Seventh Sunday after Trinity – evening
Sunday 15th July 2018
Proper 10 – 7th Sunday after Trinity – evening
Job 4. 1-4, 6-27 – whom God reproves
Romans 15. 14-29 – The apostle to the Gentiles.
Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs
The book of Job – part of which we heard this evening, is I think part of the Bible that was written as a dramatic and allegorical work of fiction – like a novella or even a play written for the television!
To begin with, it may help you to know that when it was written – relatively late on in the history of Israel, the Northern Kingdom of Israel – the 10 tribes – had long ago been defeated and carried off into exile in Samaria and Syria. Only the two tribes of Judah remained, and they were fighting for their survival against the invading Romans. Most of the country had already been conquered, but a small band of what we would today call insurgents or freedom fighters was holding out against impossible odds. They would fight their final battle in the desert fortress of Massada – down near the Dead Sea, led by Judas Maccabeus and his five sons. Some of you may have seen the epic film that was made of their heroic, if doomed, last stand?
So why did someone come up with the story of Job?
Well, Job is of course set at a much earlier time in history – back in pre-history in fact. So no-one can accuse the author of writing seditious or dangerous stories against the invading (and victorious) forces. Think of it as one of the Mystery plays that were so popular in the Middle Ages and now are being performed again.
Job has it all. He is rich in material terms with fine flocks of cattle and camels and sheep and goats. He has a wife and together they have a thriving family. Lots of strapping sons and beautiful daughters. Life is pretty good for Job and he does not forget to thank God for his good fortune and to worship him very properly. So much so, that God begins to be rather proud of this paragon of virtue and in heaven (which is envisaged to be a bit like a court of law!) God boasts to his angels of what a great chap Job is and how faithful he is.
At which point Satan (or if you like, the prosecuting counsel) pours scorn on Job’s piety and taunts God saying, in effect, “Oh Job only worships you because you have given him such riches and such a happy home life… try taking all that away from him and then see how faithful he remains!”
Somewhat stung, (this is a very ‘human’ portrayal of God) God agrees to reduce poor Job to poverty and ill health and even to take his family away in a freak accident, just to prove a point to Satan.
Poor old Job loses everything and is even afflicted with a terrible skin disease. Some of his so-called friends call by – ostensibly to cheer him up, but when they see the extent of his suffering, all they can say is that he must have done something very wicked and that is why God is punishing him in this way. In vain, Job replies that he has done nothing wrong, but that only inflames the situation. Even his wife pours on the agony – telling him to curse God and die – at least then his suffering will end! But Job resolutely refuses to do so, although he does want to hold God to account for all this misery and woe… he seeks (as humanity through the ages has done ) to understand why he should have to suffer?; what is God’s purpose in making a good person undergo such anguish?
[And when you think of the Maccabean fighters holed up in Massada, eventually deciding to commit mass suicide rather than submit to the conquering Romans – you can begin to understand why this argument was so powerful for the Judeans groaning under the thumb of foreign invaders.]
The final message to Job – and to to us as well, – is to be more humble. We are, after all creatures of the earth and mud. We may lift our gaze to the stars, but they remain tantalizingly out of reach. Human beings can never hope to fathom the purposes of God. God is so far above us as we might be above the ants. Why should we expect God to explain to our poor little human minds why he has designed the world the way he has? We just need to know that ultimately God is in charge and has the good of the whole of creation in mind. That may, or may not, include us in the grand scheme of things! We can still believe in a loving God, even though we may never fully understand him. Therefore we can join with Job in agreeing,
I have uttered what I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know …
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
But now my eye sees you;
Therefore, I despise myself,
And repent in dust and ashes.
And what about us? Which of us has not at some point in our lives shouted to the heavens, “Why me God, why?” And perhaps in the silence of God’s compassion and love, been brought to understand that although we are dearly loved and valued, the world does not revolve around us. God moves indeed in a mysterious way… All we can do (alongside Job) is look on and wonder.