Note: I usually post an initial sketch on Monday or Tuesday of each week; then, I come back with a revised piece on Fridays. I hope my thoughts nourish your thoughts, that something here helps you think in the right direction for the congregation you serve. Cheers!
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I. Introduction
We are half-way through this
journey with Job—an interesting journey to be sure! As we get to this point,
let’s take a moment to look back on what we’ve learned from Job about this thing
called suffering:
·
Suffering – common to all of us as people,
though in various forms.
·
Suffering – NOT from God; from Satan, our bad
decisions, a broken world.
·
Suffering – more bearable when we share the pain
with others, with friends.
·
Suffering – may be a good time to talk to the
sufferer about God; always a good time to talk to God about the one suffering:
We pray for those who suffer.
·
Suffering – can bring us closer to God; opens
our ears to hear God.
·
Suffering – produces perseverance, character
and, ultimately, hope!
Today, we continue our journey with
the man Job through the book of Job. The man Job cries out to God for justice,
for an answer….
Scripture – Job
31:35-37
35“Oh, that I had someone to hear
me!
I
sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me;
let my accuser put his indictment in writing.
36Surely I would wear it on my
shoulder,
I
would put it on like a crown.
37I would give him an account of
my every step;
I would present it to him as to a ruler.
Job is frustrated. His friends keep
telling him that his suffering is a product of his own sin, that he has somehow
offended God. Job has examined his life, looked at it from every angle, turned
it upside-down, but he cannot find this supposed offense. He is still operating
from his friends’ perspective—God rewards the good and punishes the bad.
Job is about to learn what Jesus’ disciples
learned from him some 2000 years later. The world is NOT set up on this
good/bad, reward/punishment scale. In fact, if we were to really and truly
think about it, would we really want things to work this way?
Do we really want the world to function on this kind of justice? Oh, it’s so
easy to want it when we see ISIS and violence and injustice around us…but do we
want to God to deal with us
personally this way? Do I really want God to step in and deal out punishment
and suffering on me every time I think and act selfishly? Do I really want
suffering every time I short-cut the law or outwit my competitors in business
through some “if-y” loophole? Do I want God to send fire and desert winds on me
when I arrogantly think myself better than those around me? Do I want God to
pin me down with illness and rob me of family and income because I’ve committed
a sin against Him or someone else? No way. When it comes to me, I want grace,
pardon, forgiveness. I only want that other law when someone sins against me,
mine or my world.
But, Job is where he is. He makes
his case before God. He refutes his guilt. Listen to these words from the same
chapter:
5“If I have walked with falsehood
or
my foot has hurried after deceit—
9“If my heart has been enticed by
a woman,
or
if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door…
13“If I have denied justice to
any of my servants,
whether male or female, when they had a grievance against me…
16“If I have denied the desires
of the poor
or
let the eyes of the widow grow weary…
24“If I have put my trust in gold
or
said to pure gold, ‘You are my security’…
29“If I have rejoiced at my
enemy’s misfortune
or
gloated over the trouble that came to him….
“If, if, if…IF I had done any of
these things, God would have a right to punish me, but I am blameless!” says
Job.
So, what is GOING ON?!?
That brings us to Job’s cry:
35“Oh, that I had someone to hear
me!
I sign now my defense—let the Almighty
answer me;
And God does.
II. God Answers Job
Let’s just hear what God has to say…. (Job 38:1-11; 31-41)
1Then the Lord spoke to Job out
of the storm. He said:
2“Who is this that obscures my
plans
with words without knowledge?
3Brace yourself like a man;
I
will question you,
and you shall answer me.
4“Where were you when I laid the
earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5Who marked off its dimensions?
Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6On what were its footings set,
or
who laid its cornerstone—
7while the morning stars sang
together
and all the angels shouted for joy?
8“Who shut up the sea behind
doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
9when I made the clouds its
garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
11when I said, ‘This far you may
come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?
31“Can you bind the chains of the
Pleiades?
Can you loosen Orion’s belt?
32Can you bring forth the
constellations in their seasons
or
lead out the Bear with its cubs?
33Do you know the laws of the
heavens?
Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth?
34“Can you raise your voice to
the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35Do you send the lightning bolts
on their way?
Do
they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36Who gives the ibis wisdom
or
gives the rooster understanding?
37Who has the wisdom to count the
clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
38when the dust becomes hard
and the clods of earth stick together?
39“Do you hunt the prey for the
lioness
and satisfy the hunger of the lions
40when they crouch in their dens
or
lie in wait in a thicket?
41Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?
As I read these words, I am
reminded of what God says to Isaiah in Isaiah 55:8-9:
“For
my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the
Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than
your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Job (and we!) has no clue about the
greatness, the power, of God. We are mere specks of dust on the face of one of
one billion balls of rock floating in a universe that we have no way of
understanding. Oh, scientists make out like they know so much, but it’s mainly
guess-work and hope and good intention. But does anyone really know where we have
come from, how we hold together, and where we are going? Our best and brightest
scientists talk about a “Big Bang”…but none of them dare to speculate what
caused that ‘bang’ or why all the matter of the universe gathered in one place.
Their ideas only go back so far…but our God goes back even farther.
Who is this God? Thankfully, in
these words from God found here in Job an image of the Creator and Sustainer
of all things emerges. God is a Maker, Giver, Builder and Provider…not a
destroyer, killer, an ‘unmaker.’
III. Jesus as God’s Image
Jump with me to the New Testament
for a moment. Paul has some very important words for us as we strive to get
this image of God into our minds.
In his letter to the Christians in
Colossae, Paul writes these words as he strives to help them understand more
about both God the Father and Jesus Christ:
15The
Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For
in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have
been created through him and for him. 17He is before all things, and
in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body,
the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that
in everything he might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to
have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile
to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making
peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (1:15-20)
According to Paul, Jesus—the Son—is
the image of the invisible God. And when we think of Jesus, when we see Jesus
in the Gospels, what do we find there? Do we find a destroyer? A killer? A
peddler of suffering and pain? An unmaker?
In Jesus we find a maker, a healer,
a restorer, a guide, a teacher, a friend. He has opportunities throughout his
ministry to act out that law of good/bad, reward/punishment. He has plenty of
chances to bring suffering to the evil and bad. But, no. He could have called
down armies of angels to deal with those who meted out injustice. He could have
just as easily cast disease on the evil ones. But, no.
In our New Testament reading today, we get a glimpse of God
and the ways of God:
43“You have
heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ (reward/punish!) 44But I tell you, love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be
children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and
the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If
you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax
collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your own people, what
are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be
perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48).
Jesus here gives us his own
understanding of the ways of God. He calls us to be like the Father… ‘love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute us’—sharing good and blessings with
all…regardless of their goodness or righteousness (right-ness). And, not only
is God like this, Jesus calls us to do the same!
IV. One and the Same God
Jesus is maker, healer, giver,
provider…the image of the invisible God.
As we began this study, we affirmed
our belief in the sovereignty of God. Today, let us also affirm our belief in the
unchanging nature of God’s character. If
that is so, and if Jesus is the image of God…then the God we see in Jesus is
the same God we find in the book of Job. And that image of God reveals a ‘good’
God.
If you saw the recent list on FB
about Methodists, one of the commonalities among Methodists is our recognition
of the goodness of God. In fact, we have a little practice common to our
churches:
God
is good…all the time; all the time…God is good!
Let’s try that again—GOD IS GOOD!
(All the time!) ALL THE TIME! (God is
good!)
This is not only fun to practice,
but it also reveals a truth we need to lay hold of. When we see Jesus, we know
this is true. Job is learning that this true….
V. Conclusion
My brothers and my sisters in
Christ, we have got to latch on to this idea—the Goodness of God. We cannot be
led astray by the Satan, by bad theologies, by well-intentioned but mis-guided
teachings. Our God is GOOD. He is MAKER, BUILDER, SUSTAINER, PROVIDER!
As we go into this new week—in
spite of the struggles we face with school traffic tomorrow morning, the
frustrations—teachers—that you encounter in the classrooms this week, the
difficulties—students!—you face in the classrooms this week or this semester,
the trouble—parents!—you have getting those kiddos out the door each morning,
the day-to-day challenges—business men and women—you face in the work place and
on the work-site, the roller-coaster husbands and wives experience in their
relationships—as we go into this week, let us face the hardships with ‘clear
eyes’ knowing that God is not the source of our problems. Rather, God is the
answer to our problems…because GOD IS GOOD (All the Time!)…ALL THE TIME! (God
is Good!)
When you face the trials, struggles,
tensions and sufferings that come to you this week, this month, this year,
claim the truth: God is Good…all the time. When you get confused as to who’s
causing what in your life, and you get turned around like Job thinking the bad
stuff is from God, claim the truth: God is Good…all the time. And remember that
our good God goes with us, hears us, strengthens us…and never forsakes us.
This, my friends, is God’s Good
News for us today.
Amen
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