NOTE: What follows are the notes from which the sermon on Sunday 28th was preached.

This sermon was preached by Ray Sommer at St Luke's Church on 11 September 2005. Ray acknowledges the debt he owes for this sermon to the Rev Dr Robert Schuller of Garden Grove Community Church, Garden Grove, CA, USA

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN TRAGEDY STRIKES?

As I get older; as I have to attend ever more funerals of acquaintances, friends and relatives, I am becoming more and more conscious of miseries and tragedies which individuals and families are going through as life progresses. Whilst we in Australia we have been blessed in that we did not have to suffer the untold agonies of Bosnia, Rwanda, the killing fields of Cambodia, the horror of the holocaust, the Tsunami in the Indian Ocean, the Cyclone in New Orleans or the destruction of the twin towers in New York, many of us are experiencing personal conflicts and tragedies which affect each individual person just as much.

(I must say, at the outset, that if any of you is a complete atheist, then this message may not help you. If the going gets too tough, you may need to consult a psychiatrist or whatever.)

For all of you, wherever you come from, I am giving you a verse which I believe to be the key to surviving upsets, disasters and personal tragedies.

At first you might feel frustrated when you read it, maybe even angry, but remember I have made it through a number of disasters and I am still here grinning: disasters like losing may father when he was young and all of our material possessions in WW.II and almost being killed in a car crash in Queensland in 1987.

This verse is some 3000 years old, from the mouth of King David of Israel:
Ps. 103:1 "Praise the Lord, O my soul;
and all that is within me praise his holy name."

You have a choice. You can be angry at God. You can deny Him and doubt if He even exists. Or you can praise Him. "How can 1 praise Him? Why should I praise Him?"

I know some of you feel this way. BUT: Listen! The following verses will give you 7 verbs, the answers to the "HOW" and "WHY". Anyone here who is a bit of a writer will know that VERBS are about the most important part of writing. They create energy and excitement.

There are 7 verbs in my text. No contemporary psychologist or analyst or psychiatrist could come up with 7 better verbs to elaborate the process of turning a disaster into an opportunity, to turn scars into stars.

In Psalm 103, verses 2 - 5 we read:
FORGET NOT all His benefits.
He FORGIVES ALL YOUR SIN.
He HEALS all your infirmities.
He REDEEMS your life from the Pit
He CROWNS you with mercy and compassion
He SATISFIES you with good things.
He RENEWS your youth like an eagle's.

Just, look at the process of moving from the negative to the positive response.

1. FORGET NOT; When tragedy hits, when disaster strikes, what must we do first and foremost, even if it is so very hard to do? "Forget not all His benefits". Look at what you have left, not at what you have lost. This is essential for your own mental stability. I am talking here to the survivors, the carers, the ones left behind, NOT the victims. YOU were not killed. YOU can still think. You still have a life to live, even without your beloved child or parent or partner. YOU have got your mind. Think! "Forget not all God's benefits." Some might have lost all in a bushfire or a flood. Some might shocked by a major burglary. Others may have sustained major damage in a car accident. - Look at what you have left. As the old Sunday School song says:

Count your many blessings, name them one by one. And it will SURPRISE you the Lord has done." - That is your first step: FORGET NOT!

2. FORGIVE; In any disaster or other tragedy a very common human reaction is: Why didn't I do this … or that?" - "Why didn't I make sure that we enjoyed things together more?" - Why did I say that?" - etc. There is almost a feeling of guilt mixed with the grief.

Often this is felt by others who did not experience the tragedy. They may feel guilty because they have been spared. This is NOT helpful. Forgive! Forgive yourself and forgive others who suffer less than you do. Even if you have good reason to blame someone else for the hurt caused you, you must forgive, if you want to go forward and not take on an even greater hurt. FORGET NOT His benefits. He FORGIVES all your sins, forgive yourself.

3. HEAL: The emotional turmoil you go through from a tragedy is great. There is a sense of isolation, a sense of abandonment. Then there is often jealousy of those more fortunate. Then the regrets. All of these negative emotions God will somehow heal. "HE HEALS ALL YOUR INFIRMITIES." If you FORGET NOT his benefits, If you FORGIVE yourself and others as he has forgiven you, then the healing will begin. And now we are ready for verb 4.

4 REDEEM: Now, redemption can begin. You can begin to dream again, to rebuild. On Ash Wednesday 1983, the home and Major Art Collection of the Art Dealer Kym Bonython burned down in the Adelaide Hills. I don't know what he had to say. (Note by Gwilym Henry-Edwards. Kym Bonython rebuilt his house from the ruins. He laid a concrete floor over the foundations and said, "My collection is still in the house. It may be in ashes under the floor, but it is still there.) Some years later, the home of the great American Architect Richard Neutra in the Los Angeles Hills burned down in a huge Californian bushfire. This house had been listed as one of America's National treasures. When all was lost, but the ashes still smouldering, Richard Neutra stood in front of his empty lot. He said to a close friend standing next to him: Well, now that the lot is clear, I can design a better house." And he did. REDEEM your life from destruction - FORGET NOT all His benefits. He FORGIVES all your sin. He REDEEMS your life from destruction. He brings you from DE-struction to CON-struction.

5: CROWN: "God CROWNS" you with mercy and compassion." You are now changed forever, permanently. You won't be the same person you were before. Trouble never leaves you where it finds you. In love's service only broken hearts qualify. You are now credentialed and you will understand other people's hurts. You will be a different person. You will be CROWNED with mercy and compassion. Help may come from unexpected sources, and you experience the goodness of God through others' strength: a neighbour, a friend, a nurse, a doctor, perhaps a policeman, a bank teller, maybe even a priest.

6. SATISFY: You will be satisfied, if you follow these steps. You will speak a different language. You will think differently. You will become a positive person. If you focus on praising the Lord instead of cursing Him, you will be satisfied. "He satisfies your being with good things." You will taste the goodness of the Lord. - you know the feeling of hot soup on an empty stomach on a cold winter's day: the warmth, the satisfaction that you did not think you would feel when you were still hungry. This is what the satisfaction of the Lord like. He will comfort you. He will warm you, He will satisfy you with good things.

7: RENEW: He renews your youth like and eagle's. I feel as young today (in my mind) as when I came to Australia in 1956 (49 years ago). In spite of various sicknesses, the near fatal car accident, business and other problems. I still feel as young and cheeky as ever. Mind you, there are little physical annoyances: the crook back, the shoulder pain, an ache here and an ache there - but I have been renewed again and again. What is it that keeps me and most of you here today young and energetic and hopeful and creative and constructive? We all try. to praise the Lord!

Choose life today. Choose to praise, not to curse. Your goals hold the power of your future. Every goal has its problems, BUT if your goal is to praise, you will see grand possibilities. Praise the Lord! That is YOUR responsibility, and see what HE will do.

Let us pray:

Thank you, Father, for your promises of good things.
Give to everyone listening now, whether they have lost a child, a partner, a parent, a friend, a loved one though death, mental illness, a stroke, separation or divorce, whether they have lost material possessions or have simply lost hope for the future, give to each one the ability to praise you.
Remind them of all the good things You have done and of the salvation You have brought which they cannot remember, because the black cloud of despair that has hidden the memory.
Then, Father, place in their hearts the seed of faith that You will deliver.
You will forgive.
You will heal.
You will redeem.
You will crown.
You will satisfy.
You will renew.
Thank You, Father, We love You and we praise you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen,