Sermon Archive

When Dr. Shafer said I could preach today, I immediately called my sister the Presbyterian minister. Catherine was very sisterly and supportive. She thought I’d do a good job. But when I told her that I was preaching on Job, Catherine said, and I quote, “You’ve gotta be NUTS!”

After all, Job is one tough book. It asks some rather pointed questions about the true nature of God and why God allows the innocent to suffer.

The lectionary passage that we’ve just read comes towards the end of the book. But the Bible introduces us to Job this way: “There was once a man in the land of Uz,” the story begins in the first verse of Chapter One. And “that man was “blameless and upright.”

Job never does anything wrong. He even asks God for forgiveness just in case any of his seven sons or three daughters do anything wrong. Besides all that, Job is rich. He has seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred donkeys...well you get the picture.

Job is so good that whenever all the heavenly beings get together in the cosmic realm, God likes to boast about him. “Hey, have you checked out my man Job?” God is always saying, “There is nobody as good as he is.”

Well, you or I might get annoyed by this after a while. But it really starts to grate on Satan’s nerves. Now we’re not talking about the sort of Satan we’re used to--the fallen angel who is banished to Hell. No, in this story Satan plays his original role of Devil’s Advocate--the kind of guy whose job is to point out what’s wrong with this picture.

So Satan says to God, “Well, sure Job is good. He’s rich. He’s got a big family. Nothing bad ever happens to him. But I bet you that if you took away Job’s wealth, and his health and his family, he would curse You to Your face.”

And much to our surprise, God takes Satan up on the bet.

In quick succession, Job loses all his livestock and his seven sons and three daughters and he himself is afflicted with what the Bible calls “loathsome boils.” Job is devastated. Who wouldn’t be?

Three of Job’s friends arrive to console him in his time of woe. They are all learned men who are genuinely interested in Job’s welfare. And we gather that they are wise because for seven days and seven nights they are able to sit next to Job and say nothing.

Finally, Job opens his mouth, and this is where the poetry begins. Job curses not God but the day he was born. In very eloquent and often painful words Job laments his fate, and he protests. What has happened to him is not fair. He is an innocent man. Why has all this evil and suffering fallen on him?

Let’s consider this question more closely. We’ll come back to the story in a little bit.

We’ve probably all wondered something very much like this at one time or another. Why does God allow good and faithful people to suffer? Why do some people lose their jobs for no good reason? Why are so many lives shattered by violence and poverty? Why do babies get sick? We think we’re good people. And yet we know, we are all one ferry accident, lab result or terrorist attack away from disaster.

Why does God allow good people to suffer? It’s a question that perplexed the ancient Hebrews as much as it does us today. If God is all-loving and all-powerful, then why doesn’t God just stop bad things from happening?

Over the years, people have come up with very different answers. Let’s take a quick look at three of them.

Our first instinct might be just to ignore the whole problem and pretend that bad things don’t happen. This is what scholars do when they say Job is only a story. Actually, they’re more subtle than that. They praise the Book of Job as great literature then ignore the theology. It is a great story. It’s full of unforgettable poetry. It has a “once upon a time” beginning.

But there is nothing like a fable to help us take a step back from ourselves, from the details of our individual joys and grief. I think the story of Job allows us to focus on that which is essential, that which is eternal in our lives. [1]

In medieval times, the church took the story very literally. It taught that God was testing Job’s faith to make it stronger--much as a blacksmith tempers steel in the fire. Now, I don’t think we have to be quite so hardcore. I don’t for a moment believe that God subjects us to adversity in order to make us better Christians--even if that is what sometimes happens. No, God loves and cares for us more deeply and fully than any human parent can. And no good parent, human or divine, would willingly inflict suffering on his or her children. You don’t have take my word for it. The entire life and teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ make that point better than I can.

Finally, some people have said that when evil happens to good people, it turns out that those people aren’t really good after all. This is what Job’s friends thought. Back then, people believed that if you were rich, it was because God wanted you to be rich. It was a reward for being good. Job’s friends go on and on patiently explaining to him that he cannot be as innocent as he thinks or else God would not have visited such cruel calamities on him. According to Job’s friends, all he has to do is repent and God will restore Divine favor on him.

We tend to dismiss the friends as erudite blowhards. But we should not lose sight of the fact that they are wise men. In another context they might have been bearing gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. There is poetry in their words, too. But their failure is a failure of Reason. Not everything can be explained.

How often we are like Job’s friends. You can see it in newspaper articles, government policy, everyday conversation. If you’re good and play by the rules then of course you will be rewarded--or at least get a big tax cut. Being poor is proof positive that you haven’t worked hard enough. If you get cancer it is because you didn’t eat your fruits and vegetables. However you define what being good is, there’s always that sense that only good things should happen when you are good.

Well, let’s go back to the story of Job and see what happens next. Job finally realizes that God is somehow responsible for all his suffering. He isn’t sure how or even why. But it is clear to Job that God is either actively persecuting him or is taking a hands-off approach that allows him to suffer. Either way, God doesn’t come off so great.

But Job is steadfast in proclaiming his innocence. And this leads him to an extraordinary course of action. He decides to sue God. Yup, you heard me right. Job wants to bring a lawsuit against God in some sort of cosmic court--though he’s a little hazy on the details of how this could happen. Even in our fairly litigious society, no one has yet figured out how to subpoena the Almighty.

But it doesn’t matter. Because incredibly, God appears to Job anyway. “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth,” God asks Job. “Tell me if you have understanding.”

When we look at this passage, we know, just as Job does, what’s happening here. God is pulling rank. “Look, I’m the one who made the world,” God might say today. “Get over it.”

But for the first time, Job has heard God speak directly to him. And Job is changed. [2] He withdraws his complaint against God. Then God does something completely unexpected. God turns to Job’s friends and scolds them. “Why did you tell Job to plead guilty when he was in fact innocent?” God wants to know. “You guys had better ask Job to forgive you.” And Job does.

Now this is where I would like to do some editing and end the book of Job. But the story goes on to give Job seven new sons and three new daughters and twice as many sheep and camels as he had before. It’s not that I’m against happy endings. But this is kind of like having a character wake up on a TV show to find out that all of last season was a dream. It’s a cop out. But I guess even the writers of the Bible sometimes preferred happy endings.

Or maybe they just wanted to take a little of the sting out of Job. The question is Why does God allow good and faithful people to suffer? And the answer we heard God give in today’s reading is “You just can’t know. It’s a mystery.”

God speaks out of the whirlwind in words that should sound very familiar to all of us. They echo the Book of Genesis.

We remember the first four verses of Genesis. “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw the light was good...”

These words celebrate the divine creative act--the wonderful bringing into being of our whole universe. This is something we can feel good about. Something we can sing about, as we did in this morning’s opening hymn, “For the Beauty of the Earth.”

And isn’t God saying the same thing to Job? “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding...On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy.”

Whether it’s Genesis or Job, it’s still the creation. The morning stars are still singing. But Job is not. He realizes that there are some things he will never understand.

And so, too, do we. There are some things that we will never understand--the suffering of the innocent among them. Words fail. Reason fails. We are left with a mystery.

But we are not abandoned. And that may turn out to be more important than having all the answers. There is the mystery of God’s creation of the universe. Then there’s the even deeper mystery of God’s relationship with us.

God does not abandon Job. And this after Job has said some pretty harsh things. God talks to Job and then turns and reprimands Job’s friends on Job’s behalf.

No, God does not abandon Job. And God will not abandon us.

There is nothing we can do to sever the relationship with God. Maybe we are more like Job in the beginning of the story--prosperous, healthy and happy. Maybe we, like Job, have suffered appalling grief and tribulation. Whatever the case, God is there, speaking out of the whirlwind. Sometimes the words are comforting. Often they are infuriating. But God doesn’t let go.

This is a grown-up’s commitment, a grown-up’s faith. We accept that our faith is not some kind of Christian insurance program that protects us from all physical, emotional or spiritual harm. We know that the world doesn’t always give us a “happily ever after ending.”

You’ve heard people say that God cries with us when we are in pain. Surely some of God’s tears must come from knowing just how bewildered we are. But in our bewilderment and tears, a commitment through thick and thin, come what may, counts for quite a lot.

And so now it is our turn to decide, will we let go of God? Do we have faith only for the good times? Or will we try to keep the faith during the bad times as well? Believing not just in God but in all that God stands for.

When suffering comes, as it will, it’s okay to rail against God, to argue and fight and demand answers. God is still there. God is still with us. Amen.

Gracious God, we thank you for the many blessings we enjoy. We glory in your promise never to abandon us in good times or bad. Spare us from trials too great to endure. Free us from the grip of all that is evil. Give us the strength to be your disciples in the world. We ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

[1] Cf. “It is only with the heart that one sees rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery.