Good Shepherd United Church of Christ

"Comforted to be Dust"                     Job 38, selections
October 18, 2009
Metairie

The story of Job, a poetic drama of a man contesting with God over the injustices he experiences, is a part of the wisdom literature of the Jewish Bible.  This literature is frankly didactic - attempting to share the deep wisdom of the Jewish people, collected over the centuries, as a gift to every generation and to the gentiles.  Wisdom literature ranges from the pithy, practical collection of proverbs to the soulful prayers of the Psalms to the dark, disturbing philosophy of Ecclesiastes to the sensual scenarios of Song of Solomon.

Much of Wisdom literature, Job being an example, was reserved for adult edification, was reserved as too dangerous for anyone under the age of 35 and was almost excluded from the Bible.  Likewise Job has been considered too controversial for children or anyone unversed in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers or Deuteronomy and all the Prophetic books - from Isaiah to Ezekiel to Amos to Malachi.  Without education in the foundational literature, Job was thought to be too hot to handle.

From a different perspective, Job is considered one of the greatest pieces of writing ever produced - on a par with Greek drama and Shakespearean plays.  Job has passed all the tests of time - a powerful story that speaks to all manner of people across the history and geography of the creation.

And we in Metairie this morning dare to pick up chapter 38, in Job's heroic contest with God, to peruse some selected verses for our 15 minutes or so out of the whole week when we seriously engage with this dangerous and magnificent teaching about how it goes with God.

I can remember my first serious encounter with Job - I was in an Old Testament class in seminary and the teaching assistant, younger than I, since I returned to graduate school at age 35, he remarked on my mid term exam that I let God off rather easily.  I was surprised and somewhat shamed because the implicit complaint was that my work was shallow.  The teaching assistant was right - my work was immature and shallow.

I'm not sure that I will do any better today, as I stand in the pulpit at age 62.  I'm not convinced that I have much of a chance to really help us get below the surface of Job's wisdom because, in part, struggling with Job is a solo outing, an individual and extended wrestling match with the Almighty, similar to Jacob's contest, but lasting far longer than that night beside the river.

Job is a book for a lifetime of review and I commend it to any mature Christian.  In Chapter 38, Job's last stand, Job gets what he deserves, if not what he wants.  He wants a credible explanation for why bad things happen to good people (and the inverse:  why good things happen to bad people).  Job has lived these questions with an integrity that is beyond what could be expected.  But when Job (alone) meets his Maker, he does not receive an explanation or justification, rather he gets an encounter - a huge, magnificent awesome display, larger than life . . . as if you were sitting in the middle of the combined orchestras of the New York Philharmonic and the Berlin Symphonic, hearing Beethoven's 5th crashing around you.  Or, as if you were in a hot air balloon with fireworks from all the major and minor 4th of July celebrations all over America , all at once.

God does not address the moral question of injustice, not at all.  Rather God displays a drum roll of creation for Job to see and hear.  God's response to Job's complaint is a non-sequitor, but it is a response.

What can we take away from this, from Job's misery, from Job's laments and complaints, from Job's authentic quest and his final triumph?  The triumph may seem puny since Job never does get a straight answer from God;  so from one perspective, Job fails.

If you take another perspective, consider the Rolling Stones' lyric:  "you can't always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need."  Now that's worth considering in regards to Job.  Job wanted explanations about injustice, but what Job got was a fantastic God encounter.

So take this away with you - Job's response to injustice has him pursue God to the ends of the earth.  Job might have held onto what he had left after his wealth and health and family were taken.  He did have his friends still and Job might have just fallen into synch with his friends to get some comfort, some relief.  Job did not - he was willing to antagonize his friends, all he had left, in order to pursue injustice.  Job is a "mensch" - he refuses to sell out his soul journey to relieve his pain.  Instead he pursues his quest for justice until the Almighty appears.

Today we take up an offering, Neighbors in Need, that supports agencies that fight for justice.  Basic needs like housing, nutritional food,  health care, and education to advance people beyond poverty, in the United States and across the globe.  The Children's Defense Fund is one such agency.

I know that some of you think there ought not be "politics" in the pulpit and you will never hear me say "Republicans" have the answer or "Democrats" have the answer, or Anarchists or Libertarians or any other particular political party.

On the other hand, politics is the means we have as citizens to advance our values - the values that Jesus lived and died for.  Politics is not the only means, but in a democratic nation like ours, the political system is an important way justice issues are meaningfully addressed.

Make no mistake about this - the values of Jesus Christ which we encounter though his life and teachings - these are always about justice, most notably in Matthew 25, where the sheep are separated from the goats at Judgment Day, based upon whether the needs of the poor were addressed - the hungry were fed (or not), the thirsty were satisfied (or not), the stranger was welcomed (or not), the naked were clothed (or not), the sick were tended (or not), and the incarcerated were visited (or not).  And Jesus' concluding comment follows:  Truly I tell you, just as you did it (or not) to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me (or not).

Pursuing justice has a claim on the life of anyone who wants to be a Christian and Job is one model of the pursuit of justice.  You may choose to act your Christian Creed in multiple ways - one is, surely, in our country, supporting political agendas that actually address the issues which Jesus demanded disciples respond to - hunger, housing, healthcare, immigration, prison systems.

Other ways we pursue justice include financial support through our church or other agencies that promote well being for the poor.  Voting with your pocketbook counts!  Voting with our time and talent counts as well - I am so glad to see the revival of our Thanksgiving Basket project, a way to respond to real needs in our community and an opportunity for us to BE disciples.

One ironic turn of events for Job, indeed the ultimate irony, is that in his pursuit of justice, Job receives, instead of an explanation, an encounter with the Living God.  That encounter is shocking and transforming.  And Job engages attentively and respectfully.  Indeed Job comes out more than just alive - Job comes out restored.

Do we permit ourselves encounters with the living magnificent God?  Or do we scramble off to tame enterprises of the mundane?

I will speak for myself here - on my list for the month is:  1.  Coach the Search Committee as they need me  2.  Prepare the Stewardship program for November  3.  Help the congregations' Personnel Committee address outdated job descriptions  4. Help promote the gathering of food for Thanksgiving baskets  5.  Equip our Finance Team with info on UCC loans and models for budgeting.  No where on my list is:  make myself available for an encounter with the magnificent living God.  I seemed to have left that off the list, have you, too?

Job pursues justice and he pursues an encounter with God.  Can we do less than Job?  I suppose we can, but our very souls are at stake.  Without the pursuit of justice and without the pursuit of a God encounter, our lives are shallow and meaningless;  precisely what Jesus came to save us from, lives that are so deprived of the Spirit of God that we fail to really live at all . . .  You might say a living death.

Next weekend, Friday evening and Saturday, Pastor Kelly Bedard and I will lead a program designed to enrich your spiritual life - to explore a deeper relationship with the Living God and an opportunity to practice and engage one another in Christian learning.  I hope you will join us and bring a friend.

Present yourselves to the living Presence and let that living Presence of God take hold of your life and then, like Job, you will be content to be dust, that very stuff which God transforms into heavenly beings who shout for joy.

And let the people say, "Amen"