Joel 2:23-32; II Timothy 4: 6,7

In both texts today we are dealing with momentous events.  Paul’s second letter to Timothy was written at the end of his service around the time of his imprisonment in Rome. We hear Paul musing about his work and how he has run the race and fought the good fight.  In the book of the prophet Joel the people have faced a horrendous plague of locusts and Joel is helping them pick up the pieces.  Not actually the best times in either Paul’s life and the lives of the Jewish.  Yet there is a positive sentiment in there.  Joel exudes hope with his beautiful poetry about dreams and visions.  Paul on his part expresses a kind of peace about having lived his life the best he knew how.   This raises the question: how can there be such sense of peace and hope in such a challenging time? This is true of both texts. Behind this is a deeper question: how do we view our lives of faith when things aren’t exactly going swimmingly, when we just stumbling and bumbling through life?  What should we think about God and what God thinks when we feel imprisoned or when we feel bad news swarms all around us.

Friends, a few days ago we had to call a plumber to take a look at the leaky pipe on the corner.  He made sure to tell us that this was just a temporary fix and that we probably have to replace the pipe. He put what they call a “bandaid” on the pipe, but chances are it will burst somewhere else eventually.  We get plumbers so they fix things, sometimes temporarily, hopefully permanently.  Temporarily is cheaper, permanently more expensive.  Friends, I think that sometimes we see God as a plumber.  We expect God to fix things.  As long as we pray and live a good life, the result should be good. It’s kind of like we have this idea of Christian karma.  But then sometimes really unpleasant people have a great life and really good people have a pretty miserable life.  Most of us, at least in this country, can’t really complain, but then there a long periods when we face setbacks or disappointments.  Where is God the plumber we think. Mind you, we think it, we don’t say it.  So we wind up being disappointed with God or disillusioned with God. Sometimes for a moment we think it is us, that may be aren’t worthy.

Theologians have different ways of looking at this issue.  There is a whole doctrine called theodicy built around this questions. First, some say God has a plan with your setbacks.  You wait and you will find out.  It’s all been mapped out for you.  This may make sense in certain situations such as when you didn’t make the sports team or the person you liked didn’t want to date you.  But when you start talking about the holocaust that argument can’t a bit wobbly.  Why would God want to use a holocaust  to straighten out anyone’s lives.  So this is kind of the theory of God as micromanager.  Second, then there are theologians who say everything is a test to prepare us for what’s to come after this life.  In a very bad tv show about an advertising agency a tall bearded man with an imposing voice comes into the agency to do voice-overs. He intimidates the recording technician who is responsible for sound quality.  The sound technician finally stands his ground and orders the arrogant star to follow his directions. To his surprise the voice man hugs the technician and tells him it was all a test to see if he could respect the technician. When you think of it that way the testing argument has problems too: God as a tall bearded test maker.   Third, we could also say that there are flukes in life. Some things just don’t work out and there isn’t much God can do about it.  But that sounds a bit shaky and a little too easy too.  We could ask for instance: which flukes can God control and which ones can God not control. Then there is this general saying that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.  That is a lot of nonsense I think. Just because something doesn’t kill you doesn’t mean it can’t haunt you.

You know, friends, I once interviewed a Taiwanese theologians who taught at one of the seminaries in Berkeley. I had written interesting books about Asian theology such as: story theology from an Asian perspective, Theology from the womb of Asia and the Tears of Lady Meng, a story about a man who was cemented into the great wall in a cruficixion position.  I asked him about God and suffering. He answered me: “this why question is not a question you should ask of God? “   Frankly I thought that answer was kind of lame, but now twenty-five years later I think he may have had a point.  Sure we can ask God any questions but there may not necessarily be an answer we like.  I have begun to think that maybe we don’t even want to know the answer. Does knowing why times are hard really make them easier?  Not necessarily.  But let me tell you what I think is important. What is important is that God’s grace is always present.  God’s grace is no less when times are hard than when times are prosperous. An easy life does not equal more of God’s grace.  If we believe God is the creative force of the universe Whose greatest creation is love, then that creative force is always at work, in darkness and in light, in prosperity and amid setbacks. Thanks be to God.