Job

Thursday 30 September Holy Communion at St Giles

Reading Job 19

²¹ "Have pity on me, my friends, have pity,
       for the hand of God has struck me.

²² Why do you pursue me as God does?
       Will you never get enough of my flesh?

²³ "Oh, that my words were recorded,
       that they were written on a scroll,

²⁴ that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead,
       or engraved in rock forever!

²⁵ I know that my redeemer lives,
       and that in the end he will stand on the earth.

²⁶ And after my skin has been destroyed,
       yet in my flesh I will see God;

²⁷ I myself will see him
       with my own eyes—I, and not another.

Gospel Luke 10

Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two

¹ After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. ² He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. ³ Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. ⁴ Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

⁵ "When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' ⁶ If the head of the house loves peace, your peace will rest on that house; if not, it will return to you. ⁷ Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for workers deserve their wages. Do not move around from house to house.

⁸ "When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. ⁹ Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' ¹⁰ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ¹¹ 'Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.' ¹² I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

Sermon

Story of Job well known. Job an upright man. Had 7 sons – 23 daughters – 7,000 sheep – 3,000 camels – 500 yoke oxen – 500 donkeys – many servants.

One day, God tells Satan about how good Job is. Satan says he is only good because God is good to him. Satan given permission to test Job to the point of his life.

First, all sons, daughters and livestock slaughtered. Then he suffers painful sores all over body. Still he does not curse God. Satan, having failed, disappears from the plot.

Job’s friends then wade in, and conclude Job must be bad if bad things happen to him. Job protests innocence. In the end, God gets angry with two friends for doubting him and for doubting Job’s goodness.

God answers Job’s prayer, and he ends up with more that he had at the beginning. In today’s passage from chapter 19, Job has confidence he will be vindicated in the end. He thinks he will die, but after his death a mediator will appear who will argue his case before God. He himself will in the end see God with his own eyes – I know that my redeemer liveth.

Job is a wonderful literary work. Poetry and prose. Good story. Written probably as early as 6^th C BC. Attempts to address problem of evil. In OT good people prospered and bad people suffered in the end – so if someone suffered ergo they must be bad. Job challenges prevailing view. Bad things, it suggests, can be a trial.

Whether you believe that or not, problem of evil and innocent suffering is clearly as intractable and puzzling today as it was in 6^th C BC. I have no answer, but I do know that it is essential for us to retain faith and hope, as Job dies. Despite all his pain and suffering, he can still say:

²⁵ I know that my redeemer lives,
       and that in the end he will stand on the earth.

²⁶ And after my skin has been destroyed,
       yet in my flesh I will see God;

²⁷ I myself will see him
       with my own eyes—I, and not another.