That is why he comes. It is the very essence of Christianity that God is to be found in this story and every human story, including and particularly stories of suffering. To the age-old question, “Where is God in the midst of earthquake, flood, holocaust, plane crash, terrorist attack; the malignancy, the stroke; at the end of a simple, pleasant evening with friends the random accident that claims the life of a dear woman who overcame one incredible challenge after another all her life long—where is God when a good, honest and brave young man who was guilty of nothing other than loving everyone steadfastly and unconditionally was nailed to a cross and left to die alone, abandoned between two criminals?”

To that question asked in every age, the answer of Palm Sunday is there, in the midst of the terrible drama, and here, when you and I encounter suffering of any kind. Because Jesus came to the city, you can count on God to be present, to be your companion, your support, your strength, and when the time comes to meet head-on sickness, debilitation, pain, death itself, God is there with you. God assumes your suffering. God weeps when you weep.

And then further in the sermon…

I have never had a one-time cathartic conversion to Christian faith. Rather it has been my experience that coming to faith is a process that began long ago, with my baptism as an infant, and continues every day, right up to and including the present. The critical point for me, theologically, intellectually, spiritually, was when I finally understood this: that in Jesus Christ God experiences everything it means to be human, to be you and me; that in Jesus Christ, God knows even what it means to doubt and despair, when from the cross Jesus himself cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” God himself knows and understands and experiences the worst moments you and I will ever experience. The turning point for me was when I understood and committed myself to believe and live the truth, bigger than my capacity fully to understand it, that God is with us, with you and me, on this journey, every single day of it, right up to the last day and beyond.

John M. Buchanan

April 17, 2011

Full Sermon

https://www.fourthchurch.org/sermons/2011/041711.html