Intro:
Some of the best music has come from pain… or at least expresses pain.
Well I taught the weepin willow how to cry, cry, cry,
And I showed the clouds how to cover the clear blue sky
But the tears I cried for that woman, are gonna flood you big river
And I’ma gonna sit right here until I die
Well since my baby left me, I found a new place to dwell
Its down at the end of lonely street, at
Heartbreak hotel
Scripture: Job 1:1-5
In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the peoples of the East.
His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, ‘Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.’ This was Job’s regular custom.
Job 1:13-22
One day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the eldest brothers house, a messenger came to Job and said, ‘The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell on them and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.’ While he was still speaking, another came and said, ‘The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; I alone have escaped to tell you.’ While he was still speaking, another came and said, ‘the Chaldeans formed three columns, made a raid on the camels and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.’ While he was still speaking, another came and said, ‘Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house, and suddenly a great wind came across the desert, struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; I alone have escaped to tell you.
Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshiped. He said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
What song do you suppose Job wanted to sing at that particular moment?
Popular culture even knows about the ‘Patience of Job’ and those of us raised in church know that Job suffered patiently the trauma’s of life and the injustice and unfairness that came his way.
But that isn’t the whole story.
Lets look, just a little bit ahead and see if Job’s song is still so patient….
Job 7:21
"Does not man have hard service on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired man? 2 Like a slave longing for the evening shadows, or a hired man waiting eagerly for his wages, 3 so I have been allotted months of futility, and nights of misery have been assigned to me. 4 When I lie down I think, 'How long before I get up?' The night drags on, and I toss till dawn. 5 My body is clothed with worms and scabs, my skin is broken and festering.
6 "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and they come to an end without hope. 7 Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath; my eyes will never see happiness again. 8 The eye that now sees me will see me no longer; you will look for me, but I will be no more. 9 As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to the grave does not return. 10 He will never come to his house again; his place will know him no more.
11 "Therefore I will not keep silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 12 Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep, that you put me under guard? 13 When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, 14 even then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions, 15 so that I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine. 16 I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning.
17 "What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention, 18 that you examine him every morning and test him every moment? 19 Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant? 20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of men? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you? 21 Why do you not pardon my offenses and forgive my sins? For I will soon lie down in the dust; you will search for me, but I will be no more."
Now I want us to pay close attention to a few details here.
The story of Job opens by describing his devotion. Job has structured his life around the worship of God. Nothing comes before that… he is a devout man, a pious man. His devotion even extends to offering sacrifices and prayers after his children have a party, just in case they got hammered and said or did things that would displease God. Job never misses a Sunday morning or a Bible study. He joins committees and comes to the meetings and delivers communion and visits church members and helps with coffee hour… do you hear it? His devotion to God takes the highest priority and he is tireless in his faithfulness. He has a tenacious faith and because of that, he prospers, he is blessed.
But what have we just read.
That tireless and tenacious devotion that we read about to open the story… how does Job describe it now?
Like a slave longing for the evening shadows, or a hired man waiting eagerly for his wages, so I have been allotted months of futility, and nights of misery have been assigned to me.
This devotion is no longer a joyful relationship of prayer… but slavery… forced labor… a violent intrusion upon his very humanity.
Look carefully at how Job describes his life…
Like laborers who look for their wages…
How many of us have wondered if there will ever be some reward for faithfulness…
Not a corvette or a mansion, but even a break from the stress of making ends meet?
Of course we have… we may hesitate to admit it…
You see there is a promise that Job knows about…
Dt 6:24
The LORD commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the LORD our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive,
Job has lived in the hope of this promise… that if we obey the decrees, we will prosper…
This is the story… that Job was told, that we are told
But eventually our lives of faith will reach the wall, like long-distance runners, I have heard, eventually reach… when they no longer feel like they can continue… their strength is gone… the goal just not worth the pain…
And this my friends is where Job is…
the promises of prosperity are broken and strength is gone…
have you ever been disappointed and run down?
than you understand Job
In verse six Job says ‘my days are swifter than a weavers shuttle
And come to their end without hope…
Now the hebrew root of that word hope is tiqwa… can you say that?
Now here is the thing… tiqwa is also the root of the word thread.
Job is saying that he has come to the end of his rope.
And how many of us have felt this way?
Do not Job’s words ring true for the thousands of unemployed… looking for their wages
Do not Job’s words sound painfully personal, When I lie down, I say, when shall I rise…
Have you ever had a sleepless night sisters and brothers.
But Job doesn’t stop there… Job continues…
Have you ever, in the midst of troubling and traumatic times had someone, well-intentioned no doubt, say to you; God will never give you more than you can handle?
Here is what Job has to say to that…
Am I the Sea or the Dragon?
What does that mean?
The writer of Job is referring to the creation story of Genesis… the chaotic deep… the sea that was God’s enemy in Genesis one, that God battled and defeated, pushed back… with a word…
The writer is also referring to other ancient creation stories in which the world was created in a battle with the Dragon…
And what Job is saying is… Why, God, are you battling with me like I am the Sea or the Dragon…
You are being too hard on me… you are over-reacting… this is too much for me to bear!
This is too much for me to bear!
I remember having a conversation with a young man I used to work with before I went to seminary. He was an adult with developmental delays and mental illness who lived independently and it was my job to offer him supports so that he could maintain his independence. One of my jobs, upon occasion, was to give him a ride to church, which he attended faithfully.
My mom doesn’t go to church anymore, he once told me.
Really, why?
She is mad at God.
Do you know why?
My dad died… he was young… she never forgave God for that.
Does the story of Job ever answer the question of why there is suffering?
No, not really.
So I suppose it is a bit a disappointment… we’d like to know why wouldn’t we.
What the story Job does is open up a way to stay connected to God even when the connection seems broken because of suffering; because of trauma or disappointment.
For we are called to be an imaginative folk, those of us who believe in God and follow Christ.
We cannot prove peace is more effective than violence,
But we are called to imagine a peaceful world that one day will be, and live like its true today
We cannot prove that generosity and simplicity is an effective economic possibility
But we are called to imagine a world where everyone has enough and to live simply and give generously and live like its true today.
We cannot prove resurrection
But we are called to imagine it and in that find hope and courage
The harsh reality is that experience will not always support us in our imaginative endeavor that is discipleship…
Experience will suggest otherwise; that violence will win the day, that taking care of me and getting what’s mine is the safest way through life and that life is short and cruel with no hope of improvement.
You see, what is fascinating about the story of Job is that the story itself only takes a little over three chapters to tell. Job has a good life because he is faithful to God. Tragedy befalls him and he remains faithful.
In the end, because of Job’s patience, God rewards him and restores him to joy…
If you’ve never heard this story before, that is how it ends, God restores Job’s prosperity….
But that story is interrupted by, I don’t know 39 or so chapters of Lament…
This is the ongoing connection you see… Lament.
How might faith be different if instead of going from trauma right into God is good,
We, like the writer of Job allowed for the time and space to lament.
Would that young man’s mother still be in church if it allowed more space for lament. If we feel like, Job, that we are being taken advantage of, asked too much, suffering unjustly, but cannot say it,
Are left only to talk about how good God is… we sometimes will have nothing to say… and no one to understand us.
Do you hear what I’m saying…
Job doesn’t answer the question, why suffering. But at least it offers us the suggestion of the way through… it offers us a path to imagining joy again… and that path is through struggling honestly with God.
Job doesn’t give up, loose faith, stop believing…
he argues and complains and fights and wrestles for 39 chapters…
He is disappointed and discouraged and hurt by God…
But he will not give up or give in…
If the only way to be faithful is to struggle
To lament… then Job will be faithful in that way
Waiting, Demanding, that faith bring joy and prosperity!
Lament isn’t complaining or whining,
Lament is an energized engagement
And that is what inspires me to celebrate Job…
His energized engagement despite disappointment and discouragement
Even though he feels tricked and mistreated, Job will not give up on his faith
Job was tenacious in faithfulness before and not even tragedy has dampened his tenacious faith.
And that is what we need today sisters and brothers
A tenacious faith… a faith with conviction…
Convictions, wrote James Wm. McClendon, are not just beliefs or opinions, … for our convictions show themselves not merely in our professions or belief or disbelief, but in all our attitudes and actions…
And if that were not challenging enough, McClendon goes on to say of the church…no mere collections of the curious will count.
These are serious times sisters and brothers…
And God has called us in these serious times…
To be tenaciously faithful, even when the storms of life are raging…
Casual curiosity just will not do…
Two people were just indicted in RI for their alleged participation in a conspiracy to bring women from the mid-west to engage in prostitution in our state… forced prostitution by the way… slavery is not just a historical fact or foreign concept…
And it will take tenacious disciples to meet this challenge.
• A recent USDA report on food insecurity shows that hunger in Rhode Island has grown from affecting 1 out of 10 households in 1998 to affecting 1 out of 8 households today.
• In Rhode Island, 43% of pantry recipients choose between paying for food and paying for utilities. Additionally, 32% choose between food and medicine or medical care.
• 1 out of every 3 people served is a child under the age of 18.
• 76% of all households served by the Food Bank’s network live below the Federal Poverty Level or less than $22,050 a year for a family of four.
• According to the most recent U.S. Census survey, 17.5% of Rhode Island's children, 1 out of every 6, are living in poverty.
• Just under 10,000 Rhode Island seniors, 9.3% of the state’s population, live in poverty
These are serious times and no mere collection of the curious will do…
What is needed is a tenacious faith like Job’s
Because those who are enslaved and those who hunger,
Like Job, feel abandoned by God
And they need not just a good word, or prayer…
They need a community of faith to care…
So I have come to church today to ask you Berean…
Is your faith tenacious?
Do we have the courage and the strength to
Face discouragement and disappointment
Do we have the strength of our convictions to
To see us through challenging times?
I know we can get tired.
I know we can get distracted by personal squabbles
And we can disappoint one another too
But I believe this morning the words of Isaiah
Isa 40:28-31
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
I feel strong this morning Berean!
Are you feeling strong this morning!
I came to Berean six years ago because you were a strong and tenacious church
And I say you are strong and tenacious today… don’t forget it!
I came to remind you of how strong you are!
We’ve made it through economic downturns and firecode challenges
We’ve held each other through loss,
Wept together in mourning
Prayed for children and aging parent’s
Celebrated births, carried each other through cancer
Walked each other through life’s trauma’s
And because of that tenacious faith, those in Job’s position
Of doubt and disappointment, knew God had not abandoned them
Because we did not abandon them…
We’ve overcome many challenges some personal and some corporate
And Like Job, we have found a tenacious faith
We’ve discovered a strength that the world needs to see and hear
A strength that can only come by walking through the fires together
A strength that can only come by passing through raging waters
A strength that only come by crossing barren deserts
A tenacious strength and hope and belief
That God is by our side because we are on his
And that we have each other
No matter what…
And if we cling to that tenacious faith sisters and brothers,
Even when we sing sad songs or even angry songs
Like Job, we will soon again sing songs of joy and victory…
No comments:
Post a Comment