Headed to camp this afternoon, so I just have time to add a comment or two before going home to pack.
Job text is much more nuanced and complicated than how I used it in this sermon. I think the sermon was accurate to God, but not quite as true to the Job text.
The same could probably be said about the Romans text.
“Grab
Bag: Feeling Like Job” July 21, 2013; Grab bag series; Job 42: 1-6; Romans 8: 26-28
Introduction: TV
show Motive – police drama; begins at the end and then goes back to the
beginning to explain how the ending was reached.
This
sermon is beginning at the end, and then we will go back and see how we get to
the end.
Move 1:
Begin at the end with a
powerful faith statement:
a.
Final words
1.
Job – 42:2 “I know that you (that is God) can do all
things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”
2.
Paul’s letter to
the Romans (8:28) “we know that all things work together for good for those who
love God…”
b.
To see how we
get to those final words, let’s go back to the beginning.
1.
In Job’s case,
the beginning takes us back to his suffering.
2.
He experienced
loss in every part of his life.
3.
The text is
clear that he has done nothing wrong. In fact, from the storyteller’s
perspective, it appears that Job is caught up in some type of challenge that
Satan, or perhaps a better translation, “the accuser” has put before God.
4.
Regardless of
why, Job is in misery with his life falling apart before him, and he has done
nothing wrong.
c.
Or consider the
Romans to whom Paul writes.
1.
We do not the
exact circumstance Paul might have been referring to in his letter, but we know
that Paul is trying to explain to these new Christians what it means to believe
in a sovereign God.
2.
To believe that
God is alive and in the midst of their circumstances, even when they are
difficult circumstances.
d.
What is your
beginning?
1.
The sermon grew out of someone sharing their
story of going through a difficult time in life.
2.
I suspect most of us can point to a difficult
time in our own life.
3.
Battling with a
difficult, perhaps even debilitating illness.
4.
Going through an
unexpected job loss.
5.
dealing with
grief.
6.
Struggling to
find friends who build you up, instead of tear you down.
7.
Dealing with
again.
8.
Or just an
overwhelming time in life.
9.
Most of us can
find a beginning to this sermon from our own lives.
Move 2:
how do we get from the beginning, the crisis in which we find ourselves,
to the end, the strong faith statement?
a.
Not very
easily, and probably not a direct path!
1.
None of us will
travel the same path, although our paths may be similar.
2. Probably not the same
order of stops along the way, but many of the same stops.
b. Sometimes we
try to find someone or something to blame.
1. If we read Job’s story, part of his problem I
think is that he has no one to blame, and he refuses to allow others to blame
him (rightfully so, according to the story).
2. Ultimately, blaming fails because even if we
can discover who or what is actually to blame, it does not remove us from the
pain and loss that we are feeling.
3. Sic Flags – death of
woman falling from roller coaster; they will figure out what happened, but even
when her family knows who or what to blame, it does not bring her back to life.
4. We can direct our anger and at times it feels
good, but the blame game generally only provides temporary relief. It does not lead directly to the ending we
want.
b. We
might stop along the way at questioning God or getting mad at God
1. Through the years, I have often shared with
people that it’s ok to get mad at God or question God. It’s even biblical.
2. Job
certainly works this angle.
3. And Job’s not the only one. The biblical text is full of people who get
mad at God. People who say, “God, I
don’t like what you’re doing;” or “God, where are you?” or “God, I’m running
away because I don’t want to be dealing with you anymore.”
4.
I feel certain that God can handle it.
5.
In my mind, getting angry or asking questions of God is not a sign of a
lack of faith, but the sign of a faithful person trying to figure out how to
affirm God’s presence in the midst of the crisis.
c.
Or we might stop at the nearby stop that is closely related to questioning or
getting angry is crying out to God.
1.
We often hear of how the Psalmist cries out to God.
2. The Israelites are in captivity
and they cry out to God, begging God to remember them.
3. Jesus from the cross cries out to
God.
4. Paul references being in such a
state that we need the Spirit to intercede for us. The person praying only being able to groan.
5. Crying out
is the desperate plea of the person who has discovered that God is their only
hope.
e.
We often find the stop along the way where we turn
to your friends.
1.
That move is
full of potential pitfalls.
2.
In the midst of
Job’s crisis, his friends arrive to help comfort him.
3.
It turns out
they tell him a lot of things that he will not accept, and we discover that God
will not accept either.
4. Sometimes I hear people say
things to other people in the midst of crises that make me cringe. Sometimes I say things that make me cringe.
5. I find that being told that
"God needed a tenor or soprano for the choir in heaven” (or something
similar) for example.
5. But, I recognize the need
people have to offer words of comfort and to find comfort in the face of
challenging circumstances.
6. And I
have seen and felt, not necessarily from the words, but from the person being
there, comfort from others.
f. another
stop -- we can turn away from God.
1. Person
decides that God is not there and they are done with God.
2. Their story ends before it gets to the faith
statement.
g. Another stop -- Cling to faith.
1. I am reminded of a story I was told about a woman who was suffering daily, but when asked how she
dealt with all the misery noted that her time was not spent being miserable
because she had conversations with Jesus all day long.
2. In other words, her time of misery (as
defined by others) did not seem miserable to her because of her faith and
opportunity to grow in relationship with Jesus.
Lots of things we can do between crisis and the
faith statement that comes at the end of the story.
Move 3: Only get to the end of the story, the
faith statement after we look back
over what has happened.
a. Job can only tell this story after it has happened.
1. We do our best theology from our rear view mirror.
2. (which takes me back to the country western
song "Texas
2. Paul can only write his words
that “all things work together for good” after he sees what God has done.
3. Job cannot proclaim God’s sovereignty until he looks back over what
has been happening in his life.
b. we look back over what has happened and we lay claim to our faith.
1. We see God’s grace.
2. We recognize the comfort.
3. I have often heard people comment on how they grew in faith or what God
did for them in the midst of a crisis.
4. Not an affirmation that God intentionally sent bad things their way; an
affirmation that God is at work in the midst of crises leading us to new
opportunities and understandings.
5. . I can confirm that again and again I have seen people's faith
strengthened in the face of crisis, which seems counter-intuitive to me.
6. In fact, it is a theological statement about the incarnation, about God
coming in flesh to live among us and be with us in the midst of our crises.
7. There is comfort in Job’s faith, but that comfort can only be heard
after the anguish and anger have been expressed.
Conclusion: We are now back to
where the story ends:
Hearing
Job proclaim about God: Job – 42:2 “I know that you (that is God) can do
all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”
Hearing
Paul’s letter to the Romans (8:28) “we know that all things work together for
good for those who love God…”
A fitting end,
wouldn’t you say?
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