| June 13, 2010
|
| Psalm 121/ Revelation 21.1-7/ Readings from The Book of Job | 3rd Sunday after Pentecost
|
Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills —
from where will my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
He who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The LORD will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time on and forevermore.
Revelation 21
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away." And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children.
Week three of Where is God... this week focusing in on Where is God in my suffering?
Our first week of the series addressed- where is God in the world? We looked into Adam and Eve’s world and discovered that God is but a finger’s lift away- before sin God walked with them in the Garden- after sin Adam and Eve hid from God- and this too has been our journey- our sin separating us from God. Each week on our bulletin cover we have been reminded of God’s presence, God’s yearning, stretching, twisting turning to be with us... and our laid back approach- with the presence of these two fingers- from Michelangelo’s painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel: God and Adam.
In week two we entered into Jacob’s life- learned that his name actually means “hustler” and that he has so much drive and ambition that he could be the poster child for the American dream. We re-addressed our question from Where is God in my life to Who or What is God in my life- learning that chasing/hustling after the American Dream is not always the same as reaching for God and can, in fact exhaust us to the point that we have nothing left for God- and God’s call in our lives. St Augustine writes: God wants to give us something, but he cannot, because our hands are full- there is nowhere for him to put it. Our ego- EGO- we Edge God Out- until we are broken, exhausted, with hands empty enough to cling to God... this is where we left it last week with Jacob.
Today we look at the question of Where is God- one more time... this time Where is God in my suffering- and we will open the Book of Job- found in the Old Testament, before the time of Jesus- regarded by some as a folktale to explain why bad things happen to good people. Before we do- I’m going to let you in on the end of the story. Look at your bulletin cover- God is still here- reaching, yearning, twisting and turning to be with us- this has been the constant running through each week... and even this week it is no different. The consistent theme running through God’s story is God’s desire to be with his children. In The Book of Job- once again, we will find God- a BIG God.
So let’s begin- at the beginning:
Job 1.1-2: There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.
Job is everyone’s story. In the beginning everything is the way we think it ought to be. Job is a righteous, pious, all around good guy... and he’s living the good life. He attends church- just like us- and even offers prayers and sacrifices on behalf of his children just in case saying:
Job 1.5b: (...for Job said,) "It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts." This is what Job always did.
This is what Job ALWAYS did. God gives Job this wonderful life... but there is trouble stirring in Uz, and bad things start happening to a very good man. Uz is a place not only where suffering hits, but it hits without warning or explanation, leaving a wake of chaos, confusion and despair. The truth is... everybody here will spend some time in Uz- some of you have- some of you are there right now...
In verse 6 there is a radical shift in scenery- from Uz to heaven- a play with two stages/ action going on at two different levels. Job is not aware of what is going on above:
Job 1.6-12: One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it." The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil." Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face." The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, all that he has is in your power; only do not stretch out your hand against him!" So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
Job loses everything... and we wait to see how he will respond. We are told that Job grieves, but then he worships, and he speaks words of blessing and praise to God. In all this he did not sin. Satan is confused and returns to speak with God.
We return to the upper stage:
Job 2.4-6: Then Satan answered the LORD, "Skin for skin! All that people have they will give to save their lives. But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face." The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, he is in your power; only spare his life."
The action in the story switches back to the lower stage. We may think that the central question here is- where is God... but perhaps we are looking at the wrong entity or asking the wrong question. Perhaps, once again, we need to take a look at ourselves looking to see the real question posed by Satan to God: Does Job fear and love God for nothing?
Once again- does this question about where is God in my suffering have more to do about us than about God? Satan is saying- God, Job is devoted to you and worships you, but it is all out of self-interest; it’s all about him and what he gets. You know- you scratch his back, he’ll scratch yours. Satan is charging God with being naive saying: You think Job loves you- he doesn’t love you- the truth is he loves you the way children love the ice cream man- you turn off the faucet of blessing and watch how fast Job’s devotion runs dry.
CS Lewis offers another idea: (do) We regard God as an airman regards his parachute; its there for emergencies but he hopes he will never have to use it. Let’s see...
Job’s story continues- he is afflicted with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head... this time his response is different- he does not praise God- he sits among the ashes- perhaps this is an act of grieving. Job’s wife enters the scene- she has also lost everything and now will have to care for this horribly diseased husband until he dies- and then she will be left alone and destitute- perhaps she is putting voice to Job’s thoughts:
Job 2.9-10: Then his wife said to him, "Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse God, and die." But he said to her, "You speak as any foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
In all this Job did not sin with his lips... Job is struggling to understand God at this point- I sure would be (and I have!). Is God the kind of deity who sends trouble? Who sends evil? Is God really good? After the first wave of tragedy the Scripture says: In all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God. Now there is a change in Job- he did not sin in what he said... in his heart he is struggling. (Been there... done that- what about you?)
Next Job’s friends enter the stage- what can we learn from them? They begin to weep when they see him. Usually when you go to visit someone who is suffering, you might try to cheer them up- tell them it’s not that bad- but to visit and immediately burst into tears- it speaks to how desperate Job’s condition is- this appears terminal. There is no use in pretending and so his friends just weep- and they sit with him for 7 days and 7 nights. There is power in presence- I have learned that silence is often what is called for- and sitting with- compassion.
After 7 days they open their mouths- they speak... a lot... now getting themselves into trouble.
After 7 days and 7 nights of silence- Job speaks too- he and his friends argue- his friends saying: Job, you must have done something wrong, because if you hadn’t, how would you explain your suffering? Job cannot believe this and so Job turns his voice to God- perhaps also shaking his fist toward the heavens:
Job 13.3: But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God.
This in chapter 13- in chapter 38, after much prose, Job gets his wish:
Job 38.1: Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind:
The Lord speaks... Can you imagine what that moment was like? Out of the whirlwind, the storm... the Lord speaks...
What you notice when you read through the text here is that when God shows up, he doesn’t get around to answering Job’s question of why. He doesn’t explain to Job what happened on the upper stage. God “simply” asks Job a bunch of questions that he cannot answer. At first glance this might seem cruel- but I believe that God is helping Job see with new eyes- that Job has a finite mind and a limited point of view, as all humans do. Job begins to understand, in an entirely new way, the character of God, the kind of person God is- irrationally loving, gratuitously good, incredible generous. Job never finds out about the upper stage. Job never finds out about the conversation that takes place in heaven. Why? Because Job’s story is our story, and on this earth we live on the lower stage. But Job finds out something better- something bigger; Job finds out who God is-- that God is loving beyond Job’s wildest imagination.
That’s why Job makes this amazing statement:
Job 42. 1-2,5: (Then Job answered the LORD:) "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you;
That is enough. God comes down from the upper stage to the lower stage so that Job can see who God is. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Remember- this is from the Old Testament- now, enter Jesus- God did come down- to the lower stage- in a manger- lived among the people- a servant to the end- dying on a cross- taking our suffering, our sin on the cross... and in doing this God has said to us:
Whatever you are going through, come to me. I am a great big God- and I will give you hope and I will give you comfort and I will hold your hand and I will never let it go.
CS Lewis in the Problem of Pain says:
God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world. Perhaps this is because we are quiet enough to hear him... because it is here that we cling to the promise- our arms stretching out for God- like the picture on the front of your bulletin.
Our church body, our community has suffered in many ways as of late- losses, deep hurts- it simply is part of our life together. These past three weeks I have performed three funerals, stood beside three graves and proclaimed that there is more than death. I have sat at the bedside of a mom struggling to live- but knowing that she is dying- she is tired- her body is exhausted, a battleground- but she knows that LOVE never fails and so each day she reaches out to those around her to see LOVE in action.
The Book of Job ends:
Job 42.17: And Job died, old and full of days.
This will one day be our end here on earth- death. I invite you to read this book of faithfulness- to share it. The writer wants us to be encouraged by Job and to encourage those around us... or to just sit with them. We are all part of something cosmic and eternal. Our suffering matters more than we can imagine... We live in the Land of Uz. Every one of us will suffer. Some of us are suffering right now- deeply, deeply hurting. Why? I don’t know why. How long will it last? I do not know. Does our response matter- Job says yes... hang on... because our God is a great big God. Amen.