Raising of the Widow’s Son, on Suffering, Fr Michael Margitich 2015

Glory be to thee, Jesus Christ. Glory be to thee.

This morning we heard two Gospels and two Epistle

readings. One was for the Sunday regular scriptural

reading and the second was for the dedicated

to commemorating the Holy Fathers of the Seventh

Ecumenical Council. This morning, my sermon is

based on the first epistle, which is taken from

part of the 11th chapter and the 12th chapter

of St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians. The

topic might have escaped you because it was so

filled with information about Paul. He spoke

of pain and he spoke of what he referred to as

a thorn in the flesh. It's not a pleasant subject.

However, it is something that we inevitably encounter

during our pilgrimage through life. Sometimes,

we forget that everything that comes to us is

from God. And sometimes we realize that the pain

and suffering which we inevitably have to endure

also comes from God. This is true. even for us

faithful Christians, even for those who have

confessed their sins. It's true also for the

saints, for as we know their history, they too

endured great suffering, pain, and rejection.

All scholars agree that St. Paul was unquestionably

the greatest Christian, the greatest influential

Christian that ever lived. He was a man of unparalleled

faith. A man of intelligence. And a great courage.

Yet, in that 12th chapter, Paul talks about what

he called a thorn in the flesh. It was a kind

of a serious physical illness. A chronic problem

that caused him discomfort. He asked God to remove

this thorn, whatever it was, we do not know.

He searched for a reason and wondered why God

gave him this ailment. But if you read that passage,

In the 11th and 12th chapter of the 2nd Corinthians,

you'll find that God gave him a thorn in the

flesh to remind him who he was and who God is.

It was a reminder for him and it is for us to

this very day. That we are mortals. That we are

subject to pain and suffering. We are individuals,

although created in the image of God, must continually

remind ourselves. That we are dependent upon

God. And when St. Paul gradually came to the

realization that this thorn was given to him,

he said something which was most unusual. He

said that God gave me this thorn that I might

not be conceited. And then he went on to say,

I will boast of my weakness that the power of

Christ may be upon me. You know, suffering in

and of itself has no value. It could lead to

despair and even tragedy. From a biblical point

of view, the purpose of pain is not to break

or destroy us, but to incline our hearts. And

bend our knees toward the cross. For the cross

is something to tell us. About our mortality.

About our weakness. About our fragility. Pain

directs us. To God. Instead of resorting to a

self -pity party and feeling hopeless and helpless,

Paul used his thorn, his weakness, his illness,

his ailment in a positive way as a stepping stone

to God's throne. He prayed, as we all do, for

strength. And when you read the whole chapter,

you read Paul's life. It reminds us of one of

those great heroes that are found in the 11th

chapter. Hebrews who through faith out of weakness

was made strong who through faith out of weakness

was made strong as I mentioned earlier suffering

is not without Because God himself, and this

is what goes against the very grain of our society.

God himself suffered. He entered into the person

of Jesus Christ who took on flesh, experienced

grief, rejection. loneliness and pain. Indeed,

God is a suffering God. The fact that he suffered

and died in such an excruciating way on the cross

reveals that the God of love, the God we call

our Father, is not indifferent to our suffering.

To say that we are helpless is to say that God

doesn't know our spiritual trials. And that's

nonsense. To say that we are helpless is to say

that God is powerless. And that is utter nonsense.

At every vigil, at every matins, there's a hymn.

And in this hymn we find these words. Through

the cross, joy has come into the world. It's

something that we can't grasp by reason. Because

reason fails us. It fails us because the intensity

of God's love for us is beyond description. God

is indeed a suffering God. On the cross, he cried

out, not in a despairing way. My God, my God,

why hast thou forsaken me? Because those were

not his last words. His last words is, into thy

hands I commit my spirit, Lord. And we usually

hear in some of the scriptures, it's finished.

No, it's consummated. Out of sheer, inexplicable

love, God became one with us, identified with

us in every sense of the word, so that he too

suffered. Pascha is always the last word. To

every broken heart then, wracked by some illness,

know that the Lord is with you. He does not stand

by as an observer. But he shares your pain and

my pain. And like the righteous Job, the Old

Testament, when he went through all and was sitting

on a pile of ash, he said, when he tried me,

I came forth as gold. There was merit. There

was reason. There was value in that suffering.

Like Paul locked up in the dungeon, sitting on

death's road, to use contemporary language. Paul

said, I consider that the sufferings of the present

time are not worthy to be compared with the glory

which shall be revealed. And it will be revealed.

Like Peter the Apostle, who also was waiting

his martyrdom, wrote, Rejoice to the extent that

you partake of Christ's suffering. That when

his glory shall be revealed. You should be glad.

Exceedingly glad. The gospel message does not

deliver us. From misfortunes. Rather it enables

us. As followers of Christ. Our Redeemer. We

find in this thorn that Paul spoke of not a curse

but ultimately a blessing. Sickness has a ministry.

Pain has a purpose. Suffering has a service.

If we will Look at it from this biblical perspective.

Not what society thinks. But what God has declared

through the Holy Scriptures. In the fifth chapter

of the book of Hebrews. We read this rather interesting

statement. That Christ learned. by the things

he suffered. He learned obedience by the things

he suffered. And the blind man in the ninth chapter

of St. John's Gospel was not... was not a man

of sin, but as Jesus said, that the works of

God should be revealed. That's interesting, isn't

it? That the works of God should be revealed

through you and through me and through our suffering,

through our pain, through our love, through our

life. Whatever the circumstances may be in your

life, Dear people, let me leave you with these

words of St. Paul. Hold on to them very deeply.

Because the time will come when we will need

to hear this. We know that God causes all things

to work together. for good who love him. Glory

be to Jesus Christ.