The Hope of Christmas & The Lament Over Evil ~ Psalm 10

November 29, 2015 ~ New City Church of Calgary ~ Pastor John Ferguson
Intro: Os Guinness, Unspeakable: Facing Up to Evil in an Age of Genocide & Terror, says that prior to the
fateful events of that day, Western societies no longer had a shared understanding of whether there was such
a thing as evil. After 9/11, the question became, How do we understand evil?
Guinness question: Is there anything harder to face and figure out than evil?
Evil is alive and well on planet earth, and its unwelcome presence connects our deepest questions about
humanity with our deepest questions about God.
Many people think that the existence of evil is actually an argument against the existence of God. For many
people, its not simply an academic exercise, but a heart-felt, emotional issue.
Where was God when the towers fell? If God is good, then why doesnt he do something? Why does
God seem to stand far off? Why does he hide himself?
Today, I want us to wrestle with the problem of evil. Though Im not promising an answer to all your questions,
I want to walk us through what you already know but you dont think you know, namely, the existence of real
evil actually requires the existence of a loving, good God b/c without God, there is no such thing as evil.
In fact, when you see a news report that makes your blood boil, when you shake your head when you
witness people getting away with corruption, when you shed tears because of the harm that has been done
to you, you are actually responding in an appropriate way that aligns with they way you are designed. That
response in turn tells you a lot about God even in the midst of your questions. And that response is meant
to find expression in what the Scriptures call lament.
Then, How does the hope of Christmas actually help us understand our lament over evil?
The Hope of Christmas & The Lament Over Evil ~ Ps. 10
10:1 Why, O Lord, do you stand afar off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
1. An example of the lost language of lament.
Lament wrestles with the hiddenness of God and it asks 2 questions: (1) God, where are you? (2)
God, if you love me, then why.? (M. Card)
2. The assumption: things are not the way they are supposed to be. Which assumes that there is a way
things are supposed to be. And because things are not the way they are supposed to be, lament is
entirely appropriate. Even normal.
Ecclesiastes 3:4, There is a time to weep.
10:2-11
1. The assumption: things are not the way they are supposed to be. Its not merely that I dont like the
fact that people do evil things, its that I really believe they should not do evil things. If there is a way
things ought to be, then there must be some purpose or reason for which humans exist beyond
personal preferences. And that brings us back to the existence of God.
2. The Secular Answer: There is no God, therefore there is no right and wrong.

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(1) Alex Rosenberg, The Atheists Guide to Morality, Is there a God? No. What is the purpose of the
universe? There is none. What is the meaning of life? Ditto. Why am I here? Just dumb luck. What
is the difference between right and wrong, good and bad? There is no moral difference between
them. Why should I be moral? Because it make you feel better. Is abortion, ethanasia, suicide,
paying taxes, foreign aid, or anything else you dont like forbidden, permissible, or sometimes
obligatory? Anything goes. Does history have any meaning or purpose? Its full of sound and fury,
but signifies nothing.
(2) Richard Dawkins, A River Out of Eden, nature is not cruel, only pitilessly indifferent. This is one
of the hardest lessons for humans to learn. We cannot admit that things might be neither good nor
evil, neither cruel nor kind, but simply callousindifferent to all suffering, lacking purpose.
(3) Oscar Wilde, nothing is good or bad, only charming or dull.
(4) Dostoyevski, The Brothers Karamazov, If God does not exist, all things are permissible.
(5) Vince Gilligan, Breaking Bad, Im pretty much agnostic at this point in life. But I find atheism just
as hard to get my head around as I find fundamental Christianity. Because if there is no such thing
as cosmic justice, what is the point of being good? Thats the one thing no one has ever explained
to me. Why should I go rob a bank, especially if Im smart enough to get away with it? Whats stopping me?
(6) Woody Allen, The universe is indifferentso we create a fake world for ourselves, and we exist in
that fake worlda world that, in fact, means nothing at all, when you step back. Its meaningless.
But its important that we create some sense of meaning, because no perceptible meaning exists for
anybody.
(7) Right and wrong are an illusion. Deal with it. Nature doesnt care. Lament is just silly.
3. The Eastern Answer: Nirvana, to lose oneself in the Divine
(1) Buddhism was birthed out of Siddhartha Gautamas response to evildetachment.

The disease of evil affliction and suffering

The diagnosis craving, desire, attachment
The prescription extinguish desire, shut down attachment
The goal nirvana a state of no desire

Buddhism teaches there is no remedy for suffering or living without sufferingthere is only the
extinguishing of the individual who desires. The hope is liberation through extinction of individual in
the great lake of Nirvana. Lament, in Buddhism, is a crucial mistake because it cultivates desire
and attachment.
4. The Christian Answer is grounded in the Hope that God actually cares, that he will act to put an
end to all evil and make things the way they are supposed to be. And lament is the language of
defiant hope.
10:12-15
Lament isnt silly as the secular faith says. Lament isnt foolish as the eastern faiths say.
Lament is a defiant hope that actually enhances your desire for a different kind of world.

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10:16-18
1. Lament is the defiant hope that assumes God cares about human suffering and misery, just like we do.
The language of lament expresses itself in the hope that Gods intent is to do away with evil, so that
man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
2. The cry of lament is, How long.
Bottom Line: Lament joins your heart with Gods intent.
So, what does this have to do with Christmas? In a word? Everything.
1. The Christian story found in the Scriptures is preoccupied with the problem of eviland Gods plans to
ultimately put an end to it. Where is God in the face of evil? He has written himself into the story.
Matthew 1:22, All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: Behold, the virgin
shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us).
Gregory Gannsle, Christianity is the story of God entering the world and paying the highest price to deal
with the root of evil. It is the story of God becoming a human in Jesus and taking on himself the results of
human sin.
IOW, Christianity presents to you a God who didnt remain afar off or hidden, but who became human,
and experienced oppression and evil himself. In the person of Jesus of Nazareth, God bears the scars of
evil.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, Hail thincarnate Deity / Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our
Emmanuel / Hark the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King.
CS Lewis, You are no longer faced with an argument which demands your assent, but with a Person
who demands your confidence.
2. How long? not only joins your heart with Gods intent, it connects the 1st Advent with the 2nd Advent.
Revelation 6:9-11, When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been
slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the
earth? Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their
fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had
been.
Application: Practice Lament & Stand Strong in Hope
Practice Lament: So, continue to lament in defiant hope that the evil of this world will not have the last word,
but God will. Because God came to us in Christ at the first Advent to die for our sins, God will come to us in
Christ at the second Advent to do away with all evil.
Stand Strong: Because there is such a thing as evil, lament drives us not only into a prayer of defiant hope,
but it also drives us to stand against evil and oppression now. Does that mean that only the Christian can fight
against evil? No, not at all. But it is to say that the Christian has every reason to fight against it because lament
joins our heart with Gods intent to see evil eradicated from his good creation.
NCC, may you be a people of defiant hope, and may your lament join your heart with Gods intent
as we celebrate the first Advent this Christmas.
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