power of God to endure the affliction, hardships, calamities and so on that life holds.

May all our struggles urge us to His side. Get in the boat! 

AMEN!