"An Encore Presentation"
A sermon preached by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp at Edgemont Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) based on Job 38:1-10 and 34-41.
I always love it when I am at a concert of some sort, and the audience demands an encore. Usually this is prompted by a standing ovation and applauses that seems to never end. In fact, it is only quieted by the performer returning to the stage for an encore – an additional performance. Sometimes, encores are given by orators and even, from time-to-time, a preacher. Today, I am giving somewhat of an encore from last week’s sermon. Now, I know that there are no applauses or standing ovations calling me to the pulpit for this encore, only an unfinished sermon, a desire to share the truth and a paycheck. But here I am!
One advantage of having teachers within your congregation is, sometimes, your writings are carefully analyzed. And honestly, I always welcome and love constructive criticism - constructive, I want to emphasize. I mean, after all, we cannot grow without constructive criticism. And last Sunday was a good example. A literary teacher, among us, offered an interpretation to the sermon I preached. And she was very positive on the points I made, but felt that I’d left out an important and somewhat crucial point. You see, as pastors, we often take for granted that our parishioners are always on the same page as we are. And while, we have been involved in a rather in depth study of The Shack in Sunday School and have addressed the issue of “why” God welcomes our honesty – why God welcomes our questions and doubts, fears and concerns, I seemed to have left that unanswered in my sermon last week. I made the point that God does want and welcome both an open and honest relationship, but why? What purpose do our questions play in our relationship with God? I mean, who is to benefit from such an open and honest relationship. Are we or is God to benefit? You see, that’s where I left off! And I was excited and thrilled that Shelli approached me with this. I mean, after all, it’s not every Sunday that pastors get feedback from their sermons. Sure, we may get a few compliments here and there, but for our sermons to promote discussion is great!
Now, obviously, I would be lying to you if I said that I left that point out of my sermon last week on purpose, but it seems that this is something that we must not overlook! Case in point - the Old Testament Lectionary Reading for this Sunday, which is, perhaps, one of my favorites! We all know the story of Job real well. And maybe, even some of you can relate a little with Job.
I find it interesting that the poetic sections of the Book of Job contain some of the most difficult Hebrew in the bible. You see, usually when scholars want to know the meaning of a biblical word, they look to see how that word is used in other places in the bible. Yet, sometimes words only occur once in the bible, thus making it difficult to figure out what the word’s true meaning is. The Book of Job has more “one-time words” than any other biblical book, making Job extremely difficult to translate. Because of its unique vocabulary, modern translations of the Book of Job differ widely, and even early translators had a hard time. For example, in the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, Job is 400 lines shorter than the Hebrew text, which has led some to assume that the translators became so frustrated when trying to translate Job’s unique vocabulary that they just omitted lines they couldn’t understand or properly translate.
The structure of the Book of Job consists of four main parts. Most scholars agree that the prologue and the epilogue are purely narrative and thought to have existed as a separate story before the poetry and dialogue in three cycles were written. The author of Job is unknown. Some speculate that Moses may have been the author. Another interesting point to be made about the Book of Job is the fact that it is perhaps one of the oldest, if not the oldest, book in the bible - written around 1500 B.C.E.
However, the Book of Job seeks to comprehend why suffering exists, especially for the righteous. This raises questions of theodicy or the justice of God. Ultimately, the Book of Job extols the merit of maintaining your faith and even trust in God even in difficult times.
We are told that Job was both a wealthy and righteous person. He had 7 sons, 3 daughters, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 pairs of oxen, 500 donkeys and many servants. Job is so righteous, we are told, that he even offered sacrifices for the sins of his children. But suddenly, Job’s world is turned upside down. He lost it all! He was found, by his friends, sitting all alone with sackcloth and ashes; mourning and weeping, lamenting and agonizing over the pain of loss he was experiencing and over his physical afflictions. He was suffering! And certainly, “why?” was the question on his mind and on the minds of his friends!
It is said that one of the best support systems you have is your friends. But we learn that this wasn’t necessarily the case when it came to Job’s friends. Sure, after first, Eliphaz, and Zophar and Bildad show up and they do what any good friends would do or should do – they are supportive, they offer their companionship and comfort and condolences. But then, after a week of showing compassion and sympathy, they start trying to solve the problem. They have a strict cause and effect theology. Certainly, Job must have done something to cause this suffering, they thought! He must have made God angry and mad somehow. And so, they started to take an inventory!
Without a doubt, Job is one of the most difficult books in the bible to understand because it provides no clear-cut moral or answer to Job’s problems. And that was the problem! Why would this happen? Surely, something or someone must have caused it. There has to be a satisfying answer. In fact, the book truly is complicated and causes us to realize that there will always be unanswered questions, inexplicable suffering, and unthinkable tragedy. The real question, therefore, is not “why” do such things happen, but “how” will we respond in the face of such suffering and tragedy? I believe all suffering and tragedy is meant to draw us closer to the only one who can bring healing and wholeness to our lives. You see, if people do right merely to be rewarded by God, then their righteousness is worthless. And if people abandon their faith because of hardships, then again, their righteousness is worth little. According to the Book of Job, genuine faith weathers even the most difficult storms. As Job affirmed, “Even if he should kill me, I still will trust him.”
After pleading his case before God, stating that he has done nothing wrong, nothing to deserve such hardships, God appears “in a whirlwind” and gives Job his long-awaited answer – only God does so by asking Job a series of questions, beginning with, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding,” and ending his first series of questions with, “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let the one who accuses God answer.”
After another series of questions, Job realizes that his limited human understanding and intellect is no match for God’s infinite wisdom, and responds, “Truly I spoken about things I don’t understand, things too marvelous for me to comprehend.” And in light of such acknowledgement, God restores all that Job had lost, and then some. In fact, the final chapter of Job reports, “The Lord blessed the latter days of Job’s life more than the first.”
The Hebrew Bible scholar Kathleen O’Connor talks about this speech as a turning point in Job’s life, not because God scolded Job and put him in his place, but because this speech turns the question from “why” to “who” and in so doing, God’s word offers Job a new vision. You see, the answer to the “who” question offered to Job healing and wholeness.
God offered to Job in this response both the reminder and the promise of God’s power and work in this world. God’s vision for Job is a powerful reminder that God not only created the earth, laid its foundations, but that God also cares for all of creation. God’s grace comes to us this day to fill us with healing and wholeness. I know that we all want our “whys” answered, but we can’t handle those answers. And so, instead, God gives us something that makes a difference in our lives here and now! God is the “who,” who comes to us in the person of Jesus Christ and in the comfort of his Spirit. God is the God who brings glory out of suffering, resurrection out of death as we see in the person of Jesus Christ. God is the God of healing and wholeness, and we have to trust in that blessed hope and promise – that God works in all things, for the good of those who love and serve God!
James Crawford in his sermon, “Are You Looking for God?” recalls a woman riding a city bus who was engrossed in a little book entitled: God Is the Answer. Crawford said: “I wondered about the questions she asked.” You know, certainly, Job was looking for answers, but answers he didn’t get; rather, he got questions! And Crawford said: “Isn’t that the way it should be? God asking the questions; we living and giving the answers. The tilt of the bible leans toward God’s initiative and our response. Leaf through the pages of Genesis: ‘Adam, where are you?’ Hear God’s challenge to Moses amid his people’s oppression, ‘Will you lead my people?’ and again, Isaiah, discerning his vocation: ‘Who will go? Whom shall I send?’ and to Job: ‘Brace yourself, stand with courage and I will question you!’ You see, if we look for answers we may get questions. God is a God of questions! But inevitably, God’s questioning, like a psychiatrist, becomes the answer to our questions.
Psychology teaches that only in being open and honest with oneself can healing occur. Spirituality teaches that only in being open and honest with God can true healing begin. So God, the great Psychiatrist who knows the very depths of our hearts and souls, invites us to lay on the couch and bring our deepest questions to God, for it is in doing so, that we, like Job, will amazed at who this God is and we will return to the simplicity of our faith – a faith that has carried us throughout our childhood, a faith that taught us “He’s got the whole world in his hands… he’s got you and me, brother… sister, in his hands!” Amen.
One advantage of having teachers within your congregation is, sometimes, your writings are carefully analyzed. And honestly, I always welcome and love constructive criticism - constructive, I want to emphasize. I mean, after all, we cannot grow without constructive criticism. And last Sunday was a good example. A literary teacher, among us, offered an interpretation to the sermon I preached. And she was very positive on the points I made, but felt that I’d left out an important and somewhat crucial point. You see, as pastors, we often take for granted that our parishioners are always on the same page as we are. And while, we have been involved in a rather in depth study of The Shack in Sunday School and have addressed the issue of “why” God welcomes our honesty – why God welcomes our questions and doubts, fears and concerns, I seemed to have left that unanswered in my sermon last week. I made the point that God does want and welcome both an open and honest relationship, but why? What purpose do our questions play in our relationship with God? I mean, who is to benefit from such an open and honest relationship. Are we or is God to benefit? You see, that’s where I left off! And I was excited and thrilled that Shelli approached me with this. I mean, after all, it’s not every Sunday that pastors get feedback from their sermons. Sure, we may get a few compliments here and there, but for our sermons to promote discussion is great!
Now, obviously, I would be lying to you if I said that I left that point out of my sermon last week on purpose, but it seems that this is something that we must not overlook! Case in point - the Old Testament Lectionary Reading for this Sunday, which is, perhaps, one of my favorites! We all know the story of Job real well. And maybe, even some of you can relate a little with Job.
I find it interesting that the poetic sections of the Book of Job contain some of the most difficult Hebrew in the bible. You see, usually when scholars want to know the meaning of a biblical word, they look to see how that word is used in other places in the bible. Yet, sometimes words only occur once in the bible, thus making it difficult to figure out what the word’s true meaning is. The Book of Job has more “one-time words” than any other biblical book, making Job extremely difficult to translate. Because of its unique vocabulary, modern translations of the Book of Job differ widely, and even early translators had a hard time. For example, in the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, Job is 400 lines shorter than the Hebrew text, which has led some to assume that the translators became so frustrated when trying to translate Job’s unique vocabulary that they just omitted lines they couldn’t understand or properly translate.
The structure of the Book of Job consists of four main parts. Most scholars agree that the prologue and the epilogue are purely narrative and thought to have existed as a separate story before the poetry and dialogue in three cycles were written. The author of Job is unknown. Some speculate that Moses may have been the author. Another interesting point to be made about the Book of Job is the fact that it is perhaps one of the oldest, if not the oldest, book in the bible - written around 1500 B.C.E.
However, the Book of Job seeks to comprehend why suffering exists, especially for the righteous. This raises questions of theodicy or the justice of God. Ultimately, the Book of Job extols the merit of maintaining your faith and even trust in God even in difficult times.
We are told that Job was both a wealthy and righteous person. He had 7 sons, 3 daughters, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 pairs of oxen, 500 donkeys and many servants. Job is so righteous, we are told, that he even offered sacrifices for the sins of his children. But suddenly, Job’s world is turned upside down. He lost it all! He was found, by his friends, sitting all alone with sackcloth and ashes; mourning and weeping, lamenting and agonizing over the pain of loss he was experiencing and over his physical afflictions. He was suffering! And certainly, “why?” was the question on his mind and on the minds of his friends!
It is said that one of the best support systems you have is your friends. But we learn that this wasn’t necessarily the case when it came to Job’s friends. Sure, after first, Eliphaz, and Zophar and Bildad show up and they do what any good friends would do or should do – they are supportive, they offer their companionship and comfort and condolences. But then, after a week of showing compassion and sympathy, they start trying to solve the problem. They have a strict cause and effect theology. Certainly, Job must have done something to cause this suffering, they thought! He must have made God angry and mad somehow. And so, they started to take an inventory!
Without a doubt, Job is one of the most difficult books in the bible to understand because it provides no clear-cut moral or answer to Job’s problems. And that was the problem! Why would this happen? Surely, something or someone must have caused it. There has to be a satisfying answer. In fact, the book truly is complicated and causes us to realize that there will always be unanswered questions, inexplicable suffering, and unthinkable tragedy. The real question, therefore, is not “why” do such things happen, but “how” will we respond in the face of such suffering and tragedy? I believe all suffering and tragedy is meant to draw us closer to the only one who can bring healing and wholeness to our lives. You see, if people do right merely to be rewarded by God, then their righteousness is worthless. And if people abandon their faith because of hardships, then again, their righteousness is worth little. According to the Book of Job, genuine faith weathers even the most difficult storms. As Job affirmed, “Even if he should kill me, I still will trust him.”
After pleading his case before God, stating that he has done nothing wrong, nothing to deserve such hardships, God appears “in a whirlwind” and gives Job his long-awaited answer – only God does so by asking Job a series of questions, beginning with, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding,” and ending his first series of questions with, “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let the one who accuses God answer.”
After another series of questions, Job realizes that his limited human understanding and intellect is no match for God’s infinite wisdom, and responds, “Truly I spoken about things I don’t understand, things too marvelous for me to comprehend.” And in light of such acknowledgement, God restores all that Job had lost, and then some. In fact, the final chapter of Job reports, “The Lord blessed the latter days of Job’s life more than the first.”
The Hebrew Bible scholar Kathleen O’Connor talks about this speech as a turning point in Job’s life, not because God scolded Job and put him in his place, but because this speech turns the question from “why” to “who” and in so doing, God’s word offers Job a new vision. You see, the answer to the “who” question offered to Job healing and wholeness.
God offered to Job in this response both the reminder and the promise of God’s power and work in this world. God’s vision for Job is a powerful reminder that God not only created the earth, laid its foundations, but that God also cares for all of creation. God’s grace comes to us this day to fill us with healing and wholeness. I know that we all want our “whys” answered, but we can’t handle those answers. And so, instead, God gives us something that makes a difference in our lives here and now! God is the “who,” who comes to us in the person of Jesus Christ and in the comfort of his Spirit. God is the God who brings glory out of suffering, resurrection out of death as we see in the person of Jesus Christ. God is the God of healing and wholeness, and we have to trust in that blessed hope and promise – that God works in all things, for the good of those who love and serve God!
James Crawford in his sermon, “Are You Looking for God?” recalls a woman riding a city bus who was engrossed in a little book entitled: God Is the Answer. Crawford said: “I wondered about the questions she asked.” You know, certainly, Job was looking for answers, but answers he didn’t get; rather, he got questions! And Crawford said: “Isn’t that the way it should be? God asking the questions; we living and giving the answers. The tilt of the bible leans toward God’s initiative and our response. Leaf through the pages of Genesis: ‘Adam, where are you?’ Hear God’s challenge to Moses amid his people’s oppression, ‘Will you lead my people?’ and again, Isaiah, discerning his vocation: ‘Who will go? Whom shall I send?’ and to Job: ‘Brace yourself, stand with courage and I will question you!’ You see, if we look for answers we may get questions. God is a God of questions! But inevitably, God’s questioning, like a psychiatrist, becomes the answer to our questions.
Psychology teaches that only in being open and honest with oneself can healing occur. Spirituality teaches that only in being open and honest with God can true healing begin. So God, the great Psychiatrist who knows the very depths of our hearts and souls, invites us to lay on the couch and bring our deepest questions to God, for it is in doing so, that we, like Job, will amazed at who this God is and we will return to the simplicity of our faith – a faith that has carried us throughout our childhood, a faith that taught us “He’s got the whole world in his hands… he’s got you and me, brother… sister, in his hands!” Amen.
posted by Pastor Christopher @ 12:37 PM
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