Suffering-Endurance-Character-Hope

Romans 5:1-5                                  Rev. Todd B. Freeman

Bethany Presbyterian Church, Dallas                          June 6, 2004

Okay, I admit it. I am a huge fan of the Lord of the Rings trilogy – both in book and movie form. I have been anxiously awaiting the release of The Return of the King on DVD, even though I saw it three times in the theater. It was released last week! So I rented it (I’m waiting for the extended version before I buy it) and I watched it on Friday.

Now I didn’t really plan on sharing this tidbit of information with you this morning until I realized what a great sermon illustration this movie makes in connection with today’s sermon text from Romans 5.

The Apostle Paul, in an almost mathematical-type equation, tells us that suffering leads to endurance, endurance produces character, and character results in hope. Suffering – endurance – character – hope.

In the Lord of the Rings trilogy we watch this progression, especially in Frodo, Sam, Aragorn, and Gandalf. They suffer extreme hardship. But they don’t give up; they persevere and endure. And before our eyes we witness how each grows in moral character. And most of all we see how all this leads not to despair, which by all accounts should consume them, but to hope.

I lost track of how many times different characters in this movie talked eloquently about the need to have hope, especially when their circumstances seemed the bleakest and without hope. Perhaps this is one reason why Tolkien’s literary masterpiece has been analyzed time and again from a Christian theological perspective. Tolkien was a devout Catholic, and most certainly would have been aware of this passage written by the Apostle Paul.

Paul lived in a shame-based culture. And suffering and hardship was often considered shameful because many believed that it was somehow related to punishment from God. Paul, however, asserts the opposite. In the first chapter of Romans he begins with such a claim, “I am not ashamed.”

Not only is he not ashamed; he also sees value in hardship. The greatest benefit, which would not be immediately obvious to his readers, or to us, is that our suffering can indeed lead to our ability to persevere, which can lead to our growth in character and ultimately to hope. A positive attitude informs Paul’s self-understanding. Whatever the circumstances, he looks to the future without despair – even in the worst crises.

That hope is founded not in promises of things or a place, but in the person of God. For Paul peace and hope are not simply founded on a past event, much as he highlights the cross and resurrection of Jesus as something into which we enter in solidarity.

Peace and hope are also founded in something that is ongoing: the love which comes from God and enters into us through God’s intimate presence with us, the Holy Spirit.

Yet, the fact remains that everyone suffers. I believe that suffering is relative, however, and that we shouldn’t get caught up in the game that thinking a particular type of suffering is necessarily worse than another. Have you ever been in a conversation when one person (perhaps yourself) is sharing the hardship they are going through just to be interrupted by someone else (perhaps yourself) saying, “Well, if you think that is bad, listen to what happened to me…”

We must not deceive ourselves that our suffering is either better or worse than others; that physical suffering, for example, is worse than economic suffering, which is worse than emotional suffering, or visa versa. The world is filled with suffering, that is just part of the human condition. How we respond to our suffering, and the suffering of others, is what matters.

The year was 1995. It was the worst act of terrorism this country had ever experienced up to that point, that is until 9-11. I’m referring to the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Interestingly, after 9 years it is back in the news with the current state trial of accomplice Terry Nichols.

A week and a half after the bombing I was scheduled to preach at First Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth. Like with all national tragedies I feel that the church should make a response of one kind or another. I chose this Romans 5 passage as one of my scripture texts. I took lots of notes from newspapers and TV newscasts in the aftermath of the bombing, especially concerning the memorial services that were being held.

In those services, there was a mix, in my estimation, of both good and bad theology. The worst came when one preacher stated, “Look what God had to do to get our attention.” I mentioned in my sermon, as I did in the one I preached here after 9-11, that God is NOT a divine terrorist and does no such things to get our attention.

The most level-headed and comforting words in Oklahoma City came, not too surprisingly, from the Rev. Billy Graham, whom I have great respect for and consider to be a pillar of integrity. He concluded a nationally televised memorial service with this insightful observation.  "At times like this, we'll do one of two things: It will either make us hard and bitter and angry at God, or it will make us tender and open and help us reach out in trust and faith." He added, "I pray that you will not let bitterness and poison creep into your souls, but you will turn in faith and trust to God even if we cannot understand.  It is better to face something like this with God than without Him."

I couldn’t agree more: it is truly better for us to face all suffering with God than without God!

Think for a moment of the times of greatest suffering and hardship in your life. There are indeed two different paths that can be taken: the one leading to anger, bitterness and resentment, or the one that leads to a deeper trust and faith in God.  Which path do you tend to take most often, the path of despair or the path of hope?

Though we are not told the source of our suffering in this passage from Romans, which I personally believe is not from God, we are taught that God can turn our suffering into something good. First, it can lead to endurance and perseverance. Any successful struggle for justice and human rights always involves the endurance which allows those involved to bear up under the weight of suffering and oppression.

The value of endurance, in turn, is that it develops character.  While this is certainly true, I caution you to use a bit of pastoral sensitivity when talking to a person who is in the midst of suffering. The last thing they need to hear is one more person telling them just how much character they are building. Those of us who have been on the receiving end of such well-meaning comments know what I mean.

But we learn that it is through the building of our character that produces hope. Hope, then, can be the endpoint of a series of events and attitudes that begins with our suffering. Again, notice the progression: Suffering-endurance-character-hope.

But hope is not just optimism for a better tomorrow. The optimist looks for circumstances to improve. Yet we all know better than to think we can always control our circumstances. God never promises a life without suffering. Hope, on the other hand, is different. Hope doesn't depend on the ups and downs that cycle through our lives. Hope is a spiritual gift rooted in a relationship with the One who loves you and me with an everlasting love and who will always remain faithful. We can hope in God and rejoice in God's presence even when our many wishes in life are not realized, and when we are not very happy with the circumstances of our life. And Christian hope certainly involves God’s greatest promises, such as forgiveness, new beginnings, and eternal life.

I’ve asked you to think about what has caused, or is causing, suffering in your life. Now I want ask you what it is you hope for? Think about that this week. I’ve been thinking about this a lot this past week.

From a professional standpoint, I hope that the words of my sermons may bring some measure of understanding and wholeness to the hearts of the people who hear them, and to my own heart.

I hope that the prayers that we share together after our Joys and Concerns are heard and answered.

As I mentioned last week on Pentecost, I hope that our partaking in the sacrament of The Lord’s Supper is more than just a perfunctory exercise.

I hope that all of you who come to church faithfully week after week may find at least as much to feed your spirits as you would find staying at home curled up with a good book, watching TV, working in your garden, or playing a game of golf.

And I hope that our congregation will grow: spiritually, numerically, financially, and relationally.

I acknowledge that darkness does indeed creep into the church and yes, into my own life as well. Yet hope continues to bring glimmers of light. We can have hope in God not only from a doctrinal and biblical perspective, but also from personal experience. I have hope that God exists because from time to time over the years I believe I have been touched by God; including years ago when I suffered the loss of my career as a geologist, to two months ago when I suffered the loss of my father and continue to watch my mother decline into Alzheimer’s. Though not always easy, I try to choose hope over despair.

I am also aware of much that is going on in many of your lives as well. And my greatest hope is that your suffering will produce endurance, which will then lead to the building of your character, and most importantly, that your life be filled with hope!

Amen.