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Sunday, October 12, 2003
Sermon: "Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud"
Scripture: Psalm 22:1-15
Reverend Larry Gerber

Terrorism, war and massive layoffs have put a crimp in the motivational marketing pipeline, and decades of snappy jingles and yellow smileys have given way to orange alerts and pink slips.
Motivational icons. Every decade has one. In the '70s, a smiley face entreated us to "Have a nice day." In the '80s, we sang, "Don't Worry, Be Happy" with a smiling Bobby McFerrin. In the '90s we were admonished to "Just Do It." But here in the toddlerhood of the 21st century, motivation has been harder to market. Terrorism, bunker busters, a shock and awe stock market and massive layoffs have put a crimp in the motivational marketing pipeline. Snappy jingles and yellow smileys have given way to orange alerts and pink slips. Enter a company with products for the times in which we live. Despair, Inc. has cornered the market in pragmatic pessimism. While some companies peddle pithy motivational materials, Despair markets a line of "demotivational" products, all designed to feed the collective fear and doomsday of a depressed populace. For example, there's the Pessimist's MugTM — a glass mug with a line in the middle that says, "This cup is half-empty." Perhaps you'd like to give your spouse, coworker or friend a BitterSweetTM candy — valentine- style candy hearts with messages like, Call a shrink, Up yer dosage or C that door? Then there's the FrownyTM. Despair has trademarked the e-mail emoticon and put it on everything from T- shirts to hats. In fact, if you want to legally use a FrownyTM in your e-mail, you'll have to order it from Despair's Web site (www.despair.com) at $0.00 per download. But the centerpiece of Despair, Inc. is the lithograph collection — beautiful photos with a depressing twist ("Interior designs for inferior minds"). Some of the sentiments: • Photo of a sunken ship, with the message: "MISTAKES: It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others." • Photo of a lightning storm, saying: "PESSIMISM: Every cloud has a silver lining, but lightning kills hundreds of people each year who are trying to find it." • Photo of a tree bent by the wind, saying: "ADVERSITY: That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable." • Photo of a dark sunset, saying: "DESPAIR: It's always darkest just before it goes pitch- black." Dr. E.L. Kersten, Despair's founder and CEO, lays out his company's core value: "Whether you're a pessimist, an underachiever or a chronic failure, I personally offer my unconditional guarantee that DemotivatorsTM will truly inspire you to new lows!" Despair, Inc. has tapped into the truth that all of us know and few of us want to admit — suffering is a grim reality of the human condition. No amount of wealth, no measure of security and no low-fat, oat bran-fueled diet can defend us against suffering and eventual death. Good or bad, rich or poor, conflict and calamity are just a word, a mistake, an accident or an illness away. Depressing? Exactly. While it makes for humorous office art, despair and suffering can be debilitating — fading one's view of life to pitch-black. That's where the psalmist finds himself. He's in deep trouble — surrounded by enemies, broken in body and spirit. He cries out for help, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (22:1). In the midst of pain and impending death, the writer seeks the intimacy of relationship with God, but God seems "so far from helping." He remembers how God has been there for others (vv. 4-5), but now surrounded, tortured and almost dead, he hears the sarcastic taunts of his enemies ringing in his ears. "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him" (v. 8 NIV). No wonder the psalmist asks, "Why?"
We are always asking questions. We are somewhat skeptical as human beings. We sometimes ask why the glass is only half full, while at other times, we wonder why it is half empty. We often draw conclusions by what we anticipate rather than the deeper meaning of an event.
Let's take a look a twin boys who were given exactly the same present, wrapped in the same paper. One boy, upon opening the gift, was amazed, shocked, and upset, because it was a box full of horse manure. In disgust he threw the box away, and ran out the door crying. On the other hand, his twin brother opened the box, saw the box of horse manure, and leaped for joy. "You can't fool me," he said, "where there is horse manure, there is a horse.", and he ran out the door to look for the horse......
A number of years ago, Glenn Chambers boarded a plane bound for Quito, Ecuador, to begin his ministry in missionary broadcasting. But he never arrived. In a horrible moment, the plane carrying Chambers crashed into a mountain peak and spiraled downward. Later it was learned that before leaving the Miami airport, Chambers wanted to write his mother a letter. All he could find for stationery was a page of advertising upon which was written the single word "WHY?" Around that word he hastily scribbled a final note. After Chambers' mother learned of her son's death, his letter arrived. She opened the envelope, took out the paper and unfolded it. Staring her in the face was the question "WHY?". We, too, want to know the "why" — the reason for our suffering — the rationale, the divine purpose. Even though we cry out for answers, more often than not God does not answer the why. But that does not mean God is silent. For, as someone has said, "What God whispers to us in our pleasure, he shouts to us in our pain." And what God is shouting is "Here I am!" The answer to the pain of suffering and despair is not a "why," but a "who." In the midst of death, the psalmist discovers that God has responded, not with theology, but with theophany — God's very presence.
As Christians, we are most fortunate because we can "turn our eyes upon Jesus" for comfort and security. We can ask the questions, just as the Psalmist did, just as Jesus did, but we must continue the investigation into our own hearts, just as the Psalmist, just as Jesus did. The answer to our dilema is that there is a silver lining in every cloud. There is hope in the midst of despair. Yes, the glass is half empty, and yes the glass is half full at the same time. There is a cloud in every silver lining, as well as a silver lining in every cloud. Yes, the gift might look exactly the same, but anticipation and reaction will dictate the outcome. In verse 21b, the tone changes: "From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me." In Hebrew, "rescued" can also be translated "answered." The cry of verse 2 has been heard. God's answer is not beyond the suffering of the psalmist, but in the midst of it. The psalm changes from lament to praise because of the realization that wherever people suffer, God is there. "For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him" (v. 24). No FrownyTM face now! Having been assured of God's presence in his own suffering, the psalmist now turns to address the affliction of others, setting a feast for those who have been similarly afflicted and celebrating the light of new life that is breaking through the darkness of death. "May your hearts live forever!" (v. 26). It's God's presence in our pain that enables life to break in at the point of despair and death and overcome it. That's why this psalm has such significance in the passion of Jesus. In the ancient world, quoting the first line of a passage was as good as quoting the whole thing. When the crucified Jesus cries out, "My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?" it's not a cry of abandonment, but an affirmation of faith. Even in the agony of death on a cross, Jesus puts his trust in a God who does not "despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted" but who hears their cries of pain and praise and draws nearer. Assured of God's presence in the midst of his suffering, Jesus is able to see his own suffering and death as a source of life for all who suffer and despair. That is why we can sing: Here I am Lord. Is it I Lord? I hear You calling in the night. I will come Lord, if you lead me..... We're called to see our suffering in the same light, as a means of grace whereby we receive the assurance of God's presence and represent God's presence to others in distress. Henri Nouwen says that "We do not know where we will be two, 10, or 20 years from now. What we can know, however, is that man suffers and that a sharing of suffering can make us move forward ... in the conviction that the full liberation of man and his world is still to come." The repair for despair isn't gallows humor or wallowing in the whys and wherefores of suffering. It's drawing closer to God and closer to others who suffer. In doing so, we see fear give way to hope. Perhaps Paul put it best: "Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's" (Romans 14:8). That's a motivational slogan for any millennium.
There is a sweet sweet spirit in this place, I can see it on each face, it is the Spirit of the Lord. After receiving our newest members this morning, we will sing about that Spirit. Let us pray..... ```````````````````````````````
Sources: Despair, Inc. Web Site, despair.com. Retrieved April 8, 2003. National Institutes of Mental Health Web Site. nimh.nih.gov/publicat/invisible.cfm. Retrieved April 9, 2003. Nouwen, Henri. The Wounded Healer. New York: Doubleday, 1972, 100.

Let me know what you think. The church Email is: SLUMC@att.net, Phone: 480.895.8766