Patrick Cabello-Hansel

Groan, People, Groan!

by PATRICK CABELLO HANSEL, Retired ELCA Pastor

Editor’s note: Pastor Patrick Cabello Hansel, along with his wife Pastor Luisa Cabello Hansel, retired in 2020 after serving ELCA parishes for more than 30 years in the Bronx, Philadelphia, and, most recently, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in south Minneapolis. Romans 8:19-25

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved.

Now hope that is seen is not hope.

For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God.”

Which way is east? Over there? I would like to shout towards the world leaders meeting at Glasgow at the climate summit: “The creation is waiting with eager longing for the children of God to do the right thing.” In order to survive as a people and as a planet, we need to make huge changes in how we do economy, government, church; in what we buy, what we eat, and so much more. These are simply not easy changes. They will involve labor pains. My wife, Luisa and I are expecting our first grandchild in January. It is a long wait. Our daughter has been sharing updates on how the baby is growing, including size updates: first a pin prick, than a pea, plum, orange, cauliflower, grapefruit. (I don’t think you can go any higher for a fruit—a watermelon would really bring labor pains!) Like all first-time moms, our daughter is a bit nervous, wondering about how the birth will go. She is taking classes, getting prepared. But she knows that the pain may at times seem unbearable. She is anticipating and will be living these very words from our text today: “We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly.” You can’t give birth to new life without labor pains. And if you got those pains, you got to groan! How have you groaned over the last 20 months?

Have you lost friends or family to COVID? Or have you lost them to political disputes? Has your mental or physical health suffered? Is there groaning in your heart over the state of the world? The coronavirus now has killed over five million people worldwide. There are more refugees in the world now than since the end of World War II. In our country, we have suffered armed insurrection and attacks on voting rights. Drastic forest fires, floods, and heat waves. And on and on.

Oh, the creation is really moaning. A year ago last May, our neighborhood was on fire. We live a mile from where George Floyd was murdered. Our church is two blocks from Lake Street, where nearly 100 businesses, mostly immigrant owned, were severely damaged or destroyed. One night, I stepped out on our little second floor balcony. I could smell the smoke from the arsons on Lake Street, I could smell the tear gas, I could hear sirens and people shouting. There were military helicopters with huge spotlights flying overhead. There were vans with no license plates and tinted windows, with skinheads driving around. I could hear gunshots. And I said, “What is going on, God?” And I prayed (I think I shouted): “God, can you get us out of this?” The radical teaching of Paul’s letter to the Romans is this: that groaning we feel in these times, that pain is the prayer of the Holy Spirit of God. That groaning, that pain in us is bringing new life to the world, if we go with it. I think the great challenge for our time is this: if you are following the Spirit of God, if you are being fully alive, you can’t escape the pain of the world. You can’t. You will moan.

But here’s the good news: that pain, that groaning we experience is the birth

NOVEMBER 5, 2021

Patrick Cabello Hansel

pangs of a new creation coming to be, and you and I have a role to play in that. And you and I are not alone. Our struggle is shared by sisters and brothers around the world, who are groaning, but who know that these are labor pains, and the birth will be worth it. As Paul notes, that new birth is not something we can see, but we can hope for it. As he said, “Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen?” We can hope for that new birth, we can struggle for it. And we can trust it will come.

So much of mass culture tells us to numb our pain: buy this, watch this, enjoy this, drink this. Numb out the pain. Thank God, we don’t have to. We have a passionate God embodied in Jesus who gets angry with injustice. Who weeps for his people. Who is willing to suffer, even to death—and will not give up even in death! By his death and resurrection, he has conquered death. Death no longer has power over him. Or over us. So, groan, people, groan! And trust that in that groaning, in those sighs too deep for words, new life is being born.