Only chimpanzees applaud themselves. And only preachers who are full of their own importance quote themselves.
Having said that, last Sunday when I was preaching about towers falling and soldiers coming, I said something kinda interesting that possibly could use being repeated – this time in writing, as I said it pretty quickly and it was hard to memorize. It was this: “Jesus did not break the link between sin and suffering. He broke the link between suffering and punishment.” Deep, man.
We’re not used to Jesus giving direct answers to questions in the Gospels. He almost never does it. But in last Sunday’s reading he did. I guess it helped that he was answering his own rhetorical questions, rather than those of slimy religious politicians who were trying to catch him in a gotcha moment.
He asked…
1. “Those eighteen who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them, do you think they were more guilty than anyone else living in Jerusalem?
2. And those worshipers from Galilee that Pilate murdered, do you think that they were worse sinners than other Galileans?”
And he answered his two questions with the same emphatic answer, “NO, I TELL YOU!”
So that is what I mean by Jesus breaking the link between suffering and punishment. He says it very clearly. The victims of those two tragedies did not suffer because of their sins. This was not punishment from God.
That is such good news. We can be free from the superstitious fear that when we get sick, or experience loss, or go through a tough time, that God is punishing us for
something. Jesus taught something way better. Of course, there is still a link between sin and suffering, and that is just one of those laws of the universe. So, drunk driving results in great pain, cheating on a spouse causes deep suffering, hating people deprives the haters of peace, joy, and sleep.
So, yes, when we intentionally go against God’s directions for living a good life, there are often consequences for us and others. But this is not the same as punishment. God
weeps with us in all our tragedies, even those we contributed to. At Lent we are called to self-reflection and repentance. But let’s not kid ourselves that God is punishing us. He’s not, and Jesus proves it.