19th Sunday after Pentecost

In today's sermon, I decided to preach on the Semi-continuous lectionary, Job 23:1-9 16-17, and the gospel. I suggest you read Job and the gospel first and then read my sermon. They did record me preach but they have not emailed me it yet. I will post it as soon as possible.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let us pray, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14”

Picture if you will a man of huge social status. Rich beyond all imagination. Has the perfect family and a beautiful wife--well at least I think she is beautiful (the text never talks about what she looks like). He has servants and maids--the latest technology-- and one day everything, EVERYTHING is gone. In the matter of a few moments, this man’s livelihood, his family, and many of his maids and servants are all gone. Now the man I am talking about here is the biblical character known as Job. Job has lost everything and his health is failing. Job is emotionally and physically drained by this chapter. He has sought comfort in three of his friends but has only found shame and frustration in their advice. Job is at his wits ends and he cannot figure out what he did to deserve this “punishment.” We, the reader, know why all these tragedies have happened. It wasn’t because Job sinned, or because one of his children have sinned, but it was the Satan, or in hebrew it is ha-satan, that instigated the initial “attack.” You could argue that God gave permission to Satan that it is God who is doing the actions against Job but in the end it was Satan that had the opportunity to decided whether or not to commit the actions which destroyed Job’s world and cause Job’s illness. But Job knows none of this. Job only knows that he has lost his world and he is deathly sick. Job feels abandoned, he feels hurts, and he wants to know why.

Today also my complaint is bitter; his hand is heavy despite my groaning. Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his dwelling! I would lay my case before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. I would learn what he would answer me, and understand what he would say to me. Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No; but he would give heed to me. There an upright person could reason with him, and I should be acquitted forever by my judge. “If I go forward, he is not there; or backward, I cannot perceive him; on the left he hides, and I cannot behold him; I turn to the right, but I cannot see him.

When I listen to these words of Job, I can understand why Job was not always well liked by Jewish Rabbis of the early 1st century. That last line just sends shrivels down my spine. God is not there. “If I go forward, he is not there; or backward, I cannot perceive him; on the left he hides, and I cannot behold him; I turn to the right, but I cannot see him. Job looks around and he can no longer see God. God is absent to Job. This is not the message that we necessarily want preached in churches or synagogues. However, I do not think this is the message that Job is conveying in his speech. As one commentator wrote, “Chapter 23 frames this complaint with two statements that insist faith must sometimes be construed as moral rebellion, not silent compliance.” Meaning, it is okay to ask why.

This past summer I spent 13 weeks at The Reading Hospital and Medical Center doing CPE. I was assigned to Medical Intensive Care Unit and the other heart floors in the hospital along with the normal duties chaplains had in the trauma bay. Every single day I was confronted with families and my own self asking essentially the same question that Job is asking God, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” “Why did my son have to die?” “Why me?” “Why Alex? He was such a great brother.” I can remember many sleepless nights staying up with families who were in the same situation Job was in. Sometimes we need to ask why. Sometimes we need to demand, yell, scream at God and ask “Why me?” But after that, we need to remember its not “why do bad things happen to good people?” but rather “When bad things happen to good people...” This world can be a wonderful place and at other times can be a horrible and hurtful place. I can remember one trauma case where a 21 year old male decided to ride down a hill on his skateboard drunk with no helmet. He was a good kid but just made a bad decision. His mother had to make the decision whether or not to pull him off life support. It was a heartbreaking case that I hope nobody has to ever face. A mother deciding the fate of her child, a sister having to say good bye to her older brother, a father wishing he could have done something different. Bad things will always happen to good people. In the end, it is not so much as we need to know why bad things happen but rather we need to “when whatever happens to you, I will be there.”

This is precisely the promise Jesus has made with us. I believe Jesus’ teaching in the last part of our gospel reminds us of this promise. This world may take everything we have: wife, husband, child, house, etc. but it Jesus who promises to stay with us and remain with us. Sometimes this means our life will not be easy. It was not easy for that family to watch their son die. It was certainly not easy for the disciples either. All but one died at the hands of the Roman government. Torture, beheading, crucifixion were all in their future. Peter and Andrew left their father at the dock to follow Jesus. We believe Peter might have even have had a family with a wife and children that he left behind to follow Jesus. These men and women left everything behind--essentially lost everything--to follow a man they have never met or known and with only the promise that better things will follow. Sometimes we must lose it all to strike it big in the end.

Job had it all and when he lost it all he felt it was punishment. Little did he realize that it was God working through Job’s disaster, Job’s attack. God was never far Job. It was Job that could not see God. Job thought God was in all of his possessions but rather God was with him personally just as God is with us today. We are no better in the sight of God if we drive fastest car, wear the Armoni suites or if we come wearing jeans and a t-shirt. We are the same in God’s eyes. Robert Jenson, a former professor from LTSG, has a wonderful quote in his commentary on Mark. "Whenever you want to draw lines in order to mark who is outside the kingdom and who is inside, always remember: Jesus is on the other side of the line! Jesus is always with the outsiders!" Being a follower of Jesus Christ puts us with all the followers, the saints present and the saints who now celebrate with God, and it makes no difference who we are or where we come from--we are outsiders because we follow Jesus. It is simply our faith that grants us this eternal life, this eternal promise with God. My friends, do be like Job and ask the questions--get angry at God (I promise you God can take it) but know that in the end, God has and always will be with you. This is our theology, This is our faith, This is the promise God grants us in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.