Convinced

[This message was delivered at Community of the Savior in Rochester, NY, on July 30, 2023. It can also be viewed on church Facebook page. The primary text is Romans 8:26-39, particularly verses 28-29 and 38-39. Earlier in the service, Genesis 29:15-28 was read, which explains my brief reference to Genesis 29:17. And, yes, Rachel was present.]

Convinced. I am convinced. That is a strong statement. Are you convinced? Of what are you convinced? Paul begins the ending of this passage in Romans 8 with this glorious claim: “For I am convinced.” The longer I live, the shorter my list of things I am absolutely convinced about becomes. For instance, I am not convinced that everything happens for a reason, though I believe a lot of things God gets blamed for happen because of human stupidity and carelessness. I am not convinced that the Red Sox will be in the playoffs this October, though I am glad to report that they are currently one game ahead of the dreaded Yankees. I am not convinced that our women’s soccer team will win the world cup, though I am convinced that as long as Megan Rapinoe is on the team, even as a sub, we have a good chance. I am not convinced that artificial intelligence will take over the world, but I am certain that no chatbox (whatever that is) will ever write my sermons.

My list of absolutely convinced items grows shorter, but I still have a list headed “I’m convinced.” I am convinced of the truth of Genesis 29:17: “but Rachel was graceful and beautiful.” I am just glad that the Rachel I courted and married did not have a sister named Leah, because I am convinced I couldn’t have waited 14 years to marry Rachel. I am convinced that Shohei Otani is the best baseball player on the planet; hence I am on the side of the Angels. I am convinced that the Sunfish is the best small sailboat ever made. I am convinced that Mahler’s Second Symphony is rightly called the “Resurrection Symphony” and is a work of genius. I am convinced that life is a precious gift and needs to be nurtured and cherished daily. And I am utterly and absolutely convinced “that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Of that I am as certain as I can be of anything in this life. I am convinced. Are you convinced?

One of the roles of a preacher is to be convincing, to try to convince people of what the preacher believes is true. After five decades of doing it, I am not convinced that I can convince anyone of anything. But I give it my best shot. Because I am convinced.

In this rich passage in Paul’s letter to the Romans, which I judge to be the richest chapter in Paul’s richest letter, I must not run to verses 38-39, the “I am convinced” verses that concludes the passage. I can’t cover everything in this passage in one sermon, but I must deal briefly with verse 28, which has been often memorized and quoted and misused as a biblical good luck charm. Many translations still make “all things,” the subject, rather than “God,” who works in all things. The New International Version gets it right: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

What is important to establish is that all things that happen in our lives are not good. But even in the bad things that happen to us, God is at work. That does not mean that those bad things become happy things, but God is at work in them for greater purposes. And that greater purpose is found in the next verse, vs. 29: “to be conformed to the image of his Son.” Not to get us to heaven in the happiest way possible, but to make us more like Jesus. Two nights ago I saw the new production of “Godspell” at the Blackfriars Theatre.  I have loved “Godspell” since I first saw it over 50 years ago, but I got a new glimpse of just radical the love of Jesus is in this production. Jesus brings us the grace and love of God, even as he speaks truth to power, particularly the entrenched power of religion. I want to be more like Jesus, more loving and gracious and more truth-telling in the face of evil.

In all things God is working. Romans 8 gives us quite a list of “all things.” Listen: “Weakness, trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword; we face death all day long.” In Revelation 21:5, the enthroned Christ says, “Behold, I am making all things new.” I believe that, even as I live in a world filled with trouble, with sickness, war, and death. And with love, and beauty, and grace. Jesus is already making all things new, but it is taking a good while and the work is not finished. I am convinced that God is at work in it all.

I have just been through a week of dealing with the fragile nature of life. It began with me fainting twice and needing to be in Strong Hospital for two nights waiting for a new pacemaker to be installed. As one who is generally healthy and very active, it was an existential reminder of my frailty and mortality. When I got home I found out that a friend of my younger daughter, just 47, has entered hospice care. When I called her parents, long-time friends of mine and asked how their Lisa was doing, her mother simply said, “She’s dying.” Then her father got on the phone and we wept together. Yesterday another long-time friend from the congregation I once pastored called. She is a healthy 57-year-old, helping her parents as they move toward the last chapter of their lives. And suddenly she was in the hospital herself for several weeks wondering what is happening. God is at work in at all things. Even in our frailty, in our living and in our dying.

Just over a week ago Tony Bennett died at age 96. I have long been a fan of Bennett’s, especially appreciating his working with younger artists, like Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga. Almost seven years ago, Bennett gave a concert at Eastman Hall and Rachel and I were there for an unforgettable evening. Tony never had a piece of music or paper in front of him. Now I take us to almost two years ago for his last public performance. His mind had succumbed to Alzheimer’s. Before he stepped on stage, he had no idea where he was or why. He recognized virtually no one. When they brought him on stage, he came alive. When the music started behind him, he knew every word and sang every song flawlessly. When Lady Gaga started walked toward him, he looked at her, smiled, and said to the audience, “There’s Lady Gaga.” A day later Anderson Cooper interviewed him and he had no memory of the concert.

If in this life we come to the time when we know nothing else, whether because of accident, age, or disease, what will we still know? Of what will we be convinced? I will know this: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”