witnesses for Jesus, 2.9.14

Revelation 6:9-11


9When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for the testimony they had given; 10they cried out with a loud voice, “Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will it be before you judge and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?” 11They were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number would be complete both of their fellow servants and of their brothers and sisters, who were soon to be killed as they themselves had been killed.



Revelation 11:1-13

Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Come and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample over the holy city for forty-two months.


3And I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for one thousand two hundred sixty days, wearing sackcloth.” 4These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5And if anyone wants to harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes; anyone who wants to harm them must be killed in this manner. 6They have authority to shut the sky, so that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have authority over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire.


7When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, 8and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that is prophetically called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.


9For three and a half days members of the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb; 10and the inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to the inhabitants of the earth. 11But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and those who saw them were terrified. 12Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies watched them. 13At that moment there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
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             Revelation talks a lot about witnesses and testimony. From the very beginning of the book the words echo over and over again. John introduces himself as a servant “who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ.” He offers the churches receiving his letter grace from Jesus Christ, “the faithful witness.” In chapter 12 we’re told Christians conquered Satan, “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” Clearly bearing witness is an important part of the Christian life for John, and testifying has the power to defeat Satan.

            What does it mean to be a witness? First, a witness has to experience something; they have to know it directly. Second, to be useful, they have to share that testimony with someone else, and they have to do it honestly. The two witnesses in the second passage probably represent the church, the people of God following Jesus. Testimony is the job of the whole church, not just people who we think of as preachers or prophets or evangelists. The church bears witness that God is love and Jesus is Lord.

            The passage doesn’t say much about the words the witnesses say, but we see that the message isn’t popular. To bear witness to Jesus as Lord means to go against the empire, to live life against the grain. These prophets are described as a torment to all the inhabitants of the earth. People are so glad to see them killed that they give each other presents to celebrate.

            Shared values define communities. For community to work smoothly, most members of that community need to agree to live by the same rules. In the Roman Empire pagan ritual and worship of the emperor expressed and reinforced the values people lived by. People believed that worshiping the Roman Gods insured the Gods’ blessings of peace and prosperity. Worshiping the emperor reminded people of their unity under Roman rule. Even though there were many differences throughout the vast empire, everyone followed one ruler, so there was unity.

             Christians messed up that unity by refusing to worship the Gods and refusing to worship the emperor. Some people worried Christians would encourage others to ignore the Gods as well and the Gods would respond by withholding their blessings or even cursing the empire.

            While Christians followed the law and obeyed the emperor and his representatives, they didn’t worship him, so people felt they couldn’t be trusted. They were seen as outsiders within the empire. Maybe that wouldn’t have been a big deal if Christians kept their faith to themselves and tried to fit in, but John is encouraging them to stand out and speak up. That is seen as disruptive and threatening to empire, so people get scared, angry and violent.

            John encouraged his readers to be faithful witnesses like Jesus. That same calling is ours to since we are also disciples of Jesus. The hardest part of this calling for many of us is imagining ourselves as witnesses in the first place. We were not alive when Jesus walked the earth, so how could we be witnesses?

            John wrote Revelation late in the first century, probably around 80 or 90. That means many, even most of John’s readers hadn’t been alive during Jesus’ life. Very few of them met Jesus in the flesh. In some really important ways John’s readers were like us: they trusted in Jesus even though they had never met him.

            So how could they be witnesses for Jesus? How could they testify that he was Lord? The key to John’s readers being witnesses is that they experienced Jesus as their Lord. They each had a moment when they chose to let Jesus run their life. They made that decision in a community that had made the same decision, a community full of people following a different path than the path of empire. In that community they learned about Jesus’ life. They heard from his original followers and from people those first disciples taught.

They practiced living based on Jesus’ teachings. They tried to love their neighbor and their enemies. They raised their children in the faith, even though they knew that was risky and strange. They read scripture, prayed together, sang hymns, listened to people interpret God’s word and shared stories of how God was working in the world.

As they lived in that community, Christ’s lordship became more and more real for them. Caesar still ran the empire; the world around them didn’t change, but in their lives individually and as a church, Jesus was Lord. The more they trusted that, the more real it became for them. And the more they allowed Jesus to be their Lord, the more the world made sense. As they lived it, it became almost obvious that at the end Jesus would judge the world with love and defeat the power of evil. One day everyone would see the truth they already knew, and the world would finally be at peace.

They testified for Jesus because they believed he truly was Lord. They had seen for themselves that life was better when they let Jesus lead. So they wanted others to experience that same peace and joy that they had.

I can testify to the same thing in my life. The more I try to follow Jesus the more sense the world makes, even when the world doesn’t make sense. I see that life really is better if we forgive other people. I truly am happier if I look out for others instead of just myself. My ministry works better when I let go of the steering wheel and trust Jesus to lead the way.

I also understand the story more the more time I spend with it. The more I watch human power, both religious and political, the more I understand why Jesus had to die. I see why the religious leaders and political leaders saw him as a threat, because he refused to live by their rules. It makes sense that religious and political leaders felt the same way about Jesus’ followers since they followed Jesus’ example. As they reached out to outcasts and ignored the rules about who was clean and unclean, they undermined the whole religious system.

The more I try to follow Jesus, the more things fall into place. I don’t get it right all the time. That’s how I know that grace is stronger than sin, because Jesus keeps picking me up and forgiving me when I fall down. And I see Jesus at work in this community. I see people who feel like the whole world is against them find a place of refuge here. I hear people say they have been accepted here. I hear stories like Bob’s story last week about the healing power of a visit from Santa. I listen to Donna talk about her new ministry caring for people at the end of life. I see the healing of Jesus taking place in this community, so I know that healing is real.

I also see people struggling. I see our church and other churches mess up. I see myself make mistakes. I see children left behind by society and let down by their families, so I know the power of evil is still at work. I know the dragon and the beast are still leading people astray. I feel the struggle of sin inside me and around us, so I know that struggle is real.

I know bearing witness to Jesus Christ can still cost us a lot. Caesar is still strong. It’s easier to fit in with the values of our time of everyone for themselves and bigger is better. It’s easier to ignore poverty when it doesn’t touch us. It’s easier to let kids in the city continue to fall further behind in school. It’s easier to turn away, lock our doors and decide it’s not our problem when gun violence claims another young life. It’s easier to believe the polarized left or the polarized right when they tell us they have the solution. It’s easier to keep our faith to ourselves and let Caesar be lord in the world around us.

But instead we are called to proclaim the truth: Jesus is Lord. We are Christ’s witnesses, or at least that’s part of our calling. Here’s the challenge. Most of us have witnessed something, some moment or word or experience that makes us believe that Jesus is Lord. But we’ve also seen things that make us wonder. Maybe we have a hard time really believing. Maybe we have the right combination of a little doubt and a little fear so it’s easier for us to live our faith quietly. Maybe we want to hedge our bets and keep peace with the empire around us.

There’s so much baggage attached to our faith that it’s hard to know what to believe. People say there’s only one way, that God is going to wipe out everyone who doesn’t believe the way we do. That doesn’t make sense if God is love. The Bible has terrible stories of violence, genocide, rape and murder. That doesn’t make sense if Jesus is the prince of peace. The Bible is our best witness to God’s story, but it’s so troubling. Does bearing witness to Jesus mean condemning people who are gay? Does it mean supporting the oppression of women?

There’s a lot to sort out in our faith and the guidance can be murky sometimes. I love the Bible like crazy, which means there are some parts of it I really dislike. And I’m pretty sure Christians are a bigger stumbling block for faith than atheists ever could be. The path of faithful witness isn’t always easy to see. But Jesus walked that path before you. God sent the Holy Spirit to us to help us know the truth so it can set us free. There’s no such thing as a perfect witness, but people need to hear the truth as you see it. They need to hear that you don’t have it all figured out, but you’re discovering what it means to follow Jesus and here’s why they might want to follow too.

The world needs your witness. The kingdom of peace and love grows stronger as we share the story of Jesus. The empire of indifference and injustice loses a little bit of ground when we act like Jesus is Lord. People are hungry for good news; will you give it to them? Will you seek in your heart to see what you really think is true so you can bear witness? Will you pray for guidance to experience the graceful rule of Jesus so you can tell others? Will you take one step today to let Jesus rule in your heart? I’m not promising you an easy road, but I can promise that the one who calls us is faithful. So open your heart, lift up your voice and follow with your actions as the chorus of witnesses grows stronger each day.

Thanks be to God.

Reflecting on the new year, 1.5.14

Lamentations 3:21-26

21But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; 23they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” 25The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. 26It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.


Psalm 90

1Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.

2Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

3You turn us back to dust, and say, “Turn back, you mortals.”

4For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past,

or like a watch in the night.

5You sweep them away; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning;

6in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.


7For we are consumed by your anger; by your wrath we are overwhelmed.

8You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your countenance.

9For all our days pass away under your wrath; our years come to an end like a sigh.

10The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;

even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.

11Who considers the power of your anger? Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.

12So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.

13Turn, O Lord! How long? Have compassion on your servants!

14Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,

so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
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One of the greatest strengths of the biblical faith we share with our Jewish neighbors is the ability to take in trouble and still rest in God’s care. We don’t read from Lamentations very often. As you might guess from the title, it’s sort of a depressing book.


Lamentations is a series of poems reflecting on the defeat and destruction of Jerusalem. It is heartbreaking poetry because the poet’s heart is broken. His city, not only his home, but the center of his religious and national life has been destroyed. The city lies in ruins. Many of the poet’s friends and family have probably been killed. The dead are still lying in the street.

The poet takes it all in and pours out his grief openly, mournfully and honestly. But right in the middle of this tragic book come the words we just read together: “But this I call to mind and so I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”


There’s no covering over the shame and pain and grief. There is no disguising or pretending about the hardship that is still to come. And yet, there is still hope. God’s mercies never end; God’s love shines through even in the darkest night. We fail and fall, we suffer and we grieve, we get sick and we die. Through it all, God is faithful. Through it all, God loves us.


God is with us when things are going well, even though sometimes we’re too busy to notice. God is with us when things are just plodding along, when things are neither great nor terrible but just status quo. God’s faithfulness is great; God is steady and constant.


At the same time as God is constant, God’s mercies are new every morning. Each morning brings new joys and new challenges. There are new places we need God’s help, new failings and hurts that need God’s mercies. So every morning, every moment, God is finding new ways to show grace and love and care; we just have to open our eyes, open our hearts and receive.


The Bible teaches us about God. It also teaches us about ourselves. The new year is a natural time to reflect on our lives, on how we’ve done in the last year and what we want to do with the year to come. Psalm 90 is a great New Year’s passage because it invites us to that reflection.


God is eternal, but we are not. We ignore that fact at our peril. Our culture is so scared of death and illness that we are unable to face those things honestly or well. Instead, we rush around trying to cram as much as we can into our time while almost denying the reality of death. I’ve seen families in the hospital refuse to admit that their loved one is dying even in their last days. Most patients don’t take full advantage of the extra care available through hospice services because patients, families and doctors keep battling death long after the outcome is clear.


The psalmist encourages us to count our days so we can gain wise hearts. That means that we need to think about our life, our days and weeks and years, knowing that they are limited. Our time on earth is precious because we don’t have forever.


The trouble is, sometimes when we think of our time as precious, it makes us stingy with it, and that’s different than taking it seriously. We want to be generous with our time, like with our money and energy. We want to give freely, partly because that means we enjoy them (our energy, time and money) more than if we clutch them with white knuckles. At the same time, we don’t want to throw away our days because we can’t ever get them back.


Having a wise heart is not just about being generous with our time either. It’s about knowing our time on earth is precious and limited, but also that our impact is limited. We are fragile and, in the grand scheme of things, nothing we do will last forever either. The psalmist imagines us returning to the dust from which we came and pictures our days like grass springing up in the morning and withering away at the end of the day. Our lives, our accomplishments, the things that seem so important in the moment are fragile and temporary.


At first that sounds discouraging; it almost makes us think, “Why bother?” But ultimately it is liberating. We tend to get caught up in ourselves, caught up in our work or our family struggles or our decisions. The stakes feel so high; everything feels like an emergency, so we rush around constantly trying to manage situations to keep them from getting out of hand.


Thinking about life from the perspective of God’s time frame reminds us of that in a thousand years, whatever we are so worried about now will not matter. No one is going to remember why we were so mad at someone else. No one will care about the church budget or the rent or the election.


The moment at hand is both precious and ephemeral; both important and fleeting. That means taking our time, our decisions, our work seriously because they are precious. It also means taking them with a grain of salt because none of it lasts forever. It seems like those two things are opposites, but they aren’t. Holding on to our time and decisions lightly actually helps us make the most of them because it helps us see them more clearly, while treating every issue like a crisis makes us more likely to mess up. In almost everything we do, humans perform better if we are relaxed.


That’s where our passages come together. Our lives are temporary and precious. God is trustworthy and loving. God is faithful in hard times and in good times, and, while our lives are short, we also have the chance to be part of the work of God’s kingdom, which is eternal. God calls us to share in building up community, in making life better for others, to work for peace and reconciliation. That can be as involved as starting a hospital and as simple as saying a kind word to a stranger. Our calling as disciples of Jesus touches every part of our lives. We’re freed from the anxiety of our own lives because it’s really not about us in the end.


The new year is a great time to step back and take a look at our life. How are we doing at trusting God? Are we spending our time in a way that fits with our true priorities? Are we treating others kindly, like their lives and feelings are precious? What do you want to do differently this year?


The new year is also a time to think about our life and future as a church. As you probably know, I’m leaving this coming summer. That’s sad for me to think about because I love serving with you; this is a wonderful church. We have been a good fit for each other and we have grown together. There’s going to be a time to say goodbye to each other, but now isn’t that time.


Now is the time to think about how to use the time we have together to get ready for what’s next. We’ll be talking about that the next couple of weeks, including right after worship. Pastoral transition has not always been kind to Laurelton, but here we have time to do it right. So think about what do we need to work on together to help you take the next steps with courage and confidence.


A church is not about a pastor. It’s about a community making God’s love real through relationships and ministry. It’s about finding ways to make God’s eternal faithfulness make sense to people in everyday actions and words. It’s about growing together in trust, in faith and in love. It’s about learning to trust each other, to be honest and open with each other and to treat each other like the precious children of God we are. It’s also about having fun together because the message of faith is good news for all people.


This church has so many of the gifts the wider church and the world needs. You are relaxed and able to absorb change, which equips you well for the world we live in. You are open to all kinds of people, so you can welcome the community and invite them in to God’s story. You are committed, generous givers of time and money and energy. You have the gifts you need to thrive in ministry. This next six months we will work together to consolidate and polish your gifts and to discern how God is calling you in the next step of your ministry.


In our lives as individual disciples and our life as a church, a new year is a new beginning. It’s also a small part of the great tapestry of God’s love. God has been faithful in the past and God will be faithful in the future. This moment is full of potential for joyful, exciting ministry. So let us number our days, gain a wise heart and rest in God’s endless grace as we spend the precious time God has given us.


Thanks be to God.

The light of Christ's truth, 12.15.13

1 John 1:5-10


5This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; 7but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.


1 John 3:14-19

14We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them.

16We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.17How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? 18Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. 19And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him



John 1:14, 16-19

14And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth…16From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.


John 8:31-37

31Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?”

34Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.35The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. 36So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word.
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We’re talking about truth and falsehood, truth and lies today. As I was figuring this sermon series and the scripture lessons out, I was not quite sure if the darkness here would be ignorance or lies. The Bible talks a lot about wisdom and knowledge, so there’s no shortage of insight we could look for in terms of overcoming ignorance and coming to know God.


There are many things we don’t know. We don’t know how long the world is going to last. We don’t know why bad things happen to good people. We don’t know how long we are going to be alive. We don’t know how to cure cancer or Alzheimer’s Disease or HIV. There are lots of important areas where we need more knowledge to conquer our ignorance and make the world a better, brighter place.


There’s a difference between ignorance and lies. My mom taught me when I was a kid that what makes a lie a lie is that someone says it on purpose. There’s a bad intention at the heart of a lie. A little beyond where our last passage ends, Jesus calls Satan the father of lies and says lies are Satan’s native language. Lying isn’t just incorrect, it’s wrong in a moral sense too.


Lies aren’t just a problem in our individual relationships. There are also lies deep in the fabric of our national beliefs that distort our vision of the world. Sometimes we know these lies aren’t true on the surface, but we hear them so often that they seep into our consciousness and mess us up without our even knowing they are there. These kinds of lies are sometimes the most dangerous, because we don’t even realize we’re being deceived.


So today we’re going to look at a few of the big lies that distort our life in the light of Jesus. Jesus comes as light in the darkness, bringing the light of truth into a world darkened by Satan’s lies.


Lie: “We’ve got it all together.” This lie comes up in many different forms. The heart of it is that we are doing fine on our own. One way we see this lie at work is in our instinct to put our best foot forward in church. When people ask how we’re doing we say we’re doing fine. We keep conversations at a surface level because we don’t want people to see what our real struggles are.


This lie is especially tricky, because we usually know it’s not true. We don’t feel like we have it all together, but we think maybe, if we work hard enough at looking like we have it together we’ll get by. That means we stress and struggle to present the right appearance while we’re terrified our whole life will collapse or someone will figure out that we are not who we appear to be.


We imagine too that real sin is something outside. We think about murderers or famous people whose moral failings are obvious. Sometimes instead of that we think about the things we imagine we have no control of. We think about the fact that we don’t have enough time or money, and say to ourselves that those things keep us from being the people we feel like we should be.


Truth: “If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We can’t be healed if we aren’t honest about our disease. We’ve got time each worship service to open up to God in silent prayer about where sin is tying us up. What do you ask God’s healing for? Are you keeping your relationship with God too safe? Are you just “confessing” things like, “I wish I had more time.” Or I’m sorry I said that word I shouldn’t have said.”


Are you really letting God into the places of your life where you need deep change? “God, I’m trapped by my need to be a good guy.” “Lord, I’m so caught up in having the right things and finding the right presents for my kids that I’m forgetting what your birth is really about.” “God, open my heart to the people I’m having trouble truly accepting as my brothers and sisters.” “Jesus, help me trust that you are real, that you really love me and that I can build my life on your teachings.” “I need your grace to free me from my guilt about the past.”


If we confess our sins, if we stop dancing around the edges of the real problems in our life and let God in, God will forgive us. Not only that, the blood of Jesus, the pure, loving sacrifice he made for us will cleanse us from all our sins and free us from what’s wrong with us. If we let him, Christ will change us, slowly maybe, but surely, more and more into his image.


Let’s shift gears a little bit; how about this lie: “Faith is what we believe. As long as we believe the right things, we’re OK with God.” A variation on this is when we struggle with our faith because we aren’t sure we believe the right things and we let that struggle distract us from what our faith calls us to do. Maybe you aren’t sure how much you “believe in” the Bible since it was written by humans so long ago. Or maybe the miracles Jesus did just seem so hard to believe that they block your engagement with the rest of the story. Or maybe you’re just not sure about heaven and hell. Because you’re not sure about those beliefs you can’t commit to following Jesus.


Truth: “We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.”


The Christian faith is about love more than anything else. That means, first,you can struggle all you want with the beliefs of Christianity. Honestly, if you keep working on living your faith, putting your values in action, while you read or listen to scripture, those beliefs will either become clearer to you or they’ll become less important.


My biggest struggles with my faith were about biblical truth. I worried that I couldn’t be a Christian if I wasn’t sure about everything the Bible says. The more I focus on the heart of the gospel, which is God’s amazing love for us, the less I worry about the details of whether Jesus really fed 5000 people with loaves and fishes. Interestingly too, the more I read the Bible and practice my faith, the more I see that the Bible speaks the truth even if I don’t think everything necessarily happened the way the Bible tells it.


God’s word speaks truth about what love means. It tells how a community should work. It reminds us that God wants to bring the world back to wholeness and peace. Don’t let your questions about what the Bible says distract you from what you know scripture calls you to do. Honestly, it’s not that complicated: Love God, which basically means open yourself to the creator, higher power, savior, Spirit, and make those deep values the actual priority in your life instead of just a side note, and love other people in a real and meaningful way.


God shows us the best image of love in Jesus’ life and death for us. That doesn’t mean we’re called to act like martyrs, but it does mean we are called to sacrifice our comfort for others. The more we do that, the more we will find freedom and grace in community.


What we believe is important, but it’s always evolving. Where our faith really matters is in how we put it into action. The details are less important than the center. Do your actions, the day to day way you live your life, reflect that love is the center of the universe? Take one step closer to that goal today and another tomorrow.


Lie: “I’ve got to get mine/I worked hard for what I have. So people who don’t have much need to work harder.” There are lots of variations on this one, but the basic idea is that our economic success is what gives us value or shows our value. Related to this is the idea that hard work is how we succeed and get ahead in the world. Like most deeply destructive lies, this one has some truth to it. Hard work is important and good, but there are people who work harder than you do who are much less successful.


Also related to this lie are other lies about how our society values people. One lie is that our society is a level playing field. In fact, prejudice and injustice are still alive and well. Women are paid less for the same job as men. Racial and ethnic minorities face serious barriers to success that white people don’t even have to think about. The people at the top in society make the rules, and those rules almost always benefit the people who make them.


Truth: “How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.” It sometimes seems easier to just go along with the rules of the world that we have learned. It’s easier to let prejudice slide or allow the unpopular people to be bullied or ignored. The powers in the world we see are too strong, so it’s easier to just go along to get along.


The truth is that God loves all of us. Each of us is equal in God’s sight and at the same time, there is a special place in God’s heart for the poor and oppressed. That’s a big part of the story of Christmas. God didn’t choose a palace or a wealthy family for Jesus’ birth. Instead, the Lord of creation was born to poor parents in a stable. The truth of the gospel is that God sees the world differently than we do. God sees each of us truly, no matter what lies we tell others or even ourselves. God loves each of us and wants us to repent and be free from the lies that keep us enslaved to the world’s injustice, hatred, prejudice and fear.


God calls us to put our love and faith in action by reaching out to others. We’ve got some great opportunities to do that with our angel tree and Christmas baskets. We can also do that by supporting our work with Cameron and by supporting the work of the church as a whole. Laurelton is not the most efficient charity in the world, but we are a place where people can come together from different backgrounds to form real community. That community needs resources to function and we can all be a part of that.


Amidst all the lies that we tell ourselves and that our culture tells us, Jesus breaks in as light in the darkness. He says as we continue to follow him, “You will know the truth and the truth will make you free.” As we break free from the chains of false expectations and false demands, we step into the truth of loving community and a world being made whole by God’s amazing love. This Advent we prepare for the coming of God’s perfect love in the form of a baby. So with trust and honesty, let us make space in our hearts to welcome the Christ child.


Thanks be to God.

Christ, the light of justice, 12.8.13

Isaiah 5:1-10

Let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. 2He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; he expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. 3And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?


5And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. 6I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 7For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting; he expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry!


8Ah, you who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is room for no one but you, and you are left to live alone in the midst of the land! 9The Lord of hosts has sworn in my hearing: Surely many houses shall be desolate, large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.10For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield a mere ephah.




Isaiah 10:20-23

20On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on the one who struck them, but will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. 22For though your people Israel were like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. 23For the Lord God of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in all the earth.



Luke 1:39-56

39In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”


46And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 52He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; 53he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. 54He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” 56And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

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            We spent the six weeks before Advent talking about suffering and how our faith fits into that. Suffering is part of the human condition. It’s part of the darkness that hangs over our lives and makes it harder to see each other and to see God. Related to suffering, there are other forces that make our lives darker than they should be: injustice, oppression, lies, despair, and doubt, to name a few.

            The incarnation, the conviction that in Jesus, God became human and lived with us, is all about God stepping into our dark world as a light of hope, love, joy, peace, comfort, and truth. During Advent we wait and prepare for Christ’s light to come. Carl started us on our Advent journey last week by introducing how Christ comes as light in the darkness. In the three weeks to come we’ll look at some of the specific areas of darkness we face, and how Christ brings light to those places. As usual, the areas we’ll cover are not the whole story; there are more dark places in our lives than the three we’ll talk about, but by digging deeply into these, we should gain the insight we need to imagine how Christ can lighten other areas of darkness too.

            First: a word on Advent. Advent is a season of preparation. The mystery of the incarnation, the mystery of God becoming flesh is too amazing to take in just at Christmas. The reality of God’s kingdom, which we see in Christ and trust will totally transform the world one day, demands preparation. We have to get ready to embrace the Christ child. We have to get ready to embrace God’s loving kingdom by giving our hearts and lives space to be transformed by grace.

            A big part of that is repentance. The forces of darkness are so strong that they have warped all of us. Even though as people of faith we know better, we are still part of the darkness that fills our world. We need to change, we need to repent and let go of that darkness so we can be ready to welcome God’s kingdom in Christ.

            This week we’re focusing on preparing for Jesus as the light of justice in a world darkened by injustice and oppression. Justice is one of the most important themes in the whole Bible. It’s closely related to the idea of judgment, and also, maybe surprisingly, related to God’s love. The prophets of the Old Testament were tireless voices for God’s justice in their society, and they often suffered for it.

When we set up communities, whether that community is a church, a city or a nation, there will be people with more power than others. That’s not a problem if the people in power are committed to making sure that everyone is treated fairly, has a voice and has what they need. The trouble comes when the people in power look out for themselves at the expense of others. As a community becomes more unjust, the people in power not only neglect the needs of others as they pursue their own interests, they also take advantage of weaker members of the community to get further and further ahead.

That process means the darkness of injustice is closely tied to the power structure in a system, so it quickly gets imbedded in the status quo. When prophets criticize, the powerful people who benefit from that injustice counter by accusing the prophets of attacking the community’s values and being a threat to society. The prophet Jeremiah was locked up and almost killed for criticizing the leadership in Jerusalem. Amos was told to leave the holy city of Bethel because he spoke against the King of Israel. Protest against injustice is often seen by people in power and by others as unpatriotic.

No matter what the response, true love is honest. Prophets see what a community could and should be and use that vision to challenge where the community falls short so it can become better. Nelson Mandela is a great example of that kind of prophetic love. He imagined a South Africa for all its citizens, where everyone would have the right to vote and the chance to succeed. With that vision he criticized the apartheid state that deprived the black majority of their rights and their voice. For that, he was condemned as a traitor to his nation and jailed for 27 years.

As the world and nation came more in line with Mandela’s vision, he and other political prisoners were released. Not long afterwards, democracy came to South Africa and the “traitor” was elected president, because his criticism was about building a better nation, not tearing the nation down.

Israel and Judah were special nations because they were formed by God’s calling, not just by human political processes. Their constitution was God’s law, which meant that a deep concern for the wellbeing of all, especially the poor and vulnerable, was right at their heart from the beginning. The light of God’s justice was a key part of their guidance system. At the same time, Israel and Judah were like every other nation because the powerful used their power to make life better for them, often at the expense of the poor. The darkness of human selfishness started to spread over the chosen people of God.

Isaiah was one of God’s prophets sent to call Judah back to God’s path. The parable Donna read was one way Isaiah tried to help the people see where they were going wrong. The parable talks about God building up the nation, giving it everything it needed to thrive and produce a just society. Despite all God’s care, the nation produced injustice and oppression instead of righteousness and faithfulness, so God sent Judah into exile.

The good news is that exile isn’t the end. Some of the most profound insights in scripture are the fruit of exile or other times of trouble. Many of the Psalms were written in exile as were many of the most powerful passages of the book we now call Isaiah.

Like Israel and the prophets, the church is called to embody God’s justice and love, which is good news especially for the poor. Mary’s song of praise is a great example of God’s calling for the community of faith. We are called to be part of God turning the world upside down. That’s not going to be comfortable, but it is going to give us a new opportunity to fulfill our calling as God’s people. Like Israel, the church can find great power in losing the power we cling to today. At the end of exile we may be only a remnant, only a small part of what we once were in terms of size, but we will be a faithful remnant.

We can’t come into the light unless we recognize that we’re standing in the darkness. Isaiah’s words, Mary’s words and Advent itself call us to see the dark places in ourselves and our community. We are tempted by the selfishness we see around us. We’re tempted to fit in with a culture that measures people’s value by their possessions. The economic comfort we might have is connected to the injustice that poisons our community. We all need to repent, and Advent is a great opportunity for that.

Even as we repent, while we still struggle with our role in injustice, God calls us to be honest and bold in seeking justice for all. We all have different gifts, different ways to follow God’s calling today.

We saw one example in Nate VanLoon’s campaign for family court judge. Nate saw an opportunity to use his gifts to be a voice for justice for kids and families. Even though the election didn’t turn out the way he had hoped, God can still use the conversations he had to plant seeds of justice. Sally’s work for justice in New Orleans is another good example of using our gifts to bring God’s light in dark places. So is the work we do with UPT on issues of urban poverty, education and gun violence.

Ella, Karen Kingsbury, Bob Hicks, Marino and Joyce have or will have a hand in a grant we’re working on with Cameron to improve church collaboration on hunger in the city. That complements our existing service with Cameron that many of us participate in here. Our ministries in our neighborhood, especially Café and our new clothing ministry: Simple Blessings Boutique, connect us directly with people who are often left in the darkness. As we continue and strengthen those ministries we’ll learn more about how injustice works in our society and how we can follow God’s calling to be the light of justice.

Mary heard God’s call to bear a child, a savior for Israel and the world. She heard that call and knew this new life growing inside her was part of God’s plan to lift up the lowly and bring down the powerful. She saw God’s just kingdom shining like light in the darkness, and she opened herself to all the danger, joy and pain that comes from lining ourselves up with God’s calling.

With Mary, Elizabeth and Isaiah, we hear God’s call to justice. This Advent time of prayer, singing, prayer and candles gives us space to prepare our hearts for God’s kingdom. Take time this moment, this afternoon, this week to seek out the darkness of injustice in yourself. Take time to look for the ways societies warped priorities have gotten your soul out of joint. Ask God to come into your heart, to lighten your darkness and give you strength to repent. With penitent hearts and courageous faith we can be open to the light of God’s justice shining like a star over the barn in Bethlehem.

Thanks be to God.

Job: trust and comfort in hard times

Job 13:1-12

“Look, my eye has seen all this, my ear has heard and understood it. ²What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you. ³But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God. ⁴As for you, you whitewash with lies; all of you are worthless physicians. ⁵If you would only keep silent, that would be your wisdom! ⁶Hear now my reasoning, and listen to the pleadings of my lips.

⁷Will you speak falsely for God, and speak deceitfully for him? ⁸Will you show partiality toward him, will you plead the case for God? ⁹Will it be well with you when he searches you out? Or can you deceive him, as one person deceives another? ¹⁰He will surely rebuke you if in secret you show partiality. ¹¹Will not his majesty terrify you, and the dread of him fall upon you? ¹²Your maxims are proverbs of ashes, your defenses are defenses of clay.

Job 15:1-6

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered: ²“Should the wise answer with windy knowledge, and fill themselves with the east wind? ³Should they argue in unprofitable talk, or in words with which they can do no good? ⁴But you are doing away with the fear of God, and hindering meditation before God. ⁵For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the crafty. ⁶Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; your own lips testify against you.

Job 16:1-5

Then Job answered: ²“I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all. ³Have windy words no limit? Or what provokes you that you keep on talking? ⁴I also could talk as you do, if you were in my place; I could join words together against you, and shake my head at you. ⁵I could encourage you with my mouth, and the solace of my lips would assuage your pain.

Job 19:1-6, 19-27

Then Job answered: ²“How long will you torment me, and break me in pieces with words? ³These ten times you have cast reproach upon me; are you not ashamed to wrong me? ⁴And even if it is true that I have erred, my error remains with me. ⁵If indeed you magnify yourselves against me, and make my humiliation an argument against me, ⁶know then that God has put me in the wrong, and closed his net around me.

¹⁹All my intimate friends abhor me, and those whom I loved have turned against me. ²⁰My bones cling to my skin and to my flesh, and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth. ²¹Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has touched me! ²²Why do you, like God, pursue me, never satisfied with my flesh?

²³“O that my words were written down! O that they were inscribed in a book! ²⁴O that with an iron pen and with lead they were engraved on a rock forever! ²⁵For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; ²⁶and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God, ²⁷whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!

Job 40:6-14

⁶Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: ⁷“Gird up your loins like a man; I will question you, and you declare to me. ⁸Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be justified? ⁹Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?

¹⁰“Deck yourself with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor. ¹¹Pour out the overflowings of your anger, and look on all who are proud, and abase them. ¹²Look on all who are proud, and bring them low; tread down the wicked where they stand. ¹³Hide them all in the dust together; bind their faces in the world below. ¹⁴Then I will also acknowledge to you that your own right hand can give you victory.

Job 42:1-8

Then Job answered the Lord: ²“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ³‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ⁴‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you declare to me.’ ⁵I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; ⁶therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

⁷After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. ⁸Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has done.”

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            We talked last week about how hard it is to hold together the truth of faith with the challenges of the world. Today we dig a little further into that in two different directions. In the passages I just read, Job argues that his friends are tormenting him, pursuing him like God to make him suffer. He puts the blame for his suffering squarely on God’s shoulders.

            At the same time, even while facing all the horror of his suffering and the sense of being pursued instead of cared for by God, Job also longs for God to be his redeemer. He trusts that despite everything going on, despite all the suffering he has to deal with, one day he will still see God face to face. Even though God has tormented him, Job trusts that God will build him up in the end.

            That’s an amazing act of faith. Even though Job didn’t know anything about the cross, his faith fits right in with our faith that centers on Jesus and the cross. On the cross we see Jesus, innocent and suffering for us by God’s command. Jesus says in the same scene, “God, why have you forsaken me,” and, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” The true faith of Jesus, the faith of Job, and the faith of the church at its best is a faith that can absorb great suffering honestly and still cling to the hope of God’s love triumphing in the end.

            That’s not a rosy, cheerful faith that denies trouble or suffering. It’s not a cynical faith that just gives up on the world and on grace as the ultimate truth. Instead, it’s a strong, honest, durable faith that sees all the pain and trouble of life, and still holds on to love.

            Job has been wishing for an opportunity to confront and question God for much of the book, and in the last few chapters he finally gets his wish. God appears and questions Job. God points out the unimaginable scope of his power and knowledge. On one hand, this discussion doesn’t really answer Job’s question about why God is making him suffer. That’s frustrating from a perspective of justice and fairness. We want God to explain why Job has suffered so much, but God doesn’t deliver.

            On the other hand, the discussion does give us one important answer, which is that there are some things, many things even, that are simply beyond our understanding. The human hunger for understanding is an important part of our make up; we need to seek the truth in many areas of our lives, including in our spiritual life. At the same time, we are not going to understand everything.

            More importantly than that, God vindicates Job against his friends’ accusations. Instead of condemning Job for asking questions, he condemns Job’s friends for blindly defending God’s justice. God does want us to ask our questions. And God values our honest engagement more than saying what we think God wants to hear. We’re called to love God with all our heart and mind and strength; that means we can bring all our questions and fears and emotions to the altar.

            Our lesson from Job’s part in this passage is that he’s right to bring his full honesty, his unfiltered feelings to God. He also shows us how to trust even when he’s angry and sad and confused. Those are all lessons we need to hear, because there are plenty of times we are sad and angry, confused and afraid. We can bring all those feelings to God without worrying that he will reject us for that. We can learn to trust even when we don’t understand.

            The other important lesson in these passages is how to be a friend when someone is going through hard times. We get this lesson especially from Job’s argument with his friends. Job’s friends argue that Job’s extreme anger and his harsh words threaten faith in God. Job, on the other hand accuses them of being dishonest in their defense of God. Instead of listening to Job’s version of the truth, they are saying whatever they think will make God look good.

            When I’m honest, I know I sometimes do the same thing Job’s friends. I try to make God look good. God doesn’t need us to defend him. We don’t need to talk people out of being angry with God. When people are suffering we just need to be with them, to be compassionate and show that we care. That will do more to help people see God’s love and justice than any amount of intellectual defense of God we could ever do anyway. More importantly, it will help our friends get through hard times and know they are not alone.

            Job says if he were in the place of his friends and they were suffering it would be easy to condemn them, but instead he’d use his words to build them up and comfort them. That’s our calling when people we know are suffering. We can’t always help in a practical way: we can’t take away the pain when someone’s child or parent dies; we can’t hire them when they lose a job or cure them when they face a terrible illness. But we can comfort them. We can sit with them and hold their hand. We can listen to them cry or scream or complain. We can pray with them, if they want, or we can just be quiet and remind them that they are not alone.

            Suffering isn’t so much an intellectual question to be figured out; it’s an emotional situation to be lived through and cared for. When someone asks, “Why does God let me suffer like this,” in some ways they are really asking, “Am I alone when I suffer?” We often don’t know the answer to the “Why” question, but we can show them that they are not alone. As Job points out, the isolation that goes along with suffering is as bad as the suffering itself.

            That’s why our care ministries in the church are so important. Illness and aging can both be very isolating. As people get into their late 80s and 90s, they lose friends to death and often lose some of their independence in terms of driving and being able to do the activities that have meant a lot to them. As people stop being able to do things, they also see fewer people and feel more alone. It takes more energy for them to get to church, and so they manage to get here less often. That means they miss major opportunities to see people and their relationships weaken. That, in turn, makes them less likely to make the effort to get to church and a vicious cycle begins.

            Extended communion, home visits, cards and phone calls to our members who have a hard time getting to church helps keep them connected. It reminds them that they are not alone, that their community hasn’t forgotten them. That’s a critical part of being the church in the world and being a friend for someone who is suffering.

            The same is true for our Saturday morning café and other ministries of fellowship. Our society today is very isolating in general. Many of us drive to do most of our errands, park in a drive way or garage and go right from our car to our house. That means we don’t often interact with our neighbors, so those relationships are pretty weak. For those who live in less safe neighborhoods than this one, there are even more reasons to stay in the house, but the less people know their neighbors the more crime.

            Imagine your life without family, without work and without a church. First, you might say, “Wow, that sounds relaxing; think how much free time I’d have.” But imagine the isolation of giving up those relationships. Now imagine the extra financial pressure to stay home created by unemployment. Many of our neighbors feel these pressures, and they feel alone as they face that uncertain future.

Our Saturday Café steps into the picture by offering people a safe, warm place to hang out. We offer friendly faces and good food. For some folks the meal makes a big difference, but more importantly, it provides real community for many people who spend much of their week alone. Community is so important, especially when we suffer, and of course, we all suffer.

            We see a vision of the church emerging as we look at what Job and his friends do right and wrong. The church is called to be a community where people are supported to explore faith. Even when we don’t agree with how someone sees God, we’re called to give them space to express and explore their faith. As we explore openly, even expressing anger, confusion and pain, we see glimpses of God’s truth and we grow in faith.

            We’re also called to be friends to those who suffer. We do that at Laurelton through ministries of care, through outreach and fellowship activities and through direct service ministries like mission trips, tutoring, Habitat, serving at Cameron and sharing Christmas baskets with neighbors in need. A lot of our best care happens informally as we simply get to know each other better by spending time together. As we deepen our relationships we’ll move from sharing polite conversation to sharing deep concerns with one another.

           

            The more we truly engage with our neighbors and with our brothers and sisters in Christ, the more we will deepen our own faith. That will enable us, like Job, to trust God even when everything is going wrong. From that place of deep faith we can bear witness to our hope in God even as we listen to people in deep pain without trying to defend God or talk them out of their sorrow. With Job, we will be able to say, “I know that my redeemer lives.” And we will be able to share that redemption with a community in need of love.

Thanks be to God.

Job, suffering, faith and truth, 10.20.13

Job 3:1-7, 10-11, 20-22

After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. ²Job said: ³“Let the day perish in which I was born, and the night that said, ‘A man-child is conceived.’ ⁴Let that day be darkness! May God above not seek it, or light shine on it. ⁵Let gloom and deep darkness claim it. Let clouds settle upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. ⁶That night—let thick darkness seize it! let it not rejoice among the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the months. ⁷Yes, let that night be barren; let no joyful cry be heard in it… ¹⁰because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb, and hide trouble from my eyes.

¹¹“Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire?... ²⁰“Why is light given to one in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, ²¹who long for death, but it does not come, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures; ²²who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad when they find the grave?

Job 4:1-11, 5:12-19

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered: ²“If one ventures a word with you, will you be offended? But who can keep from speaking? ³See, you have instructed many; you have strengthened the weak hands. ⁴Your words have supported those who were stumbling, and you have made firm the feeble knees. ⁵But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches you, and you are dismayed. ⁶Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?

⁷“Think now, who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? ⁸As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. ⁹By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed. ¹⁴They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope at noonday as in the night. ¹⁵But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth, from the hand of the mighty. ¹⁶So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.

¹⁷“How happy is the one whom God reproves; therefore do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. ¹⁸For he wounds, but he binds up; he strikes, but his hands heal. ¹⁹He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no harm shall touch you.

Job 21:1-14

Then Job answered: ²“Listen carefully to my words, and let this be your consolation. ³Bear with me, and I will speak; then after I have spoken, mock on. ⁴As for me, is my complaint addressed to mortals? Why should I not be impatient? ⁵Look at me, and be appalled, and lay your hand upon your mouth. ⁶When I think of it I am dismayed, and shuddering seizes my flesh.

⁷Why do the wicked live on, reach old age, and grow mighty in power? ⁸Their children are established in their presence, and their offspring before their eyes. ⁹Their houses are safe from fear, and no rod of God is upon them. ¹⁰Their bull breeds without fail; their cow calves and never miscarries. ¹¹They send out their little ones like a flock, and their children dance around. ¹²They sing to the tambourine and the lyre, and rejoice to the sound of the pipe. ¹³They spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to Sheol.

¹⁴They say to God, ‘Leave us alone! We do not desire to know your ways. ¹⁵What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’ ¹⁶Is not their prosperity indeed their own achievement? The plans of the wicked are repugnant to me.

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            Job is a challenging and wonderful book. It’s got a beginning and an end to tell the story and the rest of the book is basically poetry. The different characters argue with each other, or rather, Job’s friends argue with him. They come to comfort him, but they can’t take the raw emotion of Job’s grief and they worry that his claims of injustice go against God.

            Religion taught that good people were rewarded and bad people were punished. We still generally think that in some way. We may call it Karma or say “what goes around, comes around,” but some part of us wants to believe that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. It’s not just a religious belief, but a cultural one as well. We know it’s not true all the time, but we still want to believe it will all get sorted out correctly in the end.

            Job and his friends all make good points. They all make good points that echo other parts of the Bible and resonate with our own experience. I remember the first time I really read Job was in college. I wrote down a quote from almost every page. There’s some really wise stuff being said in this book and powerful poetry to go with it.

            That’s the irony of the book: each speaker makes good points, but they never come to an understanding. That’s the irony of suffering in general and why it’s so difficult for us to deal with. It just doesn’t make sense. We can’t understand it; we feel like serious, innocent suffering makes a mockery of everything holy we want to believe in.

            People of every religious background and level of commitment get hung up on this question. How can God be all-powerful and loving and still allow such terrible suffering? It doesn’t make sense; we can’t wrap our heads around it.

            So we try to figure it out. We come up with explanations like Job’s friends. Maybe your kids sinned, so God punished them. Maybe God is using this experience to lead you away from sin and make you even better. Maybe it’s a test of your faith. Maybe you’re not as innocent as you claim to be, after all, everyone sins. Everything happens for a reason.

            There’s truth in all the discussion. Scripture often talks about how God’s correction and discipline leads us to greater faithfulness. And we know the best of us still fall short sometimes. Job’s friends have their heart in the right place. The first seven days they spent with him they simply sat with him in silence to comfort him. Even in our second passage, when Eliphaz responds to Job for the first time, we can see that he wants to be encouraging and comforting. He tries to be gentle, but he’s also afraid.

            He’s afraid because grief as powerful as Job’s is hard to face. Job is in such despair he not only wishes he were dead, he wishes he had never been born and wants to erase his birthday from the universe. It’s hard to face raw emotion like that. More than that, Job’s deep suffering threatens the theological order of the universe. There are a few questions like that, questions that have the potential to shatter our understanding of the world or God or faith. Questions like why is there suffering? Is God real? Is the Bible true? These questions shake the foundations of our world, so we turn away from them.

It’s much easier to face the world with certainty. It’s much easier to get up in the morning if we understand the basic rules. For Job’s friends one important rule of the world was that living a righteous life led to success. And that rule had been working really well for Job too; he was very righteous and very successful. He was someone a parent could point to and tell their children, “If you follow God’s commandments and treat other people with justice, God will take care of you like he takes care of Job.”

            So when all that falls apart; when Job’s world collapses, what is the parent supposed to tell the child? What are the friends supposed to tell themselves? It’s much easier to look for a reason for Job’s suffering; so Job’s friends keep looking for a fault in Job with increasing desperation. Without a reason for Job’s suffering they are faced with a world that doesn’t make sense.

Job refuses to accept those answers. He says, “Look at me and be appalled.” He is exhibit A. As much as his friends want Job’s suffering to make sense, he hasn’t gone off the path of God’s commandments. The narrator confirms it too; right from the beginning we’re told that there was no one as righteous as Job. Even God lifts up Job as an example of what a human should be.

            Now, of course, in real life Job’s claim is dangerous because none of us is perfect. And Job’s friends are on to something: the first thing we should take a look at when things go wrong for us is how we might be contributing to the problem. But the truth of Job’s complaint is inescapable too; sometimes terrible things happen to people for no good reason. Sometimes suffering is simply unfair, unjust and incomprehensible.

            Too often the wicked do prosper. We see so many examples of people getting ahead by cutting corners or taking advantage of other people that it doesn’t even surprise us anymore. We see companies profit by destroying the environment. We see corrupt leaders who live out a comfortable retirement even when they are removed from power.

            Too often the innocent suffer. Ask the mother whose two year old was killed by a random bullet through the window. Ask the children starving in the mountains of Syria or the toddlers growing weak from malaria in South Sudan. Too often the innocent suffer, and too often the wicked thrive. The easy answers don’t do justice to the heartrending facts.

            So what are we supposed to do with all that? Honestly, I don’t have a great answer, at least as far as airtight logic goes. We can sympathize with Job’s friends who try so desperately to uphold the rules of religion as they have been taught. They are afraid of offending God, so they argue on God’s behalf, defending God’s justice. They are also afraid of the possibility Job’s suffering represents, afraid that if the rules they trust of reward and punishment aren’t really true, then maybe the whole foundation of their life is false too.

            That fear leads to rigid faith. It leads to a fear that if we allow any questioning of our core beliefs, we will lose everything. It’s a fear of looking closely at the world because we’re afraid what we will see is not what our religion tells us should be there.

On the other hand, we can imagine a universe ruled only by the laws of physics and biology but no moral law. We can imagine a universe where evil goes unpunished and good goes unrewarded. There’s a logical appeal to that too because then what we see is what we get. There are no mysterious forces at work and no ruler at all; we’re on our own. That view can easily lead to cynicism, resigning ourselves to the worst possible view of the world to protect ourselves from disappointment. We can give up our sense that the world should be better.

            The trouble is those theories don’t do justice to the moral light we know is in us. We can’t prove it, but we feel deep down the desire to do good. We feel better when we help each other than when we hurt each other. We have a sense of right and wrong at our core, and our instinct tells us that moral intelligence reflects our creator. When we read in scripture that God is love, it strikes a chord in our soul; it makes sense to us. We long for it to be true and it is. We see that love in the goodness of creation at the beginning, and in the full redemption of the world promised at the end. We see God’s love especially in the amazing, grace-filled ministry of Jesus and in his courageous, innocent death on the cross.

            Instead of being rigid in his faith and refusing the evidence or being cynical about the world and giving up faith’s power, Job takes a brave middle way. He sees the world as it is, but also as it should be. He proclaims that what is happening isn’t right. He calls out for justice and refuses to be silenced even by his friends telling him he is wrong.

            Job wrestles with the painful uncertainty of not understanding. He doesn’t resolve the tension by letting go of his faith or his grasp of the truth. He doesn’t understand why these terrible things have happened to him, but he knows they are. He refuses to adjust his sense of reality to religious teaching to make things clearer. Instead he demands truth and justice from God.

            He holds on to his faith and to his sense of right and wrong. Even as voices his rage about the wicked at peace, he goes on to say that the way of the wicked is repugnant to him. Even if it does work, even if evil isn’t punished and good doesn’t profit Job, he holds on to good and turns away from evil. Whatever happens, he knows God calls him to be righteous. That’s who he is; that’s the character he has build on a foundation of faith. It’s not the rigid foundation that needs to be right and fit reality to it’s vision. It’s not a soft foundation that goes along with whatever is going on, right or wrong. Instead it’s a firm foundation flexible enough to absorb that the world is not always what it should be, but solid enough to push away from cynicism or relativism.

            Job’s courage is a model we need now. It’s the courage to face the world without having all the answers. It’s the courage to hold on to faith and to hold on to truth. It’s the courage to speak out against injustice even without having all the answers. Job’s courage doesn’t free him from trouble, and our courage won’t either, but it will allow us to face trouble with integrity and to stay faithful even when the way isn’t clear. That’s a courage we need today and always.

Thanks be to God.