Hey! What's The Deal?
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Although Jesus was God's only begotten Son he was not spared the endurance of pain, agony, suffering, confusion, torment, or even death. The uncertainty of what he would face daily remained. He was not given an elaborate plan book with a "happily-ever-after" ending in sight. He was submissive and obedient, and hence his perfection was attained.
We want answers and outcomes immediately -- we want to see our futures, but our focus should be on our obedience and our submission to God's will. The temptations of this world, and the unpredictability of those around us continually challenge our obedience. It is easy to say to God, "We want you to do for us whatever we ask of you," but our deepest prayer should genuinely be, "We want you to do for us whatever is your will!" This week's The Immediate Word is the third installment of the book of Job written by James Killen. Scott Suskovic shares another view. The usual illustrations, worship resource, and children's sermon are also provided.
Hey! What's The Deal?
Job 38:1-7, 34-41
By James Killen
Now the North Koreans have tested a nuclear bomb and they are threatening to start manufacturing missiles with nuclear warheads for their own use or for sale. We don't know what to expect to come of that. What we do know is that it is just one more example of life seeming to attack us and bewilder us. When these attacks come one after another, we may shout into the space beyond ourselves, "Hey! What's going on here? What's the deal?"
Job had an experience just about like that. Job shouted into the great beyond and asked God to come to an accounting with him. We can't know whether or not Job actually expected an answer. We usually don't. But sometimes one comes. And when it comes, we can learn an entirely new way of relating to reality.
THE WORLD
Have you ever stood where Job stood? You are a responsible and decisive person. You have done all that you know to do to make things work for yourself. You may have participated in trying to make things work for your family and your community and your country and even for the world. But everything seems to be falling apart anyway. You may find yourself asking, "What went wrong?" In fact, you may find yourself shouting, maybe silently within yourself or maybe out loud, at the dog -- or at some friend who happens to have the misfortune of being in the way -- or at the surf -- or at a storm cloud and asking, "Hey! What's going on here? Things are not supposed to work out this way. What's the deal?"
Lots of us are feeling that right now. The North Koreans have tested a nuclear explosive and threatened to start manufacturing missiles with nuclear warheads for their own use or for sale. The Iranians seem determined to do something similar. We tremble to think what will come of all of that. That is all on top of the other war news about things happening in Afghanistan and that place they call "the Holy Land" and of course in Iraq. We have just heard that someone has made a scientific study and estimated that 650,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed in the conflict. That makes us want to wretch. The whole world seems to be a bewildering montage of starvation, oppression, and hate. Our government is telling us that we are doing the right things and we want to believe it. But lots of people are not believing it. And we are wondering. Then we may start counting all of the things that we have wanted to believe in that have let us down. And we may shout all the louder, "Hey! What's the deal?"
The same kind of thing can happen in your personal life. You did everything you knew to do to be a good parent. But your kids have drifted into the counterculture and they are aggressively trashing out their own lives -- and yours -- and throwing invectives in your face as if you are the one who is crazy, and you shake your head and mumble, "What's the deal?"
Or sometimes it gets even more painful. A man who is an attorney, a man who is accustomed to staying in control of every situation, finds his wife, the one who has been the dearest of all persons to him, in the hospital, in danger of dying. The doctors say they are doing all that they can but they can't give any assurances. He tells a pastor friend with deep anguish, "I am not in control." The pastor remembers a time when his own wife was in a similar situation, he remembers the emptiness he felt and all he can say is, "No you are not in control." With tears, they both feel the question rising somewhere back behind rational thinking, "What's the deal?"
(The pastor will want to draw in experiences with which his or her own people can identify.)
THE WORD
(The pastor will want to help the hearers recognize that the experience with which they have been helped to identify is the same kind of experience that Job had when he stood shouting at God and calling God to task. If this has not been part of a series on Job, the pastor will have to summarize the story of Job. It will be especially important to explain that the setting of the scene that took place in the first chapter means that life and history are open and full of all kinds of possibilities. God has chosen to let it be that way so that our humanity can emerge in a life that is a real adventure. The people will need to know about Job's misfortune and the torment he endured from his comforters, as well as his shouting at God.)
Job, being an ancient and religious man, may in fact have expected God to hear his importunate prayers even though he was at the time experiencing the absence of God. Most of us who stand shouting into the space beyond ourselves really don't expect anyone to hear us. The truth is that we don't really believe that anyone is there. If we have a belief in God, we are more likely to think of God as inhabiting heaven or some other place. We usually don't think of God as being there meeting us in each encounter with life. But that is where God is and, if the experiences that lead us to shouting at God cause us to look beyond our limited little perceptions of life and make some new discoveries about the shape of reality and how we fit into it, we may indeed be hearing God speaking back to us.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
(How would it be if we try to shape the rest of the sermon as if we are imagining what God might say to us as we stand gazing into the whirlwind that seems to be the shape of reality just now. Might it go something like this?)
I am hearing you. I am here and I am hearing you. Don't look so surprised. I have always been right here. I am glad you have finally begun to see what you are seeing and, believe it or not, I am glad that you are saying what you are saying.
But now its time for you to learn the difference between assertiveness and arrogance: Stand there now and let me show you the rest of what you have just begun to glimpse. There is a whole lot more to reality than you thought. Reality is terribly -- and wonderfully -- complex. Life and history are happening all of the time and, though you can indeed have some effect upon them, you can never have them under control. There is just too much there. And it is, for the most part, unplanned, except for the ultimate destination. The decisions that shape each next moment are made in each present moment and you do participate in making them but so do lots of other people and processes that you could never begin to understand. If that is not enough to move you to awe, take a look at the pictures that have come back from the hovel telescope -- and remember that there is still more. When you have seen enough to make you really humble, I will have some other things to say to you. Are you ready? Okay.
You can never quite completely understand, though I wouldn't want you to stop trying. And you can never really get life or history under control. But you can take some comfort in knowing that, ultimately I am in control. Don't try to impose your proud little programs on life and history. Instead, watch carefully and try to understand what I am about, then find your own way to participate in it. Give up to the knowledge that you are going to have to go through life one step at a time and you can never really know what comes next. Just remember the things I have taught you, trust, receive, love, try as best you can to work with me -- and just do the next right thing.
ANOTHER VIEW
By Scott Suskovic
Unless you choose never to watch TV, read a newspaper, or listen to the radio, you can't avoid it. Bad things happen. Some are the direct result of human choice such as the tragic loss of life in a war or the intentional building of nuclear weapons in North Korea. Other events seem far out of human control -- hurricanes, floods, and certain diseases. Finding a direct cause and effect is not always easy.
The problem of suffering and evil is the oldest question asked by God's people. It appears in the Garden of Eden and extends to the cross. That question goes something like this: If suffering exists because God allows it, than he cannot possibly be good and loving. If suffering exists because God cannot prevent it, than he cannot possibly be all powerful and mighty.
So which is it? Is God all powerful but not loving or is God all loving but not powerful? Either way, we back ourselves into a theological corner.
There are no easy answers. In fact, if anyone tries to give you a simple, pat answer that can fit on a Hallmark greeting card, run away! Answers like, "It's God's will, God is testing your faith, the devil did it, it is for some greater good, you are being punished or, with a shrug, that's life" end up doing more harm than good.
Job confronts the problem of evil head on with seemingly undeserved suffering by a righteous man. The first clue to this book's answer to the age-long question of suffering is in its title: JOB -- the name that means, "He who turns to God." If you're looking for an answer, you perhaps need to look elsewhere. Because if there is one thing the book of Job attests to it is that healing from suffering happens not with simple answers to complex questions. It happens when you get beyond the questions, and, as Job's name suggests, "turn to God."
Job is a wealthy man who is described as blameless and upright, one who feared God, and turned away from evil. He had a loving wife, ten beautiful children, seven thousand sheep, three thousand cattle and donkeys, and a whole household full of servants. In all aspects of his life, relationship, faith and possessions, Job could sight, "Indeed, I am a wealthy man."
One day, speaking to the heavenly host, God singled out Job and beamed, "What a guy! Have you ever seen anyone as perfect as Job. I wish I had a thousand more like him." And all the angels nodded and said, "Yes, he is exceptional. No doubt."
From the back of the room, however, came a rather sarcastic voice. It's Satan. And with a flick of his cigarette, he dares to confront God before the heavenly hosts and says, "Big surprise! Of course he's perfect. You have given him everything. But let me tell you, Almighty, he is not perfect. He is spoiled rotten. You give him to me and let me give him a taste of reality and he will change his tune. He will curse you to your face."
The room fell silent. The wager lay there on the table. Will God accept? Will Satan back down? Finally God says, "Behold, all that Job has in now in your power. Only spare his life." And with a smirk, Satan leaves, "You're On."
Within 24 hours, Job's world falls apart. His animals are stolen, others killed in a storm. Fire devours his sheep. His children die when a roof collapses and Job comes down with a painful disease that filled him with open, seeping sores from the pads of his feet to his scalp. No matter how he stood or sat or lay down, the pain was unbearable. Job, a wealthy man, was reduced to nothing.
It would be like having an earthquake destroy your home, filing for bankruptcy, gang members killing your children, and coming down with AIDS all before you went to bed that night.
It was his wife who spoke first, "Do you still hold to your faith? Just curse God and die." So much for better and for worse!
Through it all, however, Job refuses to curse God. Oh, he still curses a lot. He curses the day he was born. He curses his suffering. He curses the fact that he is still alive, but he does not curse God.
Word of his suffering reaches three of Job's friends who pay him a visit. At first, they are so shocked that they can barely recognize their friend. And for seven full days, they just sit there, sharing his misery, and don't say a word.
When they do speak, they offer the simple, pat answers that are often used today and still don't cut it. Their intentions are pure but their counsel and answers only serve to inflict more pain and suffering.
The first one speak. "Job, God does not punish good men, only bad ones. You know that. If evil people prosper, it is only for a while. There sins will eventually catch up to them. Please, Job, repent of your evil and God will heal you."
Job turns to his friend and says, "I am innocent. I am innocent, bitter and angry. I am ready to give up. Life isn't fair. It's just not worth it. Life is like being a slave. You look for some relief in shade, scrape for food and wait for death."
At this point, the second friend chimes in, pushing the point a little further. "Of course you are a good man, Job, but you are not perfect. Nobody is wholly pure and innocent, not even an angel. Come before your God in humility, search your heart and your life and you will see that you do not measure up. There is something dark and sinful in your past. Repent, Job."
But Job continues to plead his innocence. "Make me understand how I have erred. Have a been guilty of vanity or deceit, lusted after women, failed to respect my servants, taken care of the poor? Have I sought riches or secretly worshipped pagan gods. Have I wished evil on my enemies or turned away strangers? What? What evil have I done?"
The third friend flat out calls Job a liar. The world has order. Good is paid for good and evil for evil. There is a reason for everything. At that, Job's anger rises to a fierce level against his friends and their shallow counsel and empty words, "Silence. You are worthless physicians, oh that you would keep silent. You do not speak for God."
Empty words, pat answers, simple solutions, shallow counsel. "Silence," Job demands. "Silence. You do not speak for God. Let me take my case before the Almighty and argue it myself. For though he slay me, I will defend myself to his face. Oh, where is God? Where might I find him? I cry out to God, and he does not answer me. I may not be perfect but do I deserve this? Why me. I demand to see God."
As the old saying goes, be careful what you pray for, you may just get it. For out of the whirlwind, God speaks to Job.
Who is this that speaks without knowledge? Gird up your loins like a man Gird up your loins like a man and let me ask you a couple of questions.
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the world?
Where were you when I commanded the day to spring forth?
Have you entered into the depths of the seas?
Have you gone to the gates of death?
Tell me, if you know.
Can you make it snow? rain? hail?
Can you send forth lightning or shake the clouds with thunder?
Do you give the horse its might?
Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars.
Let the faultfinder who argues with the Almighty provide the answers.
Job's defiant tone quickly changes as he realizes he is in for the worse oral exam of his life. His once lengthy defense becomes only a whisper, "I lay my hand to my mouth. I will proceed no further."
It's not that God is angry with Job for asking the questions. Be very clear about that. God is big enough to handle the most difficult questions we have to throw at him. But there still needs to be an understanding of who is who. Overwhelmed at the presence of the Lord, Job is humbled and sees the absurdity of a person calling God accountable. He accepts that there are certain matters that are beyond his understanding and says, "I have spoken what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. I am sorry. Human wisdom is nothing compared to God's."
What then is the answer to the problem of evil? Job does give an answer, though we may not like it. The answer is that healing begins when you get past the questions.
Remember what Job's Name means. He turns to God. In that name, the author wanted to cleverly reveal his main point. It was when Job put to rest those questions of How and Why and TURNED TO GOD in humility and respect that God sustained him, reassured him and comforted him. Not with answers, but with his presence. God gave something better than an answer to Job, God gave himself. It is when Job and his pain fell into the waiting arms of the all mighty and all loving God that he found rest.
For those who find little comfort in Job, it is probably because the questions still burn in their hearts. It is always hard to have a suffering Jesus. We would prefer the hero Jesus who comes in, stops the pain, rights the injustice, cures the cancer, stops the child from running into the street, gives just the right answer at the right time. But what we have is a suffering Jesus who gives us the promise of himself, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." What we have is the same thing that was offered to Job, the gift of God himself.
Job's name means, He who turns to God. It is the only answer we have that carries any weight against that age-long question of suffering.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Out of the whirlwind the Lord God of all creation speaks to Job and reminds him of who is the creator and who is the created one. Job was not there when the Lord God laid the foundations of the earth, or when the Lord God performed any of the mighty acts that brought the whole amazing universe into being.
But the even more amazing thing is that the Lord God is speaking with Job that he wants to be in a relationship with Job -- and with us. Martin Buber writes:
You know always in your heart that you need God more than everything; but do you not know that God needs you -- in the fullness of his eternity needs you? How would you be if God did not need you? You need God, in order to be -- and God needs you, for the very meaning of your life... The world is not divine sport, it is divine destiny. There is divine meaning in the life of the world, of human persons, of you and me.
-- I and Thou, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1958, p. 82
* * *
Buber sees the Lord God, though he is the creator of all that is, as not keeping himself aloof from us but wanting to enter into a close relationship with us that we may be his people and do the work of his kingdom with him. Buber writes:
God enters into a direct relation with us in creative, revealing and redeeming acts, and thus makes it possible for us to enter into a direct relation with him. This ground and meaning of our existence constitutes a mutuality, arising again and again, such as can subsist only between persons. The concept of personal being is indeed completely incapable of declaring what God's essential being is, but it is both permitted and necessary to say that God is also a Person.
-- I and Thou, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1958, p. 135
* * *
Just as the Lord God spoke to Job out of the whirlwind, he also speaks to us through a variety of means. Buber writes:
God's speech to [us] penetrates what happens in the life of each one of us, and all that happens in the world around us, biographical and historical, and makes it for you and me into instruction, message, demand. Happening upon happening, situation upon situation, are enabled and empowered by the personal speech of God to demand of the human person that we take our stand and make our decision.
-- I and Thou, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1958, pp. 136-137
* * *
When silversmiths create their works of fine art, they engrave, in an inconspicuous place, a tiny letter or symbol known as "the maker's mark." This is what antique dealers look for, as they're asked to appraise the value of an object say, for example, a silver bowl by Paul Revere. The first step in authenticating the work is to turn it over and search out the maker's mark.
What is it about our lives that demonstrates the maker's mark? Is it the capacity of our brains? Or is it our opposable thumb, that anthropologists say separates us from other life-forms? Is it the ability to reason creatively?
Truly, as the psalmist declares, we are "fearfully and wonderfully made."
In Job 38, God reminds Job that the maker's mark can be seen displayed in his very own life.
***
Have you ever looked at a mosaic up close? It doesn't look like much, really. All you see, from a few inches away, are jagged little tiles, arranged helter-skelter according to no apparent plan. Yet, if you step back and take in the "big picture," you will discover that each tile plays its part that together they display a beautiful image.
Mosaics also last nearly forever. Paintings fade with the centuries, obscured by dark shadows caused by the decaying oils. If you visit the historic churches of Ravenna, Italy, you will see that the glorious Christian mosaics there are just as brightly colored today as they were when the tiles were first laid, back in the fourth century A.D.
The God's-eye view is different from ours step back, and you get a whole new perspective.
***
Once there was a minister, who went fishing with several of his parishioners on a lake one evening. Before long, it was the middle of the night, the hour when the most determined fishermen stalk their quarry, and everyone but the minister seemed to be catching something. Finally, he asked one of his comrades for advice.
"That lure you're using is no good," the fisherman said. "It's too bright and shiny. You need a dark one." The man pulled out a black lure, and gave it to him.
It was night, the minister thought to himself. What possible good is a black lure? How could the fish even see it?
But the fisherman, reading his thoughts, explained: "It's the moon. Tonight's a full moon, and that moonlight shimmers down through the waters but it's still not bright, like the sun. A shiny lure, like you'd use in the daytime, won't work at night; but a black lure stands out in silhouette against the moon."
There are seasons of life when the bright optimism of good times just won't do. At times like those, only a black lure will succeed in landing us only a Lord who was himself crucified, dead and buried; who has descended into hell.
* * *
Who's Afraid of Whom?
And so North Korea detonates a nuclear weapon. The world quivers with fear at the prospect of yet another rather unstable and mercurial world leader with weapons of mass destruction.
A colleague returned recently from Korea to tell me that everybody there is terrified of us! How so, I queried? He indicated that we had identified them as part of the "axis of evil" in the world, and one member of that "axis" had already been invaded. Would they be next? The Korean peninsula teeters on the edge of fear.
Who then is afraid of whom?
* * *
As a "green" curate in my first position in the church, I was fresh out of seminary and thought I knew a lot about the way things should be. I had the good fortune of working with a seasoned and patient man who put up with all my questions regarding the whys and wherefores of the elder priest's policies. I remember a day quite vividly when I pushed the envelope just a bit too far and pushing back, he said to me something about his being the one who asks the questions and my being the one who gives the answers. In a New England witticism I'll never forget, he quipped: "You many know a bit more young man, but I know better!" It took a while for me to learn, but he was right. Today's passage from Job is God's way of setting the record straight.
* * *
When the kids were young they'd storm the car as we headed out for vacation. We had a van in those days, and each of them spotted a particular seat to claim. They all wanted to sit up front, except that's where Cindy sat. Then the fight was over who sat in the "way back" or right behind dad. (We only had three boys!) It usually made Cindy and me smile unless we were tired and irritable. The prize went to the swift, the resourceful, or the one who best played the angles of that body contact sport. Finally we made the call, if necessary. We gave them turns in their favorite places. And still after all this time, we all remain the best of friends! Are the followers of Jesus ever that childlike?
WORSHIP RESOURCE
By Thom Shuman
Call To Worship
Leader: Welcome!
There are many places you could be
this morning, but you have chosen
to be here:
People: where we learn how to live
in God's kingdom.
Leader: Welcome to this place --
full of music, of words, of prayer --
yet also filled with danger:
People: where we encounter a wisdom
we cannot always understand.
Leader: Welcome to God's house,
the most dangerous place in town:
People: where we talk about and with God,
and are reduced to silence
so we may hear the call to service.
Prayer Of The Day
Wind-riding God,
the blue skies, the sunshine,
the cool breezes cradling falling leaves:
all creation reminds us
of the delicate Artist
who has shaped us
and all that is around us.
We lift our songs
of gratitude and awe to you.
Servant-calling Jesus:
you humble our arrogance
with your acts of mercy;
you tip over our pretensions
with your modest nature;
you laugh at our hunger for power
with your words of grace.
Heart-keeping Spirit,
you bear our prayers
to the throne of grace
when they are only whispers
in our souls;
you unfold the road map
to show us the way to the kingdom;
you transform our stuttering words
into praise and wonder to our God.
God in Community, holy in One,
be with us in this and every moment,
even as we pray as Jesus teaches us, saying,
Our Father ...
Call To Reconciliation
We pray in this time, not because of our guilt, but out of our gratitude. We have done and said things we shouldn't, and have failed to do and say those things we should. Yet God still loves us, God surrounds us with grace and mercy, God waits to restore us to full life. Join me as we pray together, saying ...
Unison Prayer Of Confession
Creator's Heart, we look around and see how we fall short in our attempts at faithfulness. We often do things, not because it is what you call us to do, but in the hope of earning points with you. Self-absorbed, we overlook the suffering and struggles of those around us. Desperate to get to the front of the line, we push aside the very ones you seek to honor.
Forgive us, Holy One. Remind us that the cup we are offered is filled with grace, that the waters of baptism cleanse us and make us new, and that Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, is the One who calls us to service, standing by our side as we seek to faithful disciples.
(Silence may be observed.)
Assurance Of Pardon
Leader: The One who poured the foundation of
creation fills us with grace and hope.
The One who numbered the clouds,
tips over rain barrels of living water
into our parched spirits.
People: The One who writes anthems for the
the early morning stars fills us with
songs of joy, for mercies which come
fresh and new each day. Thanks be to
God. Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Obedience can be tough
Object: a fishing net and a small doll
Good morning! Have you ever seen pictures of a tall building that was on fire? (let them answer) Sometimes, people will be trapped on the upper floors of a burning building and the firemen can't get to them. When that happens, the firemen will spread out a big net and have the people jump into it. Now, the net they use is much bigger than this one (show the net), but I brought this just to demonstrate. One of you take this doll (hand the doll to one child), and when I tell you to jump, you make the doll jump into the net. (have them hold the doll up high and let it fall into the net when you say, "Jump!")
Now, if you were trapped high up in a burning building and the firemen yelled up to you and told you to jump into their net, would you do it? (let them answer) Yes, I think most of us would do it, because if we didn't we would burn up. But would it be easy to do it? (let them answer) No, it would not be easy. It would be very hard and very scary, but we would do it.
Sometimes, your parents might ask you to do something that you really don't want to do, but will you do it anyway? (let them answer) I surely hope that you will, because we must be obedient to our parents, and they do know what is best for us. Jesus was always obedient to his Father in Heaven. When God asked him to go to the cross and die there, do you think that was easy for him? (let them answer) No, it was very hard, but he was obedient and he did it. And because he was obedient, you and I have been saved. Let's thank Jesus for being an obedient son.
Dear Jesus: We are so glad that you cared so much for us that you were obedient to the Father and you were willing to suffer and die for us. Help us also to be obedient to our parents and do what they want us to do. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, October 22, 2006, issue.
Copyright 2006 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
We want answers and outcomes immediately -- we want to see our futures, but our focus should be on our obedience and our submission to God's will. The temptations of this world, and the unpredictability of those around us continually challenge our obedience. It is easy to say to God, "We want you to do for us whatever we ask of you," but our deepest prayer should genuinely be, "We want you to do for us whatever is your will!" This week's The Immediate Word is the third installment of the book of Job written by James Killen. Scott Suskovic shares another view. The usual illustrations, worship resource, and children's sermon are also provided.
Hey! What's The Deal?
Job 38:1-7, 34-41
By James Killen
Now the North Koreans have tested a nuclear bomb and they are threatening to start manufacturing missiles with nuclear warheads for their own use or for sale. We don't know what to expect to come of that. What we do know is that it is just one more example of life seeming to attack us and bewilder us. When these attacks come one after another, we may shout into the space beyond ourselves, "Hey! What's going on here? What's the deal?"
Job had an experience just about like that. Job shouted into the great beyond and asked God to come to an accounting with him. We can't know whether or not Job actually expected an answer. We usually don't. But sometimes one comes. And when it comes, we can learn an entirely new way of relating to reality.
THE WORLD
Have you ever stood where Job stood? You are a responsible and decisive person. You have done all that you know to do to make things work for yourself. You may have participated in trying to make things work for your family and your community and your country and even for the world. But everything seems to be falling apart anyway. You may find yourself asking, "What went wrong?" In fact, you may find yourself shouting, maybe silently within yourself or maybe out loud, at the dog -- or at some friend who happens to have the misfortune of being in the way -- or at the surf -- or at a storm cloud and asking, "Hey! What's going on here? Things are not supposed to work out this way. What's the deal?"
Lots of us are feeling that right now. The North Koreans have tested a nuclear explosive and threatened to start manufacturing missiles with nuclear warheads for their own use or for sale. The Iranians seem determined to do something similar. We tremble to think what will come of all of that. That is all on top of the other war news about things happening in Afghanistan and that place they call "the Holy Land" and of course in Iraq. We have just heard that someone has made a scientific study and estimated that 650,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed in the conflict. That makes us want to wretch. The whole world seems to be a bewildering montage of starvation, oppression, and hate. Our government is telling us that we are doing the right things and we want to believe it. But lots of people are not believing it. And we are wondering. Then we may start counting all of the things that we have wanted to believe in that have let us down. And we may shout all the louder, "Hey! What's the deal?"
The same kind of thing can happen in your personal life. You did everything you knew to do to be a good parent. But your kids have drifted into the counterculture and they are aggressively trashing out their own lives -- and yours -- and throwing invectives in your face as if you are the one who is crazy, and you shake your head and mumble, "What's the deal?"
Or sometimes it gets even more painful. A man who is an attorney, a man who is accustomed to staying in control of every situation, finds his wife, the one who has been the dearest of all persons to him, in the hospital, in danger of dying. The doctors say they are doing all that they can but they can't give any assurances. He tells a pastor friend with deep anguish, "I am not in control." The pastor remembers a time when his own wife was in a similar situation, he remembers the emptiness he felt and all he can say is, "No you are not in control." With tears, they both feel the question rising somewhere back behind rational thinking, "What's the deal?"
(The pastor will want to draw in experiences with which his or her own people can identify.)
THE WORD
(The pastor will want to help the hearers recognize that the experience with which they have been helped to identify is the same kind of experience that Job had when he stood shouting at God and calling God to task. If this has not been part of a series on Job, the pastor will have to summarize the story of Job. It will be especially important to explain that the setting of the scene that took place in the first chapter means that life and history are open and full of all kinds of possibilities. God has chosen to let it be that way so that our humanity can emerge in a life that is a real adventure. The people will need to know about Job's misfortune and the torment he endured from his comforters, as well as his shouting at God.)
Job, being an ancient and religious man, may in fact have expected God to hear his importunate prayers even though he was at the time experiencing the absence of God. Most of us who stand shouting into the space beyond ourselves really don't expect anyone to hear us. The truth is that we don't really believe that anyone is there. If we have a belief in God, we are more likely to think of God as inhabiting heaven or some other place. We usually don't think of God as being there meeting us in each encounter with life. But that is where God is and, if the experiences that lead us to shouting at God cause us to look beyond our limited little perceptions of life and make some new discoveries about the shape of reality and how we fit into it, we may indeed be hearing God speaking back to us.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
(How would it be if we try to shape the rest of the sermon as if we are imagining what God might say to us as we stand gazing into the whirlwind that seems to be the shape of reality just now. Might it go something like this?)
I am hearing you. I am here and I am hearing you. Don't look so surprised. I have always been right here. I am glad you have finally begun to see what you are seeing and, believe it or not, I am glad that you are saying what you are saying.
But now its time for you to learn the difference between assertiveness and arrogance: Stand there now and let me show you the rest of what you have just begun to glimpse. There is a whole lot more to reality than you thought. Reality is terribly -- and wonderfully -- complex. Life and history are happening all of the time and, though you can indeed have some effect upon them, you can never have them under control. There is just too much there. And it is, for the most part, unplanned, except for the ultimate destination. The decisions that shape each next moment are made in each present moment and you do participate in making them but so do lots of other people and processes that you could never begin to understand. If that is not enough to move you to awe, take a look at the pictures that have come back from the hovel telescope -- and remember that there is still more. When you have seen enough to make you really humble, I will have some other things to say to you. Are you ready? Okay.
You can never quite completely understand, though I wouldn't want you to stop trying. And you can never really get life or history under control. But you can take some comfort in knowing that, ultimately I am in control. Don't try to impose your proud little programs on life and history. Instead, watch carefully and try to understand what I am about, then find your own way to participate in it. Give up to the knowledge that you are going to have to go through life one step at a time and you can never really know what comes next. Just remember the things I have taught you, trust, receive, love, try as best you can to work with me -- and just do the next right thing.
ANOTHER VIEW
By Scott Suskovic
Unless you choose never to watch TV, read a newspaper, or listen to the radio, you can't avoid it. Bad things happen. Some are the direct result of human choice such as the tragic loss of life in a war or the intentional building of nuclear weapons in North Korea. Other events seem far out of human control -- hurricanes, floods, and certain diseases. Finding a direct cause and effect is not always easy.
The problem of suffering and evil is the oldest question asked by God's people. It appears in the Garden of Eden and extends to the cross. That question goes something like this: If suffering exists because God allows it, than he cannot possibly be good and loving. If suffering exists because God cannot prevent it, than he cannot possibly be all powerful and mighty.
So which is it? Is God all powerful but not loving or is God all loving but not powerful? Either way, we back ourselves into a theological corner.
There are no easy answers. In fact, if anyone tries to give you a simple, pat answer that can fit on a Hallmark greeting card, run away! Answers like, "It's God's will, God is testing your faith, the devil did it, it is for some greater good, you are being punished or, with a shrug, that's life" end up doing more harm than good.
Job confronts the problem of evil head on with seemingly undeserved suffering by a righteous man. The first clue to this book's answer to the age-long question of suffering is in its title: JOB -- the name that means, "He who turns to God." If you're looking for an answer, you perhaps need to look elsewhere. Because if there is one thing the book of Job attests to it is that healing from suffering happens not with simple answers to complex questions. It happens when you get beyond the questions, and, as Job's name suggests, "turn to God."
Job is a wealthy man who is described as blameless and upright, one who feared God, and turned away from evil. He had a loving wife, ten beautiful children, seven thousand sheep, three thousand cattle and donkeys, and a whole household full of servants. In all aspects of his life, relationship, faith and possessions, Job could sight, "Indeed, I am a wealthy man."
One day, speaking to the heavenly host, God singled out Job and beamed, "What a guy! Have you ever seen anyone as perfect as Job. I wish I had a thousand more like him." And all the angels nodded and said, "Yes, he is exceptional. No doubt."
From the back of the room, however, came a rather sarcastic voice. It's Satan. And with a flick of his cigarette, he dares to confront God before the heavenly hosts and says, "Big surprise! Of course he's perfect. You have given him everything. But let me tell you, Almighty, he is not perfect. He is spoiled rotten. You give him to me and let me give him a taste of reality and he will change his tune. He will curse you to your face."
The room fell silent. The wager lay there on the table. Will God accept? Will Satan back down? Finally God says, "Behold, all that Job has in now in your power. Only spare his life." And with a smirk, Satan leaves, "You're On."
Within 24 hours, Job's world falls apart. His animals are stolen, others killed in a storm. Fire devours his sheep. His children die when a roof collapses and Job comes down with a painful disease that filled him with open, seeping sores from the pads of his feet to his scalp. No matter how he stood or sat or lay down, the pain was unbearable. Job, a wealthy man, was reduced to nothing.
It would be like having an earthquake destroy your home, filing for bankruptcy, gang members killing your children, and coming down with AIDS all before you went to bed that night.
It was his wife who spoke first, "Do you still hold to your faith? Just curse God and die." So much for better and for worse!
Through it all, however, Job refuses to curse God. Oh, he still curses a lot. He curses the day he was born. He curses his suffering. He curses the fact that he is still alive, but he does not curse God.
Word of his suffering reaches three of Job's friends who pay him a visit. At first, they are so shocked that they can barely recognize their friend. And for seven full days, they just sit there, sharing his misery, and don't say a word.
When they do speak, they offer the simple, pat answers that are often used today and still don't cut it. Their intentions are pure but their counsel and answers only serve to inflict more pain and suffering.
The first one speak. "Job, God does not punish good men, only bad ones. You know that. If evil people prosper, it is only for a while. There sins will eventually catch up to them. Please, Job, repent of your evil and God will heal you."
Job turns to his friend and says, "I am innocent. I am innocent, bitter and angry. I am ready to give up. Life isn't fair. It's just not worth it. Life is like being a slave. You look for some relief in shade, scrape for food and wait for death."
At this point, the second friend chimes in, pushing the point a little further. "Of course you are a good man, Job, but you are not perfect. Nobody is wholly pure and innocent, not even an angel. Come before your God in humility, search your heart and your life and you will see that you do not measure up. There is something dark and sinful in your past. Repent, Job."
But Job continues to plead his innocence. "Make me understand how I have erred. Have a been guilty of vanity or deceit, lusted after women, failed to respect my servants, taken care of the poor? Have I sought riches or secretly worshipped pagan gods. Have I wished evil on my enemies or turned away strangers? What? What evil have I done?"
The third friend flat out calls Job a liar. The world has order. Good is paid for good and evil for evil. There is a reason for everything. At that, Job's anger rises to a fierce level against his friends and their shallow counsel and empty words, "Silence. You are worthless physicians, oh that you would keep silent. You do not speak for God."
Empty words, pat answers, simple solutions, shallow counsel. "Silence," Job demands. "Silence. You do not speak for God. Let me take my case before the Almighty and argue it myself. For though he slay me, I will defend myself to his face. Oh, where is God? Where might I find him? I cry out to God, and he does not answer me. I may not be perfect but do I deserve this? Why me. I demand to see God."
As the old saying goes, be careful what you pray for, you may just get it. For out of the whirlwind, God speaks to Job.
Who is this that speaks without knowledge? Gird up your loins like a man Gird up your loins like a man and let me ask you a couple of questions.
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the world?
Where were you when I commanded the day to spring forth?
Have you entered into the depths of the seas?
Have you gone to the gates of death?
Tell me, if you know.
Can you make it snow? rain? hail?
Can you send forth lightning or shake the clouds with thunder?
Do you give the horse its might?
Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars.
Let the faultfinder who argues with the Almighty provide the answers.
Job's defiant tone quickly changes as he realizes he is in for the worse oral exam of his life. His once lengthy defense becomes only a whisper, "I lay my hand to my mouth. I will proceed no further."
It's not that God is angry with Job for asking the questions. Be very clear about that. God is big enough to handle the most difficult questions we have to throw at him. But there still needs to be an understanding of who is who. Overwhelmed at the presence of the Lord, Job is humbled and sees the absurdity of a person calling God accountable. He accepts that there are certain matters that are beyond his understanding and says, "I have spoken what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. I am sorry. Human wisdom is nothing compared to God's."
What then is the answer to the problem of evil? Job does give an answer, though we may not like it. The answer is that healing begins when you get past the questions.
Remember what Job's Name means. He turns to God. In that name, the author wanted to cleverly reveal his main point. It was when Job put to rest those questions of How and Why and TURNED TO GOD in humility and respect that God sustained him, reassured him and comforted him. Not with answers, but with his presence. God gave something better than an answer to Job, God gave himself. It is when Job and his pain fell into the waiting arms of the all mighty and all loving God that he found rest.
For those who find little comfort in Job, it is probably because the questions still burn in their hearts. It is always hard to have a suffering Jesus. We would prefer the hero Jesus who comes in, stops the pain, rights the injustice, cures the cancer, stops the child from running into the street, gives just the right answer at the right time. But what we have is a suffering Jesus who gives us the promise of himself, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." What we have is the same thing that was offered to Job, the gift of God himself.
Job's name means, He who turns to God. It is the only answer we have that carries any weight against that age-long question of suffering.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Out of the whirlwind the Lord God of all creation speaks to Job and reminds him of who is the creator and who is the created one. Job was not there when the Lord God laid the foundations of the earth, or when the Lord God performed any of the mighty acts that brought the whole amazing universe into being.
But the even more amazing thing is that the Lord God is speaking with Job that he wants to be in a relationship with Job -- and with us. Martin Buber writes:
You know always in your heart that you need God more than everything; but do you not know that God needs you -- in the fullness of his eternity needs you? How would you be if God did not need you? You need God, in order to be -- and God needs you, for the very meaning of your life... The world is not divine sport, it is divine destiny. There is divine meaning in the life of the world, of human persons, of you and me.
-- I and Thou, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1958, p. 82
* * *
Buber sees the Lord God, though he is the creator of all that is, as not keeping himself aloof from us but wanting to enter into a close relationship with us that we may be his people and do the work of his kingdom with him. Buber writes:
God enters into a direct relation with us in creative, revealing and redeeming acts, and thus makes it possible for us to enter into a direct relation with him. This ground and meaning of our existence constitutes a mutuality, arising again and again, such as can subsist only between persons. The concept of personal being is indeed completely incapable of declaring what God's essential being is, but it is both permitted and necessary to say that God is also a Person.
-- I and Thou, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1958, p. 135
* * *
Just as the Lord God spoke to Job out of the whirlwind, he also speaks to us through a variety of means. Buber writes:
God's speech to [us] penetrates what happens in the life of each one of us, and all that happens in the world around us, biographical and historical, and makes it for you and me into instruction, message, demand. Happening upon happening, situation upon situation, are enabled and empowered by the personal speech of God to demand of the human person that we take our stand and make our decision.
-- I and Thou, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1958, pp. 136-137
* * *
When silversmiths create their works of fine art, they engrave, in an inconspicuous place, a tiny letter or symbol known as "the maker's mark." This is what antique dealers look for, as they're asked to appraise the value of an object say, for example, a silver bowl by Paul Revere. The first step in authenticating the work is to turn it over and search out the maker's mark.
What is it about our lives that demonstrates the maker's mark? Is it the capacity of our brains? Or is it our opposable thumb, that anthropologists say separates us from other life-forms? Is it the ability to reason creatively?
Truly, as the psalmist declares, we are "fearfully and wonderfully made."
In Job 38, God reminds Job that the maker's mark can be seen displayed in his very own life.
***
Have you ever looked at a mosaic up close? It doesn't look like much, really. All you see, from a few inches away, are jagged little tiles, arranged helter-skelter according to no apparent plan. Yet, if you step back and take in the "big picture," you will discover that each tile plays its part that together they display a beautiful image.
Mosaics also last nearly forever. Paintings fade with the centuries, obscured by dark shadows caused by the decaying oils. If you visit the historic churches of Ravenna, Italy, you will see that the glorious Christian mosaics there are just as brightly colored today as they were when the tiles were first laid, back in the fourth century A.D.
The God's-eye view is different from ours step back, and you get a whole new perspective.
***
Once there was a minister, who went fishing with several of his parishioners on a lake one evening. Before long, it was the middle of the night, the hour when the most determined fishermen stalk their quarry, and everyone but the minister seemed to be catching something. Finally, he asked one of his comrades for advice.
"That lure you're using is no good," the fisherman said. "It's too bright and shiny. You need a dark one." The man pulled out a black lure, and gave it to him.
It was night, the minister thought to himself. What possible good is a black lure? How could the fish even see it?
But the fisherman, reading his thoughts, explained: "It's the moon. Tonight's a full moon, and that moonlight shimmers down through the waters but it's still not bright, like the sun. A shiny lure, like you'd use in the daytime, won't work at night; but a black lure stands out in silhouette against the moon."
There are seasons of life when the bright optimism of good times just won't do. At times like those, only a black lure will succeed in landing us only a Lord who was himself crucified, dead and buried; who has descended into hell.
* * *
Who's Afraid of Whom?
And so North Korea detonates a nuclear weapon. The world quivers with fear at the prospect of yet another rather unstable and mercurial world leader with weapons of mass destruction.
A colleague returned recently from Korea to tell me that everybody there is terrified of us! How so, I queried? He indicated that we had identified them as part of the "axis of evil" in the world, and one member of that "axis" had already been invaded. Would they be next? The Korean peninsula teeters on the edge of fear.
Who then is afraid of whom?
* * *
As a "green" curate in my first position in the church, I was fresh out of seminary and thought I knew a lot about the way things should be. I had the good fortune of working with a seasoned and patient man who put up with all my questions regarding the whys and wherefores of the elder priest's policies. I remember a day quite vividly when I pushed the envelope just a bit too far and pushing back, he said to me something about his being the one who asks the questions and my being the one who gives the answers. In a New England witticism I'll never forget, he quipped: "You many know a bit more young man, but I know better!" It took a while for me to learn, but he was right. Today's passage from Job is God's way of setting the record straight.
* * *
When the kids were young they'd storm the car as we headed out for vacation. We had a van in those days, and each of them spotted a particular seat to claim. They all wanted to sit up front, except that's where Cindy sat. Then the fight was over who sat in the "way back" or right behind dad. (We only had three boys!) It usually made Cindy and me smile unless we were tired and irritable. The prize went to the swift, the resourceful, or the one who best played the angles of that body contact sport. Finally we made the call, if necessary. We gave them turns in their favorite places. And still after all this time, we all remain the best of friends! Are the followers of Jesus ever that childlike?
WORSHIP RESOURCE
By Thom Shuman
Call To Worship
Leader: Welcome!
There are many places you could be
this morning, but you have chosen
to be here:
People: where we learn how to live
in God's kingdom.
Leader: Welcome to this place --
full of music, of words, of prayer --
yet also filled with danger:
People: where we encounter a wisdom
we cannot always understand.
Leader: Welcome to God's house,
the most dangerous place in town:
People: where we talk about and with God,
and are reduced to silence
so we may hear the call to service.
Prayer Of The Day
Wind-riding God,
the blue skies, the sunshine,
the cool breezes cradling falling leaves:
all creation reminds us
of the delicate Artist
who has shaped us
and all that is around us.
We lift our songs
of gratitude and awe to you.
Servant-calling Jesus:
you humble our arrogance
with your acts of mercy;
you tip over our pretensions
with your modest nature;
you laugh at our hunger for power
with your words of grace.
Heart-keeping Spirit,
you bear our prayers
to the throne of grace
when they are only whispers
in our souls;
you unfold the road map
to show us the way to the kingdom;
you transform our stuttering words
into praise and wonder to our God.
God in Community, holy in One,
be with us in this and every moment,
even as we pray as Jesus teaches us, saying,
Our Father ...
Call To Reconciliation
We pray in this time, not because of our guilt, but out of our gratitude. We have done and said things we shouldn't, and have failed to do and say those things we should. Yet God still loves us, God surrounds us with grace and mercy, God waits to restore us to full life. Join me as we pray together, saying ...
Unison Prayer Of Confession
Creator's Heart, we look around and see how we fall short in our attempts at faithfulness. We often do things, not because it is what you call us to do, but in the hope of earning points with you. Self-absorbed, we overlook the suffering and struggles of those around us. Desperate to get to the front of the line, we push aside the very ones you seek to honor.
Forgive us, Holy One. Remind us that the cup we are offered is filled with grace, that the waters of baptism cleanse us and make us new, and that Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, is the One who calls us to service, standing by our side as we seek to faithful disciples.
(Silence may be observed.)
Assurance Of Pardon
Leader: The One who poured the foundation of
creation fills us with grace and hope.
The One who numbered the clouds,
tips over rain barrels of living water
into our parched spirits.
People: The One who writes anthems for the
the early morning stars fills us with
songs of joy, for mercies which come
fresh and new each day. Thanks be to
God. Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Obedience can be tough
Object: a fishing net and a small doll
Good morning! Have you ever seen pictures of a tall building that was on fire? (let them answer) Sometimes, people will be trapped on the upper floors of a burning building and the firemen can't get to them. When that happens, the firemen will spread out a big net and have the people jump into it. Now, the net they use is much bigger than this one (show the net), but I brought this just to demonstrate. One of you take this doll (hand the doll to one child), and when I tell you to jump, you make the doll jump into the net. (have them hold the doll up high and let it fall into the net when you say, "Jump!")
Now, if you were trapped high up in a burning building and the firemen yelled up to you and told you to jump into their net, would you do it? (let them answer) Yes, I think most of us would do it, because if we didn't we would burn up. But would it be easy to do it? (let them answer) No, it would not be easy. It would be very hard and very scary, but we would do it.
Sometimes, your parents might ask you to do something that you really don't want to do, but will you do it anyway? (let them answer) I surely hope that you will, because we must be obedient to our parents, and they do know what is best for us. Jesus was always obedient to his Father in Heaven. When God asked him to go to the cross and die there, do you think that was easy for him? (let them answer) No, it was very hard, but he was obedient and he did it. And because he was obedient, you and I have been saved. Let's thank Jesus for being an obedient son.
Dear Jesus: We are so glad that you cared so much for us that you were obedient to the Father and you were willing to suffer and die for us. Help us also to be obedient to our parents and do what they want us to do. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, October 22, 2006, issue.
Copyright 2006 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
