Considering Job
As we move through the 3-year lectionary cycle, there are parts of it that I look forward to more than others. The readings this fall are among those. In October, we had the good fortune of reading through the book of Job sequentially. I chose to focus on other lectionary readings until October 25, when we read representative portions of the whole book and I spent the sermon walking through the story.
I've edited what you see below to shorten it a bit (though it's still on the long side) and to remove a couple of stories that deal with a couple of friends' personal events. There is also an audio version similar to this text from three years ago on the Church of the Good Shepherd website - http://www.goodshepherdum.org/.
“The Impatience of Job”
Job 1:1, 2:1-13; Job 23:1-9, 16-17;
Job 38: 1-7, 24-42; Job 42:1-17
October 25, 2009
Yes, you saw the title right. Yes, I know that’s not what we usually say about Job. Usually it’s something like, “that Linda Wallick must have the patience of Job dealing with Don” – just as an example. But frankly, Job is not patient at all. At least not in the usual way we think of patience. Here’s what the dictionary says:
1. The quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.
2. An ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay.
3. Quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care.
These qualities do not, in any way, shape or form characterize Job. So, why we talk about the “patience of Job” is beyond me. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s walk through the story a bit.
“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.” (Job 1:1) It is critical that from the beginning we understand that Job is supposed to represent the best of who people of faith can be. He is “blameless and upright.” If the writer of Proverbs is correct, and the fear of God (that is, respect) is the beginning of wisdom, then Job is wise, too. He “feared God and shunned evil.”
The rest of the first chapter of Job tells us more about this man. He was wealthy and happy. He had many sons and daughters; daughters-in-law and sons-in-law. He had much livestock. His sons would host feast days to which the whole family was invited. After each feast day, just in case any of his children had done anything inappropriate during the celebration, he made an offering to God on their behalf to cover any potential sins. What a good dad!
Then the story takes a turn. “One day the divine beings presented themselves to God, and Satan came along with them.” Be careful – this is not the same character that developed in later years and the being that is red and has pointy ears and a tail and pitchfork and rules over hell. A better translation of this word, “Satan,” as it is used in Job, is “accuser” or “adversary.” The other ideas about this character come much later. Here, in this story, this adversary is one of the divine beings who are acting with God’s permission. The adversary says to God: “Sure, Job is a terrific person of faith, but I can guarantee you he will desert you the moment he doesn’t have all that stuff anymore.” God says, “You’re on! Do whatever you like, just spare his life. I am confident he will still be a person of faith.”
Job then loses his land, his livestock, his sons and daughters and their families and his home. Yet he maintains his integrity with God and continues to revere the Lord.
****
The Adversary returns to God and God says, “See … I told you! Job is still faithful.” The Adversary says, “Yes, but what if he were afflicted personally? It’s easy to let go of things, but not so easy to come to terms with one’s body falling to pieces.” God again sends The Adversary out but with the caution to spare Job’s life.
Now Job is afflicted with painful sores from the top of his head to the bottoms of his feet. Now, he goes to sit on a heap of ashes and scrape at his sores with a shard of pottery. Even his wife loses confidence in God: “Job – just curse God and die!” Job refuses.
For no discernable reason, a good man – a righteous man – loses everything. A man who had every reason to believe he had been blessed by God; a man who held to the traditions of the faith; a man who was a caring father and husband; this man loses everything: Land, possessions, children, wealth, and health. Murphy’s Law to the extreme – everything that could go wrong does and goes wrong to the greatest degree that it can. Job begins to mourn his situation. He tears his robes, covers himself in dust and ashes (a traditional symbol for repentance or mourning), sits down on the ash heap and starts scraping his sores.
His friends hear of his troubles and they come to be with him. They sat on the ground, covered them themselves with ash, tore their robes and sat with him in silence for seven days. How nice it feels sometimes for a friend to be present but not try to fix everything – especially when there’s nothing that friend can do to change anything at all.
But then Job’s lament begins. Clear evidence that while he may be many things, patient is not really one of them. Chapter 3 begins and the author of Job slips into poetry. And while Job does not curse God, he does curse the day he was born. “Perish the day on which I was born, and the night it was announced.” (3:3) Wipe that day off the calendar; let no one make a happy noise on that day; may the sun not rise on that day (3:4-10, paraphrased). Then he goes a step further: “Why didn’t I just die at birth; expire as I came forth from the womb?” It would have been better if I could just have been buried. (3:11)
These are not the words of a patient man. No, these are the words of a man who has taken all he can take; who has lost everything; who can’t understand why it has all happened; who has no recourse; who needs to let loose on someone or something. (Have you been there?)
Then Job’s friends, they who had been sitting with him in silence, begin to speak. In turn, they each offer Job timeless pieces of faithful advice which do not help him, not one little bit. Eliphaz is first. He suggests to Job that since he is such a wise and faithful person he should know that it is only those who’ve gone astray who are so afflicted, so what he needs to do is get right with God again. Lay himself down, set aside his self-concern and seek a renewed relationship with God.
***
Now, there is some truth here. Many faithful people, including me, and perhaps including some of you, have found new and deeper connections to our Creator in the midst of crisis. But the notion such crises can be explained by a lack of connection with God or that they can be resolved by a renewed connection with God … well, this leaves a little something to be desired. Having a relationship with God is not like having a magic wand so that if you just remember to use it everything will be OK in life. Thanks, but no thanks, Eliphaz. Your advice is not helpful.
Job’s next friend to speak is Bildad. Oh, dear we all know a Bildad. You know, one of those deeply religious folks who just have everything all figured out. Oy, they drive me crazy! Bildad suggests that since Job is a righteous man, it must be that his children sinned and he was being punished for it. After all, God would not rain down such calamity on someone for no reason, right? The Bildads of the world can make you crazy. It’s all so simple, so clearly laid out. There’s no room for mystery or uncertainty. Job doesn’t fall for it and neither should we.
Then Zophar speaks up. For Zophar, wisdom is the issue. He suggests to Job that he just doesn’t understand exactly in what way he’s a sinner. If he were to look closely enough, he could see what he’s done and make amends for it with God. It’s a bit of an insult really … sorry to rain on your parade even more Job, but you’re not very smart, either! Job doesn’t buy into that either.
Finally we get Job’s lengthy reply to his friends – a reply that becomes a tirade against God. “Today my complaint is bitter … if only I knew where to find [God]; if only I could go to [God’s] dwelling! Then I could state my case and argue. Would [God] oppose me then? No, [God] wouldn’t even press charges! …. But if I look to the east … or to the west … or to the north … or to the south … I cannot find [God]. [God] has made me faint-hearted and terrified me. But I will not be silenced by the darkness.” (Ch. 23, NIV and paraphrase)
Finally, we get to the core of Job’s complaint. It’s not so much “why is this happening?” and it’s not so much “what did I do to deserve this?” and it’s not so much “help me find my way out.” The core of Job’s complaint to God is: Where are you? Would you just speak up? Can you make your presence known? Job just wants an answer; he just wants to know God is still there. It’s not so much the injustice of it all; it’s not being able to hash it out with God in the midst of it – that’s the issue. Oh, how I have been at the bedside of so many who wonder in the midst of their crisis – not so much why is this happening or how do I get out of it, but “where are you, God?”
After a long section of railing at God, just wanting God to show up and say something – anything – God shows up and gives Job the answer to all the questions he didn’t ask. My, God has a habit of doing that. Jesus did it too. It must be a divine trait. Job has been railing on about this injustice and asking where God is, but God replies:
“Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.” (38:2-3) Where were you when the foundations of the earth were laid? Who marked off the dimensions of the earth? Surely you know, Job! Who spread the stars in the sky and makes the constellations come out in their season? Who sends the rain? Who controls the thunder and lightning? Do they report to you? Can you count the clouds? What about the animal kingdom? Do you help the lions? The ravens? Did you figure out how the mountain goats and the deer should give birth? Did you put the feathers on the ostrich? Can you make the hawk soar? Did you design the fleet leg muscles of the horse? And then my personal favorite, “Job, did you set the wild ass free?”
Job replies, “I think I’ve spoken enough here.” But God isn’t finished. Now God moves into the mythic and the fantastical by naming legendary monsters from Job’s time. “Take behemoth, which I made, like I made you.” Can you romp around in the wilderness playing with legendary monsters like I can? And then, “Can you draw Leviathan out with a fishhook?” Can you swim around in the oceans with mythic sea monsters, too?
It’s very interesting, this book. The suggestion is that God is the Creator of all that is good and right and just AND the Creator of that which is chaotic and even scary. God produces rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous. God is seen in the fluffy bunny rabbit playing in the meadow and is seen romping around with sea monsters.
Maybe it’s a good suggestion. Maybe one of the points is that God is present in both. Maybe it’s a good reminder that God is a whole lot bigger and more complicated than we could ever figure out for ourselves. Perhaps it’s more helpful to understand that God may be there romping around in the midst of the chaos just as much as we know God is present when all is right with the world.
Job had been asking where God was and why all this had happened to him; what he got was a dramatic lesson in who created the universe. Job simply replies, “I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.” (42:3b, 5)
Sometimes one of the things we need in the midst of the chaos is simply a glimpse of the big picture. A reminder that in the midst of delight and in the depths of misery; in the process of celebrating life and in those moments we grieve over what we have lost; in the moments of great health and vitality and through the times of ill health and suffering – in the midst of all of it God is present and God is still God, no matter what.
But the story isn’t over yet. There is just a bit more. Scholars make a strong case that perhaps this ending of the book of Job wasn’t originally there. And it does seem out of character, doesn’t it? We’ve spent 41 ½ chapters as witness to abject suffering, Job railing and yelling and stomping his feet at God, a majestic Holy response from the midst of a whirlwind, and then we get this ending – “Oh, by the way Job got everything back times two and lived to a ripe old age.”
That’s too easy! It doesn’t fit! And we know it doesn’t really work out that way in life, does it?
Even those of us who move through incredible suffering in life, who have deep questions about the identity and presence of God and do so with our souls and spirits intact, know that that doesn’t make things easy in life. It’s just that now you have deeper and better perspective on it. In fact, if you’ve ever spent any time in Job’s shoes, it feels good to journey with him through all that anger and frustration with God. Finally, someone who understands real life! Then there’s this all-too-easy ending tacked on and you feel hijacked.
But you know what? I’m glad it’s there. After having lost everything in the most dramatic way possible; after suffering immeasurably from a physical affliction that must have been a nightmare to deal with; after finding out his dear friends were full of platitudes and wrong answers; after spewing all of his impatience and frustration and anger at God, it would take an incredible act of faith for Job to decide that he could take a crack at living life again. I mean, he was doing everything right in life and had all the marks of success before losing everything and suffering so. What a leap of faith it would take to take a stab at life again, knowing that all he had to go on, really, was that God was there in the midst of life somewhere, even when the obvious clues around him in life might argue against that. Apparently, simply knowing the Almighty Creator of the Universe was right in the middle of every sticky piece of life was enough. And so Job could go on and rebuild life.
Friends, I don’t know what life may be throwing you at this very moment. Well, I DO know about what life is throwing at some of you. And I don’t know what the future holds for any of you. None of us knows that. But let us hold tight to the sure and certain knowledge that God is present in the midst of all the seasons of life, even the icky seasons of life, and that if we look and we listen and we open our hearts and minds, we will understand that. And then we can take the next step in life, knowing God is right there with us. And that will be enough.
Amen.
I've edited what you see below to shorten it a bit (though it's still on the long side) and to remove a couple of stories that deal with a couple of friends' personal events. There is also an audio version similar to this text from three years ago on the Church of the Good Shepherd website - http://www.goodshepherdum.org/.
“The Impatience of Job”
Job 1:1, 2:1-13; Job 23:1-9, 16-17;
Job 38: 1-7, 24-42; Job 42:1-17
October 25, 2009
Yes, you saw the title right. Yes, I know that’s not what we usually say about Job. Usually it’s something like, “that Linda Wallick must have the patience of Job dealing with Don” – just as an example. But frankly, Job is not patient at all. At least not in the usual way we think of patience. Here’s what the dictionary says:
1. The quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.
2. An ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay.
3. Quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care.
These qualities do not, in any way, shape or form characterize Job. So, why we talk about the “patience of Job” is beyond me. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s walk through the story a bit.
“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.” (Job 1:1) It is critical that from the beginning we understand that Job is supposed to represent the best of who people of faith can be. He is “blameless and upright.” If the writer of Proverbs is correct, and the fear of God (that is, respect) is the beginning of wisdom, then Job is wise, too. He “feared God and shunned evil.”
The rest of the first chapter of Job tells us more about this man. He was wealthy and happy. He had many sons and daughters; daughters-in-law and sons-in-law. He had much livestock. His sons would host feast days to which the whole family was invited. After each feast day, just in case any of his children had done anything inappropriate during the celebration, he made an offering to God on their behalf to cover any potential sins. What a good dad!
Then the story takes a turn. “One day the divine beings presented themselves to God, and Satan came along with them.” Be careful – this is not the same character that developed in later years and the being that is red and has pointy ears and a tail and pitchfork and rules over hell. A better translation of this word, “Satan,” as it is used in Job, is “accuser” or “adversary.” The other ideas about this character come much later. Here, in this story, this adversary is one of the divine beings who are acting with God’s permission. The adversary says to God: “Sure, Job is a terrific person of faith, but I can guarantee you he will desert you the moment he doesn’t have all that stuff anymore.” God says, “You’re on! Do whatever you like, just spare his life. I am confident he will still be a person of faith.”
Job then loses his land, his livestock, his sons and daughters and their families and his home. Yet he maintains his integrity with God and continues to revere the Lord.
****
The Adversary returns to God and God says, “See … I told you! Job is still faithful.” The Adversary says, “Yes, but what if he were afflicted personally? It’s easy to let go of things, but not so easy to come to terms with one’s body falling to pieces.” God again sends The Adversary out but with the caution to spare Job’s life.
Now Job is afflicted with painful sores from the top of his head to the bottoms of his feet. Now, he goes to sit on a heap of ashes and scrape at his sores with a shard of pottery. Even his wife loses confidence in God: “Job – just curse God and die!” Job refuses.
For no discernable reason, a good man – a righteous man – loses everything. A man who had every reason to believe he had been blessed by God; a man who held to the traditions of the faith; a man who was a caring father and husband; this man loses everything: Land, possessions, children, wealth, and health. Murphy’s Law to the extreme – everything that could go wrong does and goes wrong to the greatest degree that it can. Job begins to mourn his situation. He tears his robes, covers himself in dust and ashes (a traditional symbol for repentance or mourning), sits down on the ash heap and starts scraping his sores.
His friends hear of his troubles and they come to be with him. They sat on the ground, covered them themselves with ash, tore their robes and sat with him in silence for seven days. How nice it feels sometimes for a friend to be present but not try to fix everything – especially when there’s nothing that friend can do to change anything at all.
But then Job’s lament begins. Clear evidence that while he may be many things, patient is not really one of them. Chapter 3 begins and the author of Job slips into poetry. And while Job does not curse God, he does curse the day he was born. “Perish the day on which I was born, and the night it was announced.” (3:3) Wipe that day off the calendar; let no one make a happy noise on that day; may the sun not rise on that day (3:4-10, paraphrased). Then he goes a step further: “Why didn’t I just die at birth; expire as I came forth from the womb?” It would have been better if I could just have been buried. (3:11)
These are not the words of a patient man. No, these are the words of a man who has taken all he can take; who has lost everything; who can’t understand why it has all happened; who has no recourse; who needs to let loose on someone or something. (Have you been there?)
Then Job’s friends, they who had been sitting with him in silence, begin to speak. In turn, they each offer Job timeless pieces of faithful advice which do not help him, not one little bit. Eliphaz is first. He suggests to Job that since he is such a wise and faithful person he should know that it is only those who’ve gone astray who are so afflicted, so what he needs to do is get right with God again. Lay himself down, set aside his self-concern and seek a renewed relationship with God.
***
Now, there is some truth here. Many faithful people, including me, and perhaps including some of you, have found new and deeper connections to our Creator in the midst of crisis. But the notion such crises can be explained by a lack of connection with God or that they can be resolved by a renewed connection with God … well, this leaves a little something to be desired. Having a relationship with God is not like having a magic wand so that if you just remember to use it everything will be OK in life. Thanks, but no thanks, Eliphaz. Your advice is not helpful.
Job’s next friend to speak is Bildad. Oh, dear we all know a Bildad. You know, one of those deeply religious folks who just have everything all figured out. Oy, they drive me crazy! Bildad suggests that since Job is a righteous man, it must be that his children sinned and he was being punished for it. After all, God would not rain down such calamity on someone for no reason, right? The Bildads of the world can make you crazy. It’s all so simple, so clearly laid out. There’s no room for mystery or uncertainty. Job doesn’t fall for it and neither should we.
Then Zophar speaks up. For Zophar, wisdom is the issue. He suggests to Job that he just doesn’t understand exactly in what way he’s a sinner. If he were to look closely enough, he could see what he’s done and make amends for it with God. It’s a bit of an insult really … sorry to rain on your parade even more Job, but you’re not very smart, either! Job doesn’t buy into that either.
Finally we get Job’s lengthy reply to his friends – a reply that becomes a tirade against God. “Today my complaint is bitter … if only I knew where to find [God]; if only I could go to [God’s] dwelling! Then I could state my case and argue. Would [God] oppose me then? No, [God] wouldn’t even press charges! …. But if I look to the east … or to the west … or to the north … or to the south … I cannot find [God]. [God] has made me faint-hearted and terrified me. But I will not be silenced by the darkness.” (Ch. 23, NIV and paraphrase)
Finally, we get to the core of Job’s complaint. It’s not so much “why is this happening?” and it’s not so much “what did I do to deserve this?” and it’s not so much “help me find my way out.” The core of Job’s complaint to God is: Where are you? Would you just speak up? Can you make your presence known? Job just wants an answer; he just wants to know God is still there. It’s not so much the injustice of it all; it’s not being able to hash it out with God in the midst of it – that’s the issue. Oh, how I have been at the bedside of so many who wonder in the midst of their crisis – not so much why is this happening or how do I get out of it, but “where are you, God?”
After a long section of railing at God, just wanting God to show up and say something – anything – God shows up and gives Job the answer to all the questions he didn’t ask. My, God has a habit of doing that. Jesus did it too. It must be a divine trait. Job has been railing on about this injustice and asking where God is, but God replies:
“Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.” (38:2-3) Where were you when the foundations of the earth were laid? Who marked off the dimensions of the earth? Surely you know, Job! Who spread the stars in the sky and makes the constellations come out in their season? Who sends the rain? Who controls the thunder and lightning? Do they report to you? Can you count the clouds? What about the animal kingdom? Do you help the lions? The ravens? Did you figure out how the mountain goats and the deer should give birth? Did you put the feathers on the ostrich? Can you make the hawk soar? Did you design the fleet leg muscles of the horse? And then my personal favorite, “Job, did you set the wild ass free?”
Job replies, “I think I’ve spoken enough here.” But God isn’t finished. Now God moves into the mythic and the fantastical by naming legendary monsters from Job’s time. “Take behemoth, which I made, like I made you.” Can you romp around in the wilderness playing with legendary monsters like I can? And then, “Can you draw Leviathan out with a fishhook?” Can you swim around in the oceans with mythic sea monsters, too?
It’s very interesting, this book. The suggestion is that God is the Creator of all that is good and right and just AND the Creator of that which is chaotic and even scary. God produces rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous. God is seen in the fluffy bunny rabbit playing in the meadow and is seen romping around with sea monsters.
Maybe it’s a good suggestion. Maybe one of the points is that God is present in both. Maybe it’s a good reminder that God is a whole lot bigger and more complicated than we could ever figure out for ourselves. Perhaps it’s more helpful to understand that God may be there romping around in the midst of the chaos just as much as we know God is present when all is right with the world.
Job had been asking where God was and why all this had happened to him; what he got was a dramatic lesson in who created the universe. Job simply replies, “I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.” (42:3b, 5)
Sometimes one of the things we need in the midst of the chaos is simply a glimpse of the big picture. A reminder that in the midst of delight and in the depths of misery; in the process of celebrating life and in those moments we grieve over what we have lost; in the moments of great health and vitality and through the times of ill health and suffering – in the midst of all of it God is present and God is still God, no matter what.
But the story isn’t over yet. There is just a bit more. Scholars make a strong case that perhaps this ending of the book of Job wasn’t originally there. And it does seem out of character, doesn’t it? We’ve spent 41 ½ chapters as witness to abject suffering, Job railing and yelling and stomping his feet at God, a majestic Holy response from the midst of a whirlwind, and then we get this ending – “Oh, by the way Job got everything back times two and lived to a ripe old age.”
That’s too easy! It doesn’t fit! And we know it doesn’t really work out that way in life, does it?
Even those of us who move through incredible suffering in life, who have deep questions about the identity and presence of God and do so with our souls and spirits intact, know that that doesn’t make things easy in life. It’s just that now you have deeper and better perspective on it. In fact, if you’ve ever spent any time in Job’s shoes, it feels good to journey with him through all that anger and frustration with God. Finally, someone who understands real life! Then there’s this all-too-easy ending tacked on and you feel hijacked.
But you know what? I’m glad it’s there. After having lost everything in the most dramatic way possible; after suffering immeasurably from a physical affliction that must have been a nightmare to deal with; after finding out his dear friends were full of platitudes and wrong answers; after spewing all of his impatience and frustration and anger at God, it would take an incredible act of faith for Job to decide that he could take a crack at living life again. I mean, he was doing everything right in life and had all the marks of success before losing everything and suffering so. What a leap of faith it would take to take a stab at life again, knowing that all he had to go on, really, was that God was there in the midst of life somewhere, even when the obvious clues around him in life might argue against that. Apparently, simply knowing the Almighty Creator of the Universe was right in the middle of every sticky piece of life was enough. And so Job could go on and rebuild life.
Friends, I don’t know what life may be throwing you at this very moment. Well, I DO know about what life is throwing at some of you. And I don’t know what the future holds for any of you. None of us knows that. But let us hold tight to the sure and certain knowledge that God is present in the midst of all the seasons of life, even the icky seasons of life, and that if we look and we listen and we open our hearts and minds, we will understand that. And then we can take the next step in life, knowing God is right there with us. And that will be enough.
Amen.
Comments
I had to miss the Job sermon because I do Children's Chimes. Thanks for posting it here.
I also enjoyed the Ruth one and reading the one about the wedding again.
Sue C.