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Questions?
Rev. Katherine Brittain, 18 October 2009
Job 38
What do you know about the story of Job?
The book of Job is actually made up of two different stories about the same character. It begins with an old, old story, probably a folk tale, about how the heavenly court were hanging out one day and God asks the tempter, the prosecuting attorney, the accuser, “where have you been lately”. It’s important to remember here that the Satan in this story is not the devil we associate with that name today, he’s the character who tests, who makes sure that people are really being faithful to God – it’s the same character who tempts Jesus in the wilderness before he begins his ministry.
So God asks, where have you come from, and the tester says “From going to and fro on the earth and from walking up and down on it”. God can’t hep by brag – have you seem my man Job, he is so faithful and righteous and full of integrity, there is nothing you could test him with that would turn Job from me.
And Satan – wanna bet? He’s had an easy life, he’s rich and prosperous, with a large loving family and lots of herds of animals. It’s easy to be faithful when you’ve got the world on a platter.
God says sure, I’ll take that bet. You can do whatever you want to Job, as long as you do not kill him. He won’t turn from me.
Then we turn to the second story, set in the middle of the first, Job is furious with God – he’s suffering, his animals die, his children die, his crops fail, he’s covered in sores, he goes out and sits on an ash heap and rages at God – this is not fair. I did nothing to deserve this. Stop punishing me right now. Get down here God and explain yourself.
I’m not so sure that God won that bet – Job doesn’t curse God, but he’s definitelynot a quietor a righteous sufferer – he’s furious. We hear about having the “patience of Job”, but Job is throwing a temper tantrum! His friends come and try to convince him that he must have done something do deserve this, because traditional wisdom says if you’re good and behave and are pious, you get rewarded. If you’re bad and rebellious and turn from God, you punished. Therefore everyone who suffers deserves it.
We pick up the story near the end. After chapters and chapters and chapters – 37 so far - of Job’s rage and fury and frustration, after Job demands that God answer for what’s happened, all of a sudden, out of the whirlwind God responds!
God responds! Despite the fury and accusations Job has hurled at him, God shows up.
God responds, but God doesn’t answer.
“Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me”. This is no gentle apology that Job has been expecting. God has basically said, suck it up, buttercup, and quit your whining. The more literal translation is “pull up your diaper”. Then God sets a series of questions to Job. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the world?” God doesn’t offer any explanation, doesn’t justify Job’s suffering or God’s actions. Instead, God “directs our attention to the dimensions of outer space, the depths of the oceans, the shape of the earth, the power of thunderstorms, the beauty of the stars in the Pleiades and in the constellation Orion, the cunning of lions and the loveliness of mountain goats and deer, the giddy power of wild donkeys and the strength of the ox, the unlikely speed of the ostrich, the power of a horse's neck, the soaring wonder of eagles and hawks, the muscle structure of the hippo, the spouting and sporting of whales” [Scott Hoezee, centre for Excellence in preaching]
It’s a reminder to Job, and therefore to us, that as hard as it is to hear, we are not the centre of the Universe. We are not the apex of Creation. We are not the only priority that God has. Everything we think, feel, do, believe, experience is set in a larger context. It’s not just about us.
There are basically 4 questions in God’s response:
Who are you? vs 2
Where were you? vs 4
What do you know? vs 5
Can you? vs 34
If we go back and look at the beginning, the folk tale that began our story, we see that Job is a wealthy man who cares for his family, making sacrifices on behalf of his children just in case they may have done something that offended God, but other than that, he doesn’t do to much with his wealth, except enjoy it. God is pointing out there is a whole Creation out there that God has made. The prophets throughout the ages have brought the messages, the commandments to care for people who aren’t so well off, who are hungry, cold, lonely, vulnerable, suffering, and there is nothing about Job doing any of this. Yet when he falls on hard times, he expects the world to stop and fix his problems.
“Where were you when I was hungry, thirsty, cold, imprisoned?” Jesus asks. Where were you? God asks Job. There is a big whole wide Creation, here, you are not the centre of it, you’re not the most important thing in it and you are most certainly not separate from it. I was listening to a program this week that talked about how people who are suffering, struggling, in pain, in crisis, these people notice God, and notice God a lot. Those of us for whom life is going well – wealthy, comfortable, sheltered, clothed, fed – well, we’re the ones who don’t have all that much time for God in our lives. Until something goes wrong and we’re looking for a rescue or someone to blame.
Look at the most secular nations in our world today, – with the odd exception of the United States they’re the most affluent ones. Places where subsistence living is the norm – Central America, the Philippines, Africa – these are countries where faith is strong! Sure, Job was faithful and righteous, but only in order to protect himself, his family and his comfortable life.
We are part of the whole, wide Creation, all of it, all of us, belonging to God, cared for by God, shaped and held and wished for by God. We are not separate entities – and this is a crucial message for churches to remember! We are part of a neighbourhood, a community, a certain corner of Creation and we need to be just as concerned with it’s well being as our own. I’ve been working with a group of representatives from the anti-poverty groups in the neighbourhood, working to lobby the newly elected MPP Dr. Hoskins to be an advocate for the people who don’t have enough to eat, a safe place to sleep, adequate access to medical care – of the people in this neighbourhood! Of God’s people. St. Matthew’s is the only church on board, so far, invited because we host two of the groups – the Wychwood Open Door and the Out of the Cold – but there is so much more the faith communities should be doing – lobbying our leaders to put the needs of the most vulnerable first in policy making for example.
Who are you? God asks – who are we? Who is St. Matthew’s? What is our identity? What is our ministry, our message, reason for existence? Where are we in the context of Creation, the context of the life being lived around us? What do we know – know about the make-up of our community, about the struggles and problems of the neighbourhood, about the Creation that surrounds us? Have we taken time to know it? What do we close our eyes, because knowledge brings responsibility?
And most importantly, can we? Can we operate as part of this Creation, as woven into the fabric of the neighbourhood in all its diversity? Can we look beyond ourselves and into our roll as one part of the whole? Can we work alongside God, instead of expecting God to take on all the heavy lifting, but only if and when we ask God to do so? Can we stop and listen when the morning stars sing together even when things aren’t working out just as we expected them to?
It’s a harsh message God gives Job. But I think the point is – God responded. After pointing out what a tiny, tiny part of a myriad, complex Creation Job is, God does take the time to respond. If, when we speak those words, God hear our prayers and answer – God took us up on the invitation and responded, what do you think the message for us might be?