Difference between revisions of "Sermon for March 8th, 2020"

From Neal's Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
Line 108: Line 108:
 
That last question is one of the key themes of the Book of Job, which we are exploring during this season of reflection and introspection that the church has called "Lent."
 
That last question is one of the key themes of the Book of Job, which we are exploring during this season of reflection and introspection that the church has called "Lent."
  
 +
Six times in today's scripture passage, we come across the Hebrew word עָנָה (anah) which is translated into English as "answer" or "answered."  In our own language, the word "answer" comes from the Old English word "andswarian" which shares a common root with the word "swear."  So when you answer a question, you are (in a sense) swearing to the validity of your words, and your expert ability to give a correct response.
 +
 +
No pressure.
 +
 +
It's a little bit ironic, then, that chapter 9 of the Book of Job begins with the simple words, "Then Job answered."  What (or who) is he answering? In the previous chapters, his friends Eliphaz and Bildad have done their level best to comfort Job, and to explain the source of his misfortunes.
  
 
****
 
****

Revision as of 20:43, 6 March 2020

Job 9:1-35

1 Then Job answered:

2 “Indeed I know that this is so;
    but how can a mortal be just before God?
3 If one wished to contend with him,
    one could not answer him once in a thousand.
4 He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength
—who has resisted him, and succeeded?—
5 he who removes mountains, and they do not know it,
    when he overturns them in his anger;
6 who shakes the earth out of its place,
    and its pillars tremble;
7 who commands the sun, and it does not rise;
    who seals up the stars;
8 who alone stretched out the heavens
    and trampled the waves of the Sea;
9 who made the Bear and Orion,
    the Pleiades and the chambers of the south;
10 who does great things beyond understanding,
    and marvelous things without number.
11 Look, he passes by me, and I do not see him;
    he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
12 He snatches away; who can stop him?
    Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’

13 “God will not turn back his anger;
    the helpers of Rahab bowed beneath him.
14 How then can I answer him,
    choosing my words with him?
15 Though I am innocent, I cannot answer him;
    I must appeal for mercy to my accuser.
16 If I summoned him and he answered me,
    I do not believe that he would listen to my voice.
17 For he crushes me with a tempest,
    and multiplies my wounds without cause;
18 he will not let me get my breath,
    but fills me with bitterness.
19 If it is a contest of strength, he is the strong one!
    If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?
20 Though I am innocent, my own mouth would condemn me;
    though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.
21 I am blameless; I do not know myself;
    I loathe my life.
22 It is all one; therefore I say,
    he destroys both the blameless and the wicked.
23 When disaster brings sudden death,
    he mocks at the calamity of the innocent.
24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;
    he covers the eyes of its judges—
    if it is not he, who then is it?

25 “My days are swifter than a runner;
    they flee away, they see no good.
26 They go by like skiffs of reed,
    like an eagle swooping on the prey.
27 If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint;
    I will put off my sad countenance and be of good cheer,’
28 I become afraid of all my suffering,
    for I know you will not hold me innocent.
29 I shall be condemned;
    why then do I labor in vain?
30 If I wash myself with soap
    and cleanse my hands with lye,
31 yet you will plunge me into filth,
    and my own clothes will abhor me.
32 For he is not a mortal, as I am, that I might answer him,
    that we should come to trial together.
33 There is no umpire between us,
    who might lay his hand on us both.
34 If he would take his rod away from me,
    and not let dread of him terrify me,
35 then I would speak without fear of him,
   for I know I am not what I am thought to be.

The Book of Job: (Un)Answered

I am fascinated by questions for which there seem to be no answers. For example:

  • Why does a round pizza come in a square box?
  • If someone becomes addicted to therapy, how would you treat them?
  • If Jimmy cracked corn and no one cares, then why is there a song about him?
  • If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?
  • If the Disney characters Goofy and Pluto are both dogs, why does Goofy walk and talk, while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs!

And since I'm also fascinated by language:

  • When someone tells you, "heads up" why is the appropriate reaction to duck?
  • Why is it when two vehicles "almost" hit each other it is called a "near miss"?
  • Why is someone IN a movie, but ON TV?
  • Why do we say someone "slept like a baby" when babies wake up every two hours?
  • If you fix something that is "out of whack," does that make it "in whack?"
  • Why do fat chance and slim chance mean the same thing?
  • What disease did cured ham actually have?

These are the things I wonder about, but even the most advanced scientific minds of our time have their own unanswerable questions:

  • Is the universe infinite? (The observable universe is 93 billion light years...but that's only the "observable" part)
  • What happens inside a black hole?
  • What is matter made of?
  • What is anti-matter made of?
  • Why do we dream?

Philosophers and Theologians have long had their unanswerable questions, too:

  • What is consciousness, what is intelligence, and what makes someone human?
  • Why are we here?
  • How do you know your perceptions are real?
  • Why do bad things happen to good people?

That last question is one of the key themes of the Book of Job, which we are exploring during this season of reflection and introspection that the church has called "Lent."

Six times in today's scripture passage, we come across the Hebrew word עָנָה (anah) which is translated into English as "answer" or "answered." In our own language, the word "answer" comes from the Old English word "andswarian" which shares a common root with the word "swear." So when you answer a question, you are (in a sense) swearing to the validity of your words, and your expert ability to give a correct response.

No pressure.

It's a little bit ironic, then, that chapter 9 of the Book of Job begins with the simple words, "Then Job answered." What (or who) is he answering? In the previous chapters, his friends Eliphaz and Bildad have done their level best to comfort Job, and to explain the source of his misfortunes.

We have to remember that what we observe is not nature in itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.

— Werner Heisenberg