Hold Up...
You mean bad stuff can happen if I'm being good?
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. (Psalm 34:19-22)
We can read this bit of Psalm in a way that butts up against the harsh reality of human experience.
I mean, do we really believe that only baaaad people die from afflictions, and nice people always come out fine?
Short answer: No.
Jaded old King Solomon wrote,
It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. (Ecclesiastes 9:2-4)
So there’s still hope while we live, whether doing evil or good. This is the joy of the father and the surprise to the son in one of Jesus’s best loved stories,
“And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.” (Luke 15:21-24)
Or in a less tender observation heard in last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus said,
There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:1-5)
Whether with His beloved story of the son coming home or His grim review of the violent headlines, Jesus is teaching us that while we live, we have the opportunity to repent, to turn and come under His saving care. Jesus is the only one who is truly righteous. His first followers finally recognized that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Those lines up top from the Psalm? They only make sense when we see Jesus as the righteous one in them:
He’s the righteous one who suffered affliction — even to death — and was delivered from the tomb.
Those who serve Jesus as their Lord and take refuge in Him will be redeemed from the power of sin and will not be condemned.
A few weeks ago, Ash Wednesday began with an invitation to those inside and outside of the Church to repent and turn (or return) to Jesus,
This season of Lent provided a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism. It was also a time when those who, because of notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithful, were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to the fellowship of the Church. In this manner, the whole Congregation was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need that all Christians continually have to renew our repentance and faith.
Because while we still live, we can have hope. Because Psalm 34 proclaims the truth: The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.