<> Ask the Pastor by Rev. Walter Snyder Yesterday was Epiphany (which means "manifesting" or "showing"). Epiphany commemorates the manifesting of Jesus to the Wise Men who visited Him who was "born King of the Jews." These Gentiles (non- Jews) are the first sign that the promises concerning Messiah's coming for the nations as well as for Israel would be fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The German word for Epiphany is "Heidenweihnachten", or Heathens' Christmas. At Bethlehem, He first came to Israel. Epiphany is His coming to us of German, English, African, Latin, Oriental, or other descent. In many cultures, gift-giving waits for the Gentiles' celebration. Some have no Santa--the Wise Men bring gifts to good Christian children. In the Church calendar, the emphasis of of the Sunday readings following Epiphany is that of mission outreach. Q: Why do bad things happen to good, Christian people? A: In one way or another, this is a question that I've gotten several times over the past weeks. I answered a few of the first respondents individually, to let them know that I was going to try to deal with this. The problem's been that of doing justice to their concerns in the confines of the column. This week brought the questions closer to home. Willis Webb, publisher of the Newsboy, suffered much with his kidney stones (see his column in the Newsboy of 3 January). Almost at the same time, my older daughter was hospitalized with an infection and was subjected to the poking and prodding of IVs and blood tests. Now she has to take one of the foulest smelling oral medications I've ever encountered. This question returns memories of my grandparents' deaths. One grandfather died slowly, fighting for breath as emphysema overtook him. The other went suddenly with a massive coronary. We were prepared for the first, and the pain and shock were lessened somewhat. Similarly, one grandmother died of liver cancer, which spread pain throughout her body. Near the end, the agony of the hospital sheets covering her tender skin was almost too much for her to bear. The other appears to have slipped quietly away in her sleep. Again, the family's pain was lessened in the former's passing, since we had time to prepare and to begin our mourning while she was still with us. But her pain was much greater. When we search the Scriptures, we know the basics: Pain, suffering, and death entered the world because of Adam's fall into sin. Each of us earns the "wages of sin," which Paul reminds us "is death." Each of us faces toil and hardship, whether physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual. It's the specifics that bother us. Why did the most overtly God- fearing, practicing Christian among my grandparents suffer the most painful death? Why did she, years before, have to watch her husband slowly strangle under his failing lungs? Please pardon my temporary irreverence, but these are the things that cause even strong believers to ask, "God, why'd you do this to such a saint instead of to that SOB down the street?" Why do I sometimes still cry over memories, years after a final hospital visit, long after a coffin was lowered? It's not fair, is it? When we get in God's face and start yelling our rage, our pain, our frustration, where's our answer? Why doesn't He give us a clear sign? If we look at Job--and remember his terrible suffering--we also encounter a God who basically says to this righteous man (and to us): "Mind your own business. When you're God, then you can make the rules." We keep running up against One who says, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, My ways are not your ways." The Psalms are likewise full of laments at personal or societal suffering, when no end seems in sight. Yet when we look closer, we see hope glimmering. The same Psalms which complain about the pain will also say, "Yet will I praise God." And so will we. God sometimes uses suffering as a teaching tool. At times, pain is inflicted to turn us from what is unnecessary or wrong to Him who is truly the One thing needed. He'll even use our afflictions to draw attention and praise to Himself. Remember the healing of the man who was blind from birth, when Jesus was asked whose sin it was that caused the blindness: Was it the parents' fault, or did God anticipate a future infraction in the man and punish it in advance? Neither, is what Jesus said. This happened so God could be glorified, said the Savior--who then proceeded to heal the man. Ultimately, we'll never have a full answer in this life as to why bad things happen to good people--with one great exception. Otherwise, even the beauty of the Easter Gospel at a funeral, even all the other Bible words of hope and consolation sound trite and hollow when our pain is so great. The exception is in the totally unwarranted agony of Jesus. "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows...he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." We know why He suffered. He paid the price demanded for our failure. His loss was our gain, His pain our pleasure, His agony our ecstasy. Sitting in the rubble of his life, Job could still say, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth.... I myself will see him with my own eyes...." The hymn based on this Scripture concludes: "He lives, all glory to His Name! He lives, my Jesus, still the same. Oh, the sweet joy this sentence gives, 'I know that my Redeemer lives!'" He lives, and because He lives, we shall live also. In the worst of times, we know we have One on our side who's already faced the same terrible pain, who's already shouldered the same staggering load, and who's already crushed sin, death, and devil beneath His almighty foot. He is the clear Sign that God loves us. This, too, is part of His Epiphany: He has shown us the height and the depth of His love for us. "All glory to His Name!" Amen. That's it for now. Should you wish to "Ask the Pastor" more about this, or anything else, write P.O. Box 1080, Jasper, Texas, 75951, e-mail xrysostom@aol.com, or stop me on the street to chat. Walter Snyder is the pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Jasper and Faith Lutheran Church, Woodville and coauthor of the book "What Do Lutherans Believe? A Study Guide in Christian Teachings for Adults." Copyright (c) 1996 by Walter P. Snyder Permission is granted by author to reproduce or retransmit this by any means, provided that its content is not altered, that this notice of copyright and permission is included, and that no financial gain is realized.