Sermon for March 22nd, 2015 - Revision history

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← Older revision		Revision as of 05:44, 22 March 2015
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	The monstrosities in the world around us are cryptic, too, and terrifying. Sometimes, in the midst of terror and tragedy, you might discern some small glimmer of a message or a greater purpose, but more often, you just can't. When that happens, don't give up. Don't run away. Do what Job does, and face your monstrosities head on. Stand your ground, and ask the difficult questions. God can take it. He might hold up a mirror, and you might see monstrosity reflected in your own image. Or you might behold some monstrous aspect of God that you don't like, or that you struggle to accept. You might be tempted to invent monsters to explain or excuse the ones you don't understand.		The monstrosities in the world around us are cryptic, too, and terrifying. Sometimes, in the midst of terror and tragedy, you might discern some small glimmer of a message or a greater purpose, but more often, you just can't. When that happens, don't give up. Don't run away. Do what Job does, and face your monstrosities head on. Stand your ground, and ask the difficult questions. God can take it. He might hold up a mirror, and you might see monstrosity reflected in your own image. Or you might behold some monstrous aspect of God that you don't like, or that you struggle to accept. You might be tempted to invent monsters to explain or excuse the ones you don't understand.

−	In any case, the point is this: God will meet you wherever you are, whatever your circumstances, and whatever monsters you face. More than anything, it's the encounter that matters. In that encounter, mortals glimpse the immortal, monsters become irrelevant, and for just a moment, heaven and earth ~~are one~~.	+	In any case, the point is this: God will meet you wherever you are, whatever your circumstances, and whatever monsters you face. More than anything, it's the encounter that matters. In that encounter, mortals glimpse the immortal, monsters become irrelevant, and for just a moment, heaven and earth collide.

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 In modern-day Judaism, Satan is not God's adversary, but rather (according to Shamash: the Jewish Network) "the angel who is the embodiment of man's challenges. His job is to make choosing good over evil enough of a challenge so that it can be a meaningful choice . . . to add difficulty, challenges, and growth experiences to life.  In Jewish thought, the idea that there exists anything capable of setting itself up as God's opponent would be considered overly polytheistic--you are setting up the devil to be a god or demigod."
 So if the devil is not an original part of the Old Testament or Jewish belief, where did he come into the picture?
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 Christianity was also, for a long time, a minority view within Judaism. When it finally began to spread, it did so primarily among gentiles, people who were more familiar and comfortable with Greek culture and belief than they were with Jewish monotheism.  The idea that God had a powerful supernatural enemy made a lot of sense to people who were used to stories about battles between the gods in heaven.  In early Christianity, the book of Job began to be interpreted in this light: A heavenly battle between God and Satan with Job as the lowly pawn down on earth.
 Throughout Christian history, Satan, or the devil has been used for one of three purposes:
 .  To explain away our own failures and shortcomings ("The devil made me do it").
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 In this regard, explaining evil in the world by attributing it to the work of the devil is a simple and effective argument...but ultimately not a very helpful one. If the devil made me do it, then I'm not responsible for my actions.  If my enemies are driven by the devil, then I don't have to love them, work with them, or try to understand why they do what they do--they're just evil. And if the devil is the source of everything I judge to be evil, then I can let God off the hook for those things...by creating another God.
 If you were hoping that by this point in the sermon series I would have solved the problem of evil and monstrosities in the world, I'm sorry to disappoint you. Better theologians than I have been working on that one for a couple of thousand years without any solutions that are completly satisfactory.  At best, they solve one problem by creating another. Besides, I've only got about five minutes left.
-But while I can't offer a solution, I can offer a more honest, authentic example for us to follow:  It's Job.
+But while I can't offer a solution, I can offer a more honest, authentic approach; an example for us to follow.
 The Book of Job is a struggle between two characters, but it's not God and Satan.  It's God...and Job.  And never once in the book's 42 chapters does Job blame his struggles on Satan.  He doesn't even indicate that he is aware there is a Satan (which would make sense, given the time the book is written).  Neither does Job take his lumps quietly, peacefully, despite the stereotype of the "patience of Job."  After chapter two, Job is anything but patient.
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 Instead, over and over again, Job looks squarely into the heavens and blames God alone for his troubles. For 38 chapters, Job rants and raves, he questions and accuses, he demands justice, he demands an audience with God.  For his honesty, God does not fry Job, or even disagree with his accusations.  Surprisingly, he says that everything Job has said about him is correct.  Now--to be fair--God also doesn't answer any of Job's questions, or explain his actions in any kind of satisfactory way.  God goes on for a chapter or two about some terrifying monsters (Behemoth and Leviathan) and perhaps there is some hidden message or wisdom for Job in these verses, but if so it's pretty cryptic.
-The monstrosities in the world around us are cryptic, too, and terrifying.  Sometimes, in the midst of terror and tragedy, you might discern some small glimmer of a message or a greater purpose, but more often, you just can't.  When that happens, don't give up.  Don't run away. Do what Job does, and face your monstrosities head on. Stand your ground, and ask the difficult questions. God can take it.  He might hold up a mirror, and you might see the monstrosity reflected in your own image. Or you might behold some monstrous aspect of God that you can't accept or don't care for.  You might be tempted to invent monsters to explain or excuse the ones you don't understand.  The point is,
+The monstrosities in the world around us are cryptic, too, and terrifying.  Sometimes, in the midst of terror and tragedy, you might discern some small glimmer of a message or a greater purpose, but more often, you just can't.  When that happens, don't give up.  Don't run away. Do what Job does, and face your monstrosities head on. Stand your ground, and ask the difficult questions. God can take it.  He might hold up a mirror, and you might see monstrosity reflected in your own image. Or you might behold some monstrous aspect of God that you don't like, or that you struggle to accept. You might be tempted to invent monsters to explain or excuse the ones you don't understand.

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 Instead, over and over again, Job looks squarely into the heavens and blames God alone for his troubles. For 38 chapters, Job rants and raves, he questions and accuses, he demands justice, he demands an audience with God.  For his honesty, God does not fry Job, or even disagree with his accusations.  Surprisingly, he says that everything Job has said about him is correct.  Now--to be fair--God also doesn't answer any of Job's questions, or explain his actions in any kind of satisfactory way.  God goes on for a chapter or two about some terrifying monsters (Behemoth and Leviathan) and perhaps there is some hidden message or wisdom for Job in these verses, but if so it's pretty cryptic.
-The monstrosities in the world around us are cryptic, too, and terrifying.  Sometimes, in the midst of terror and tragedy, you might discern some small glimmer of a message or a greater purpose, but more often, you just can't.  When that's the case, probably the worst thing you can do is invent more monsters to explain or excuse the ones you don't understand.
+The monstrosities in the world around us are cryptic, too, and terrifying.  Sometimes, in the midst of terror and tragedy, you might discern some small glimmer of a message or a greater purpose, but more often, you just can't.  When that happens, don't give up.  Don't run away. Do what Job does, and face your monstrosities head on. Stand your ground, and ask the difficult questions. God can take it.  He might hold up a mirror, and you might see the monstrosity reflected in your own image. Or you might behold some monstrous aspect of God that you can't accept or don't care for.  You might be tempted to invent monsters to explain or excuse the ones you don't understand.  The point is,
-−
-The best you can do is what Job does--face your monstrosities head on. Stand your ground, and ask the difficult questions. God can take it.  He might hold up a mirror, and you might see the monstrosity reflected in your own image.

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 In this regard, explaining evil in the world by attributing it to the work of the devil is a simple and effective argument...but ultimately not a very helpful one. If the devil made me do it, then I'm not responsible for my actions.  If my enemies are driven by the devil, then I don't have to love them, work with them, or try to understand why they do what they do--they're just evil. And if the devil is the source of everything I judge to be evil, then I can let God off the hook for those things...by creating another God.
-If you were hoping that by this point in the sermon series I would have solved the problem of evil and monstrosities in the world, I'm sorry to disappoint you. Better theologians than I have been working on that one for a couple of thousand years without any solutions that are completly satisfactory.  At best, they solve one problem by creating another. Besides, I've only got about two minutes left.
+If you were hoping that by this point in the sermon series I would have solved the problem of evil and monstrosities in the world, I'm sorry to disappoint you. Better theologians than I have been working on that one for a couple of thousand years without any solutions that are completly satisfactory.  At best, they solve one problem by creating another. Besides, I've only got about five minutes left.
 But while I can't offer a solution, I can offer a more honest, authentic example for us to follow:  It's Job.
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 The monstrosities in the world around us are cryptic, too, and terrifying.  Sometimes, in the midst of terror and tragedy, you might discern some small glimmer of a message or a greater purpose, but more often, you just can't.  When that's the case, probably the worst thing you can do is invent more monsters to explain or excuse the ones you don't understand.
-The best you can do is what Job does--face your monstrosities head on.
+The best you can do is what Job does--face your monstrosities head on. Stand your ground, and ask the difficult questions. God can take it.  He might hold up a mirror, and you might see the monstrosity reflected in your own image.

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 The Book of Job is a struggle between two characters, but it's not God and Satan.  It's God...and Job.  And never once in the book's 42 chapters does Job blame his struggles on Satan.  He doesn't even indicate that he is aware there is a Satan (which would make sense, given the time the book is written).  Neither does Job take his lumps quietly, peacefully, despite the stereotype of the "patience of Job."  After chapter two, Job is anything but patient.
-Instead, over and over again, Job looks squarely into the heavens and blames God alone for his troubles. For 38 chapters, Job rants and raves, he questions and accuses, he demands justice, he demands an audience with God.  For his honesty, God does not fry Job, or even disagree with his accusations.  Surprisingly, he says that everything Job has said about him is correct.  Now, to be fair, God also doesn't answer any of Job's questions, or explain his actions in any kind of satisfactory way.
+Instead, over and over again, Job looks squarely into the heavens and blames God alone for his troubles. For 38 chapters, Job rants and raves, he questions and accuses, he demands justice, he demands an audience with God.  For his honesty, God does not fry Job, or even disagree with his accusations.  Surprisingly, he says that everything Job has said about him is correct.  Now--to be fair--God also doesn't answer any of Job's questions, or explain his actions in any kind of satisfactory way.  God goes on for a chapter or two about some terrifying monsters (Behemoth and Leviathan) and perhaps there is some hidden message or wisdom for Job in these verses, but if so it's pretty cryptic.
-Sometimes the "monster" at the end of the story turns out to be us.
+The best you can do is what Job does--face your monstrosities head on.
-Sometimes the "monster" is God, acting in ways we cannot understand, or do not agree with.
-Sometimes there is no monster...and so we invent one.

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 If you were hoping that by this point in the sermon series I would have solved the problem of evil and monstrosities in the world, I'm sorry to disappoint you. Better theologians than I have been working on that one for a couple of thousand years without any solutions that are completly satisfactory.  At best, they solve one problem by creating another. Besides, I've only got about two minutes left.
-But while I can't offer a solution, I can offer an example for us to follow:  It's Job.
+But while I can't offer a solution, I can offer a more honest, authentic example for us to follow:  It's Job.
-The Book of Job is a struggle between two characters, but it's not God and Satan.  It's God...and Job.  And never once in the book's 42 chapters does Job his struggles on Satan.  He doesn't even indicate that he is aware there is a Satan (which would make sense, given the time the book is written).  And neither does he take his lumps quietly, peacefully, despite the stereotype of the "patience of Job."  After chapter two, Job is anything but patient.
+The Book of Job is a struggle between two characters, but it's not God and Satan.  It's God...and Job.  And never once in the book's 42 chapters does Job blame his struggles on Satan.  He doesn't even indicate that he is aware there is a Satan (which would make sense, given the time the book is written).  Neither does Job take his lumps quietly, peacefully, despite the stereotype of the "patience of Job."  After chapter two, Job is anything but patient.
-−
-Over and over again, Job looks squarely into the heavens and blames God alone for his troubles. Remarkably, when God finally shows up, he does not defend himself or disagree with this accusation.  In fact, at the very end of the book, God affirms that everything Job has said about him is correct.

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 So if the devil is not an original part of the Old Testament or Jewish belief, where did he come into the picture?
-In the 4th Century B.C.E. Alexander the Great conquered most of the Mediterranean world, including all of Israel.  He introduced Greek culture, Greek literature, and Greek belief systems that would dominate the region for hundreds of years (and in many ways to this very day).  For
+In the 4th Century B.C.E. Alexander the Great conquered most of the Mediterranean world, including all of Israel.  He introduced Greek culture, Greek literature, and Greek belief systems that would dominate the region for hundreds of years (and in many ways to this very day).  Greek religion was polytheistic, and included belief in an afterlife, an underworld, and Hades, the God of the underworld.  Some 1st century Jews were eager to identify themselves (and their faith) with the more fashionable and elite Greek culture. They found ways to connect some unrelated dots in their sacred scriptures and weave together a Hades-like character whom they identified as Satan, now a proper name. But this view was a minority view in Judaism, and never became mainstream.
 Sometimes the "monster" at the end of the story turns out to be us.

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 In Job chapters one and two, we have a divine council, where all the divine beings (literally the sons of God) present themselves to God for inspection in their assigned duties.  One of them happens to be a satan. Like the satan in Psalm 109, like a district attorney, his God-given job seems to be roaming the earth looking for people to prosecute.  And God specifically asks him to "consider my servant, Job."  So the satan obeys, and prosecutes Job to the best of his ability. And then, having done his duty, at the end of only the second chapter, he disappears from the story never to return again in any of the remaining 40 chapters.
 Why?  Because he's just not that important of a character, despite later attempts to enlarge his role.  Taken in the context of the entire Old Testament, the satan is nothing more than an extension of God's will.
 Sometimes the "monster" at the end of the story turns out to be us.
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 Sometimes there is no monster...and so we invent one.
 *Only two main characters in the book of job:  God and Job.  All the others (incuding Satan) are minor. Same is true for  us.  We can use "the devil" to demonize others or to explain away things we don't like/understand, or even our own shortcomings (devil made me do it) but at the end of the day we stand before God (and humanity), accountable for our own actions, thoughts, life.
 “We saw a pale echo of what is now possible in 1990-1991, when Saddam Hussein, the autocrat of Iraq, made a sudden transition in the American consciousness from an obscure near-ally - granted commodities, high technology, weaponry, and even satellite intelligence data - to a slavering monster menacing the world. I am not myself an admirer of Mr. Hussein, but it was striking how quickly he could be brought from someone almost no American had heard of into the incarnation of evil. These days the apparatus for generating indignation is busy elsewhere. How confident are we that the power to drive and determine public opinion will always reside in responsible hands?”
 ― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

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 In 2nd Chronicles 21:1 we read the story of the first census in Israel: "Then Satan (or a satan) stood up against Israel, and incited David to count the people of Israel."  But the exact same story is told in 2nd Samuel 24.  Listen to the difference: "Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, count the people of Israel and Judah.”  This time, no satan.  Just the anger of the Lord. That's because the two are interchangeable, one and the same.  The function of the satan is simply carrying out the divine will. And that leads us to our last example, the book of Job.
-In Job chapters one and two, we have a divine council, where all the divine beings (literally the sons of God) present themselves to God for inspection in their assigned duties.  One of them happens to be a satan. Like the satan in Psalm 109, like a district attorney, his job seems to be roaming the earth looking for people to prosecute.  And notice that it is God, not the prosecutor, who initiates the proceedings.  God is the one who says, "Have you considered my servant Job?"  God seems pleased with Job, but his approach also reminds me of Ronald Reagan, who was famous for saying, "trust...but verify!"
+In Job chapters one and two, we have a divine council, where all the divine beings (literally the sons of God) present themselves to God for inspection in their assigned duties.  One of them happens to be a satan. Like the satan in Psalm 109, like a district attorney, his God-given job seems to be roaming the earth looking for people to prosecute.  And God specifically asks him to "consider my servant, Job."  So the satan obeys, and prosecutes Job to the best of his ability. And then, having done his duty, at the end of only the second chapter, he disappears from the story never to return again in any of the remaining 40 chapters.
 Sometimes the "monster" at the end of the story turns out to be us.