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Jesus. Needless to say, this reading from St. Paul's letter to the Romans is perfect for the season of Lent. Lent is a time for the mortification of the flesh, a time to constrain the flesh for the sake of the spirit, to restrain the wants of the body for the sake of the soul. Often this is accomplished by giving up something for Lent, but unless you're careful, this easily can become a source of pride. What did I give up? What did you give up? My piety is better than your piety and all that. But it doesn't mean that we shouldn't do it, and it doesn't mean that suffering is bad for us, or that we shouldn't have confidence, or even praise God for our tribulations. St. Paul has a way of making us squirm in our seats. We rejoice in our sufferings, he says. And then we spend the rest of the time trying to reconcile these words in our minds. How do we rejoice in our sufferings? And for that matter, who rejoices in suffering? The world doesn't. The world rejoices in ease and comfort, not difficulty and discomfort, but suffering. Who in the world rejoices in that? St. Paul says we do. That's not what our flesh desires. That's not what the devil tempts us with. They would all have us look for the easy way out. No suffering for us, no thank you. That seems to go against every oath a health care worker would take. Even when the end of the road is near, we talk about easing our loved ones' pain and suffering. What kind of nurse would a good nurse be if she just looked at her patient and told them, Rejoice in your suffering? And left the room to commiserate with her fellow nurses? What actually would she say, but how can I make you a little bit more comfortable? And all the family nearby would then rain accolytes upon this caring nurse who had pity on this poor soul. Their suffering now eased and their pain now alleviated. We rejoice in sufferings. That's not the way the world talks. Frankly, that's not the way we talk either. In fact, if there is an easier way out, we'll take it. We most often rejoice in our relief and plead, please, Lord, take whatever it is away from me that causes my suffering. Isn't that what we're supposed to do? Aren't we supposed to ask God to help us in every need? Aren't we supposed to turn to Him and seek Him out for relief when we're about to be crushed by the weight of every hardship and illness and sin? Isn't that what the devil tempted Jesus with? The easy way out? The easy way out of his hunger? The easy way out to force the hand of God, the Father, to lift him up should he fall? The easy way out rather than going to the cross, all he had to do to win back the world from the grip of the devil was bow down and worship him, and Satan would have given him all the kingdoms of the earth, right? But that's not what Jesus did. He rejoiced that he could suffer for us in our place, not despising the shame all the way to the cross for a sinful, rebellious, broken people like us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. So then, how should we understand this? How do we reconcile rejoicing in suffering in our hearts and our minds? Notice how St. Paul begins. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. How do we have peace? Through our Lord Jesus Christ. How are we justified? By faith in Christ. Because you have been justified by Christ, that is why you have peace with God the Father, and you believe in him. You cannot separate the peace of Christ that surpasses all understanding from the cross, where his body hung weighted down with all the sins of the world, and his blood that flowed rivulets for you. Your peace with God, your eternal life, your salvation is produced by the work of Christ on the cross. You cannot separate your salvation from the flesh and blood of Jesus. But how then does this affect our lives? Well, are you not united to Christ, dear Christian? Do you not know that you were buried with him in your baptism? Are you not now raised to new life in Christ? Should we not expect to suffer? Did not Jesus tell us that whoever would come after him must take up his cross and follow him? But the truth in understanding the words of St. Paul is this. Can the pressures, the crosses, the tribulations, the sufferings of this life overthrow the reality of blessing that we actually have in Jesus Christ? Can the tribulations, the sufferings, the tears, and the fears of this life separate you, dear beloved Christian, from the love of God in Christ Jesus? No, it cannot. This world and everything in it will pass away. But the word of God, who is Christ, by the way, will never pass away. The word of the Lord will endure forever. For our hope, in what we have been given through Christ our Lord, does not put us to shame. Because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. For it is, as St. Paul has said, we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. And our hope does not put us to shame because we have the promised one who was resurrected from the grave and defeated the greatest villain of all, death. But we have confidence that nothing, nothing will snatch us, his lambs out of his hand, not even death. Oh, death, where is your sting? It's gone. For not powers nor principalities, nor anything in heaven, nor anything on earth can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. That is why we rejoice in our sufferings. Because our Lord guides us and leads us through this murky water of life, of sufferings, always striving ahead, with our hearts always resting. No, always looking forward to the hope of what is to come. And that is life eternal with Jesus. Always putting to death that which is in the flesh and letting Christ make us alive through his Holy Spirit. Beloved, we will suffer. We will have difficulties and tribulations in this life, but not without our Lord Jesus Christ, who gives of himself freely to those who have faith in him, so that you will be strengthened by him. We, the faith-filled, are always being filled by the faithful one. It's not a one-time thing, but an every Lord's Day thing. It's a daily remembrance of baptism thing. He is the vine, we are the branches. Apart from him, we can do nothing. So if we want to win the race, if we want to endure to the end, if we want the character he produces in us through tribulation and suffering, then we must be about receiving Christ his way so that we will endure to the very end. No Jesus, no suffering. But that also means no endurance, no character, no hope. But if you want endurance in suffering, if you want character in tribulation, if you want hope that endures the test of time, then you must be about receiving the one who can get you through it all. You must receive Christ by water and spirit, body and blood, the whole Jesus, for the forgiveness of all your sins, life and salvation. That's why we rejoice in our sufferings. Because in them we still have Christ all the way to the end. In the name of Jesus.