Considering Faith

By Ben Cluff, Lay Preacher
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May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. 

Good morning, I invite us to consider our reading from the Book of Job, this morning. 
We will be reading from the Book of Job for the next few weeks. I will take a page from Heather’s book and say that this consideration, today, may prompt more questions than answers. 

We begin with the first verse of the first chapter of Job; "There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” 

It sounds as if it begins as that of a fairy tale or fable, eh? We'd know that there is no historical place called Uz. Some have described the Book of Job as being similar or in the form of operable. A parable being, “ a short, simple story from which a moral lesson may be drawn.” More than one moral lesson may be drawn from Job’s tale, but I do not think it could be described as short and simple. There have been, and continue to be, many and varied interpretations of the Book of Job. 

To put this book in context; it has been described and categorized as being known as “wisdom literature”, along with the Books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. 

According to the New Oxford Annotated Bible, "Wisdom literature describes works that share, as their focus, reflection on universal concerns, especially the understanding of individual experiences and the maintenance of ordered relationships that lead both to success on the human plane and to divine approval. ”This is different from the Historical and Prophetic books of the
Old Testament. In Job there is no mention of the covenant, no focus on the nation of Israel and its historical memories as the Exodus from Egypt or Jerusalem and the Temple. 

The focus will be on this upright man Job. In the weeks to come, we will hear from Job, the friends of Job, we will hear from God and Job’s responses to both friends and God. 

This week we learn of Job as a man, blameless and upright. Job had a very, very good life - 10 children, 7 sons and 3 daughters, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 hundred yoke of oxen, 500hundred donkeys and many servants. His children would often get together for feasts with one another. He was a man of good standing in his community. 

We meet Job today after he has lost all of his livestock, most of his servants, and all of his children have died. All sons and daughters were having a feast together when a tremendous wind came up and toppled the building in which they were feasting. 

So all of this loss was suffered by Job, prior to him being inflicted with loathsome sores, from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. We encounter him scraping these sores with a shard of pottery, sitting in an ash heap. 

So, how did all of this misfortune fall upon Job? …as the result of a conversation between God and Satan, the Satan. I say the Satan because in this Old Testament Book and parable, Satan is not the demon of the New Testament. The Satan is one of a number of heavenly beings, a heavenly council or court, if you prefer. 

In Hebrew Satan can mean to accuse, to indict, or to be hostile towards. The Satan or The Accuser, as a member of this group of heavenly beings, has the task of investigating what human beings are up to on earth. 

The Lord says to Satan, “Where have you come from?” “Oh, I have been going to and fro on earth, walking all around.” and the Lord says, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on earth: blameless, upright, turns from evil, he still persists in his integrity.” 

Satan says, “Skin for skin, all that people have they will give to save their lives, But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh and he will curse you to your face.” 

Very well, says the Lord, he is in your power, only spare his life. 

This is the second conversation like this to occur. In the first chapter, after the Lord says, have you considered my man Job, upright and blameless, Satan says Ah, but you have protected him all his days, remove his protection and let ill fate befall his possessions and family and he will curse you. 

So this business of inflicting sores on Job from head to foot is turning everything up a notch, in the way of suffering. 

And we meet Job’s wife. She has also suffered greatly, loss of her children, loss of her livelihood, loss of social standing. It is understandable for her to say, do you still persist in your integrity? Curse God and die. 

Job begins with providing a misogynistic response, “You speak as any foolish woman would speak. And then Job poses the question, 
“Shall we receive the good at the hand of God and not receive the bad? 
It is written, “In all this, Job did not sin with his lips.”

Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad? 
And what is the role of faith in that? Earlier in the Old Testament, there are many laws and rules laid out, just take a look at the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. 

Is good fortune and the absence of misfortune a result of compliance? 

Job’s experience would indicate otherwise. This parable, this book of wisdom portrays Job’s experience as that of being good or bad makes no difference. The same fate can happen totally. Job seems to know that it is possible for a righteous person to be afflicted with misfortune and suffering. Also it is possible for the deeds of the wicked to go unpunished. 

All of this prompts us to examine the nature and characteristics of our relationship, individually and collectively, with God. 

How do we make sense of God? 

Is our relationship transactional? Quid pro quo? If anything can happen to anyone at any given time, why believe at all? 

God and Job’s wife use the word integrity in describing Job. Integrity- the quality or state of being complete - the quality or state of being of sound moral principle: upright, honest, sincere. 

Do we maintain faith, under all circumstances, because it helps us to feel as if we have the quality of being complete or it assists us to attempt uprightness, honesty, and sincerity, under all circumstances? 
Do we maintain our faith because of what we get out of our relationship with God?

How do we articulate or practice or live our faith, in the midst of suffering? Of undeserved suffering? 

Here is a definition of faith - unquestioning belief or complete trust, confidence, or reliance. 

Theologian Paul Tillich states, “Faith is the state of being ultimately concerned.” as in You shall love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, and with ALL your soul, and with ALL your might. 

In times of suffering, of anguish, of doubt, our faith maybe challenged or tested. Paul Tillich also says, “If doubt appears, it should not be considered as the negation of faith, but as an element, which was always and will always be present, in the act of faith. Existential doubt and faith are poles of the same reality, the state of ultimate concern.” 

God seems to have faith in Job, based on God’s response to Satan. God basically says, “Do your worst, just don’t kill him.”

Throughout the rest of this parable Job’s response to his misfortune and suffering runs the gamut: 
He wishes he had never been born 
He wishes he had died at birth 
He wishes he, and all who suffer, could simply die when they are ready 
Job expresses powerlessness. He wants God to ignore him. He wants to confront God and plead his case. Job wants vindication for underserved suffering and loss. 

Job’s friends tell him not to lose heart, that he should continue to seek God and be upright and one of his friends says Job must be a secret sinner.

The story of Job and all the characters therein does seem to capture much of the full range of the human response to suffering and grief. 

One more question, If God has unconditional love for us, Do we have unconditional love for God? 

Julian of Norwich suffered greatly in her life in the late 1300s and into the 1400s. She lived through the plague, she lost her child and possibly children. She almost died herself. She had what she called showings or revelations from God. This experience of hers is recorded in her account of these showings in Revelations of Divine Love. She was the first writer in English who can be identified as a woman. 

Julian writes, “And these words, ‘You shall not be overcome’, were said very loudly and clearly for security and comfort against all the tribulations that may come. God did not say, ‘You shall not be tormented, you shall not be troubled, you shall not be grieved, but God said, You shall not be overcome.’
God wants us to pay attention to these words and wants our trust always to be sure and strong in weal and woe; for God loves and is pleased with us and so God wishes us to love and be pleased with God and put great trust in God; and all shall be well.” 

You shall not be overcome. 

Amen 

New Oxford Annotated Bible, Oxford University Press 
The Dynamics of Faith by Paul Tillich 
Kathryn M. Schifferdecker, Professor, Luther Seminary, 
St. Paul, Minnesota 
Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love 
Translated by Elizabeth Spearing

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