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10/24/21 – At the End of the Day

AT THE END OF THE DAY

October 24, 2021
22nd Sunday after Pentecost
Job 42:1-6, 10-17; Ps. 34; Heb.7:23-28; Mark 10:46-52
Rev. Denise Clark-Jones

 

We have made many technological advances in communication – radio, TV, cable TV, internet podcasts. You can listen to someone talking 24/7 anywhere you can take your device. There are more “talk shows” than ever where you can hear news reports, opinions, or academic lectures. A popular phrase that I hear ad nauseum from the “talking heads” of political and social commentators is “At the end of the day…” The phrase introduces the speaker’s conclusion of the observations they have made. When the speaker uses the phrase repeatedly, it usually means they have passed up several good stopping places in their commentary. Today our final scripture reading of the four selected passages from Job brings us “to the end of the day” for this epic tale. But if you were hoping to get the neat and tidy answer to why there is suffering in the world, you won’t find it here. “At the end of the day,” we are left to draw our own conclusion.

Today we have the final installment of our Cliff notes’ version of Job. We began four weeks ago with chapter one, verse one: “There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job.” The author makes is clear that this is a fictional story with this common literary introduction. The epic tale ends with a verse that might as well have been written with the words: “and Job lived happily ever after.” The catastrophic losses Job endures are over the top – he lost all ten of his children, all of his servants, all of his livestock, and his health.  The ending is just as incredible. He had ten more children; the number of livestock God gave him was twice the number as he had before.

I’ll give a short recap for those who have missed one or all of the past three Sundays of Job scriptures. The plot revolves around a wager between God and a lower member of the divine realm, who holds the job of keeping the naughty and nice list. Satan, the Hebrew word for the accuser, introduces the question: “How and why do we remain faithful to God.” The satan was concerned that Job’s faithfulness to God was due only to the abundance of blessings God had bestowed upon him. Job had lots of land and animals, which made him a very rich man. He had 7 sons and 3 daughters. He enjoyed good health. But the satan convinced God that Job should be tested to see if his devotion was pure and steadfast. God reluctantly agreed but stipulated that satan was not allowed to take Job’s life. So, Job lost almost everything.

In the face of Job’s great tragedy, his firmly set theology didn’t hold up. At first, Job was understandably depressed, but then his sadness turned to anger. He was sure his misfortune was because God had been distracted. The reason for his suffering, Job decided, was God’s negligent absence. Three friends visit Job during his time of mourning and offer their theological explanations for his suffering, each revolving around the same theme: Job must have sinned and is being punished. If Job repents, he will once again be blessed. But Job refused to buy into their theories.

Job was sure if he could just argue his case before God, God would see the error of God’s ways and vindicate Job. After many chapters of Job’s rants, God shows up. However, God does not address Job’s complaint directly, but instead delivers a long speech, in poetic form, citing all the wonders of creation. God challenges Job: “Could you do what I have done?” At the end of the recitation, God even offers to let Job take over his job, but by this time the wind had gone out of Job’s sails. He is humbled and awed by God’s omnipotence and omniscience.

Today, we hear Job’s response. The problem is Job has not learned the answer to the question we want to be answered. That is: “Why does a good God let bad things happen?” God’s response to Job’s accusations is ambiguous and so is Job’s final response to God. Job accepts that God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe, with wisdom far beyond his own. While we ponder what God’s challenging question to Job means to our understanding of God, why not ask ourselves: ‘At the end of the day, what does God’s response tells us about our responsibility for earth care?

Job then declares: “5I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” There are many different interpretations of the Hebrew words used in Job’s statement. Perhaps that is what the writer intended. Job could be stating the theological doctrine of Original Sin: human beings are sinful by nature, and we cannot stop sinning by our own will. Or, Job could be saying he regrets indulging in his misery for so long and is now ready to get on with his life. What is apparent is that Job now views God from a different perspective. Job has come to realize that neither he nor his friends understand the vast, complex, interdependent world, so he has no grounds for complaint against God. But if he does complain, that’s okay because God is strong and loving enough to take it and continue to care about us.

From God’s speech, in which all the wonders of creation are attributed to God’s creative powers, Job realizes that the dreaded “chaos,” which all humanity fears, is built into creation. Biblical scholar, Carol Newsome describes the change in Job’s world view is such that he sees “a world in which the vulnerability of human existence can be understood, not in terms of divine enmity, but in terms of a creation within which the chaotic is restrained but never fully eliminated. (Carol A. Newsom, The New Interpreter’s Bible, vol. IV. The Book of Job. Nashville, Abingdon Press 1996, p.629) There is freedom for the unexpected to enter into the grand design.

When Job declares that his knowledge of God had previously been “by the hearing of the ear,” Job means he had previously only heard second hand. Now that he has encountered God, he “sees,” meaning he has greater understanding. Job has been humbled before God and admits that it is not within his power to be God or to advise God. As a mere mortal, one who comes from and returns to dust and ashes, Job can never understand the mind of God. Job does make an important discovery. God was never absent, even during his suffering. God thoroughly rejects Job’s friends’ explanation that Job must have sinned and was being punished. God demands that they apologize to Job for their foolish advice and ask for his forgiveness. If your first experience with the Christian faith was filled with threats of God’s judgment and punishment, it may be hard to accept that suffering is not the consequence of your own sin. Yes, we do sometimes suffer as a consequence of our own wrongdoing or the sins of others. There are also times when our suffering is the consequence of good. To risk-loving is to risk being hurt or experiencing loss.

For me, Job’s story falls short in the restoration of his family. You cannot replace lost loved ones. You can rejoice in new loved ones entering your life, but human life cannot be replaced like a possession. Perhaps the author has made the judgment that because Job’s first ten children were not faithful to God, they were expendable. But the human heart does not accept replacements. The raw open wounds of loss may close, but a scar remains. The inclusion of the detail that the three new daughters were more beautiful than the first three certainly does not present a positive message for us today, as it appears to place a higher value on females due to their perceived attractiveness.

It is a bit confusing that the story ends with God blessing Job with twice the abundance he had at the beginning of the story. So, did God reward him for remaining faithful and rejecting his former complaints? Although the speeches in Job dispute the doctrine of divine retribution, in the final chapters of Job it appears that Job’s fortune was restored because Job gave the appropriate response to God. The old quid pro quo theology seems to resurface. In reading around the selected passages assigned to the lectionary, it is significant to note that Job recanted his original charges against God before God restored his blessings. In the Wisdom literature of the bible “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” The definition of the Hebrew word for fear includes being in awe of God, to be humbled by God’s power and glory, and being ready to serve God as God commands. Job’s final declaration of submission and gratitude comes without the expectation of reward. Job doesn’t “fear” God because he expects a reward, his newfound awe of God has revealed to him the faithfulness of God. God may be all-powerful, all-knowing, and transcendent to humanity, but God is also immanent, caring for this one person, Job.

We might glean something positive from Job’s second family. It is worthy of note that the author gives the three new daughters names. Women are particularly under-represented in the biblical characters deemed significant enough to identify by name. Also, in opposition to the tradition of the culture, Job gives his daughters an inheritance as well as to his sons. It seems that Job’s new perspective on life has opened his eyes to social justice. One of the few silver linings in the cloud of suffering is that it can give us insight into and compassion for the suffering of others. One might surmise that the additional blessings Job receives from God have encouraged Job to use his blessings to bless others.

The ending to Job does not give us simple answers to life’s most perplexing questions. We do not know why good things do not always come to good people nor why the wicked don’t always suffer punishment. There’s a reason we celebrate the victory of an underdog… it is a rare occurrence. The way of the world we have created within God’s world is that the rich get rich and the poor get poorer. The privileged and powerful maintain their unobstructed climb to the higher rungs of the ladder to success by instituting laws, public policies, and unassailable traditions that insure their ascent. Unexpected tragic accidents do occur, fatal diseases cut lives far shorter than we expect, natural disasters cause mass destruction of lives and property, inexplicable human evil continues to devastate lives. The book of Job does not answer the question: “Why?” But Job does give us insight into how we can remain faithful to God when we are suffering.

The Danish theologian, Soren Kierkegaard wrote that ‘at the end of the day,’  “we must all work out our own salvation with fear and trembling” — awe and humility– before God. What does the story of Job tell you? How does it inform your view of God and the relationship you have with God and all of God’s creation? How does it inform the stewardship of your wealth – an important question as we enter Stewardship season and prepare our pledges for 2022. How does Job’s story influence the way we treat others who are suffering? How does Job’s experience prepare us for the end of our days on earth? Job challenges us to ask ourselves these questions.

One thing is certain, the end of our day is just the beginning of God’s Day.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Amen.

 

© Rev. Denise Clark-Jones, 2020, All Rights Reserved
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