22.Sunday through year A

22. Sunday through year A
Is God good?

Introduction

When we see so much evil, moral detachment, suffering and hatred around us, a torturous and burning question often comes to mind: Is God good at all? Have you ever been interested in us, O God? When did God even care about us? Desperate humanity, stuck in wars, environmental problems, famines, incurable diseases, or devastating floods, asks: Why does God allow it? Or worse: If he were God, he still couldn’t look at so much evil! And we can ask: How come people suddenly ask about God and blame him when they get into itching? When we think about it honestly and humbly, we must recognize that wars are not started by God, that God has not set up a concentration camp, killed anyone, sold any child, does not rebel against immigrants, or ravages the country. But it is we – the people – yes, we humans HAVE emerged from God’s guidance!

Sermon

The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche has long since opened his view to the future without God. And what he saw scared him. He writes: “Is there any” up “and” down “? Don’t we have any infinite NOTHING? Doesn’t emptiness breathe on us? Didn’t it get cold? Isn’t it getting more and more dark? ” It seems very cramped when Nietzsche described our situation more than a hundred years ago. It was also clear to him why people themselves wanted to become independent and get rid of God. And now we look with horror at the 20th century, which has shown the true face of brutal evil. And now let us go on and ask, Even if a person bears the guilt of evil and sin, what does a good God do so that a person does not remain in the clutches of the Evil One? The answer to this burning question can be found in today’s good news. And at first glance, we can realize that God’s action and thinking is diametrically opposed to human action and thinking.

We humans most often approach evil, as the Apostle Peter showed us. We try to avoid evil, we try to deny evil. When we hear about the suffering that is needed to redeem guilt, we are immediately afraid. We are afraid of sacrifice, we are afraid for our little human life. Simon Peter took the Lord Jesus aside and began to tell him, “This must not happen to you, Lord!” To put it in other words, it means: no obstacles, no suffering, no loss of your family, your friends, your possibilities. Or your popularity. Simon Peter did not know at the time, as many people do not know to this day, that the path to happiness and the saving of life leads only through VICTIMS, through suffering. This is the only way to overcome evil. But why is that so? Mankind could have everything for free, without pain, without suffering and without problems, if in the beginning of humanity there was no unbelief and disobedience to God. If there was no original sin, there would be no pain. But let’s not say it’s just Adam and Eve’s fault. Even in the era of Christian redemption, knowing the Ten Commandments of God, God’s love and goodness, mankind chooses consciously and voluntarily the path of unbelief, disobedience, and complete independence from God. And the consequences are terrible.

When we ask why this is so, why God does not remove evil once and for all, the answer is obvious. This is because God the Creator gave man FREEDOM. And even the gift of freedom cannot be bypassed by man. God in His infinite goodness and wisdom opened the way to the destruction of evil. We enter this path by faith in God. Sure, faith cannot escape evil, but faith can do something much higher and more perfect: Faith can pass evil. Christ the Lord has set out on this path, but Simon Peter – like us humans – would like to stop this path of evil passage for the Lord Jesus. And so these hard words came from the mouth of Christ the Lord: “Get out of my way, Satan! . You don’t know what’s good and what’s saving your life. Get out of the way! ”

Only when Christ the Lord first walked this path alone, until he himself became that WAY, can we follow him. And it is the faith in Jesus Christ that can be evil. For two thousand years in Christianity, people have been crossing the barrier of evil. How many martyrs and martyrs who went through suffering and death to a happy eternal life! How many millions and millions of Christians did not have hope because of their faith in Christ! Faith in God and the power of God’s love will not save us from pain and suffering, but in the power of God’s love we can go through every suffering. Yes, you will pass evil, and then you will achieve absolute good. This is possible only because of our faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns from this time to the ages. Amen.