+INJ  Fifth Sunday in Lent  March 29, 2009+

Hebrews 5:7-9 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him

You may recognize this prayer, often called the serenity prayer. It’s used by all kinds of groups and churches, and placed on many a wall hanging. It is thought to be written by an American preacher named Reinhold Niebuhr.

God grant me the grace to accept with serenity the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

 Doesn’t it sound simple? Doesn’t it make it sound so easy? When we experience hard times, either we can do something about it or we can’t. If we can, then we should. If we can’t, we should just be OK with it. But you and I both know that it’s almost impossible, especially the part about accepting what we can’t change. How do we typically respond to hardship? How often have we matched the spirit of this prayer? When we do admit that there’s a problem we can’t handle, how often do we accept our suffering with serenity? Do we really appreciate the value of suffering in our lives, and thank God for it? Probably not that often.

But as we look at our text this morning, we want to shift our thinking when its comes to suffering. Instead of complaining about it or seeing ourselves as victims of our suffering, we want to learn to appreciate suffering. First, our text invites us to watch Jesus as he suffers as our perfect substitute. And second, our text also invites to follow Jesus in learning humble obedience in suffering.

As we watch Jesus endure suffering, he makes it look easy. After, Jesus was the only one in history ever to endure suffering perfectly. But our text reminds us that Jesus didn't just coast through his life and death because he is God's Son. Jesus knows the real meaning of human suffering firsthand. During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. It jumps out at us just how real Jesus' suffering was. With loud cries and tears, it says, he offered up prayers and petitions to the one who could save him from death. Just imagine Jesus crying out to his heavenly Father: “Father, help! I'm in trouble – I need you!” Think of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane with such anguished intensity that it says his sweat was like drops of blood. His sufferings affected him, alright. He was just as human as we are.

The wonderful difference with Jesus is how he responded to suffering as our perfect human substitute. It says he prayed to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission? Again, think of Gethsemane: Father, take this cup from me, yet not my will, but your will be done. That's reverent submission. Think of what Jesus said in the Gospel for today: And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? No, it was for this very hour that I came. That's reverent submission. Jesus obeyed his Father's will perfectly, down to the last letter, even when it meant suffering for himself, even when it meant suffering pain, abuse, and torture that he didn’t deserve. He did not try to escape his suffering and death, though he could have; he entrusted himself to his heavenly Father in heartfelt prayer, and endured his suffering in patience and humility. In reverent submission. Jesus perfectly endured suffering with heartfelt prayer to his heavenly Father. 

And at first, it seemed like Jesus' prayers fell on deaf ears; God was able to save his Son from death, and yet he didn't! Jesus did die! What’s amazing is that even in the face of betrayal, slander, abuse, and even death, Jesus perfectly submitted himself to God’s answer, whatever it was and whenever it came. As Christ himself said 1,000 years earlier through the mouth of David in Psalm 16: You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your holy one see decay. Jesus knew that God would hear and answer in his good time and way. And he did. God did save Jesus from death – not by preventing his death, but by reversing it. The answer to Jesus' prayers came on the third day, when he rose again from death.

It was only through suffering that God would work out his plan for Jesus. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. In other words, it was through suffering that Jesus reached the goal that God set for him. It was through suffering that Jesus achieved the finished product he was after: a life of perfect obedience to be credited to our record. Our salvation was the whole point of Jesus' suffering! And that suffering really is something we can appreciate. It’s the nuts and bolts of God’s salvation machine. By obediently enduring the path of suffering that God laid out for him, Jesus earned our salvation.

He did in our place what we have failed to do. Even after much practice, we constantly fail in our obedience, and even disobey on purpose when it suits our desires. Even when we try to accept suffering with a humble trust in God, we still at times complain and act as if we're victims of divine abuse. Even in our best attempts to accept suffering with serenity, we still fall far short. Based on our own obedience, we deserve eternal suffering in hell.

But Jesus suffered without complaint in our place, to cancel our guilt. Jesus prayed and cried, suffered and submitted in our place, to cover our failures and disobedience. Jesus humbly and obediently suffered in our place, to take away our sin and to replace it with his perfect record before God. We really learn to appreciate suffering when we see what Jesus' suffering has done for us. He is the source of our eternal salvation. He is the reason our sins are forgiven. He is the reason we get to live forever in heaven, where we will ultimately be free from suffering forever.

Yes, as we watch Jesus suffer as our perfect substitute, we learn to appreciate suffering. It's the whole reason for our salvation! But there's more for us to learn from this short text. We also learn to follow Jesus by learning humble obedience in our own suffering.

The original readers of the book of Hebrews had a unique brand of suffering. They were Christians with a Jewish background, who now were second-guessing the gospel because of intense persecution. They were tempted to back out of Christianity and return to Moses and the Old Testament laws of Israel. So the Holy Spirit inspired the book of Hebrews as an encouragement for Christians to stick with Jesus, no matter what they suffered.

Earlier in this section of Hebrews, we hear the encouraging truth that because Jesus knows what it's like to suffer, he’s able to help us in our suffering: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:15-16).

With our Savior’s help, we can learn to appreciate our own suffering, to thank God for graciously exercises us in humble obedience. When he sends suffering to us that we can do nothing about, he is providing a chance for reverent submission. Our psalm for today expresses the faith that God builds in us through suffering: Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit. Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground (Psalm 143:7,8,10). Through suffering, we get to follow Jesus in learning humble obedience. And as we continue to struggle and fail in our own obedience, we take comfort knowing that Jesus our perfect substitute has covered our failures and forgiven our faults by his perfect suffering and death. 

Accepting suffering with serenity will never be easy for us in this life. But by God’s gracious help, we can learn to appreciate suffering. A lot of you may be familiar with the serenity prayer that we began with this morning. But do you know the rest of it?

Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next.

In the spirit of this prayer, let’s learn to appreciate that it is only through Jesus’ suffering and death as our perfect substitute that we are saved. And learn to appreciate that it is often by following Jesus in our own sufferings that God graciously teaches us humble obedience. Let’s learn to appreciate that we have such an amazing gracious God that he can even take suffering and use it to save us and bless us. Amen.