Sermon for March 22nd, 2020 - Revision history

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Iraneal: Created page with "==Job 25:1-6== 1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered: 2 “Dominion and fear are with God; he makes peace in his high heaven. 3 Is there any number to his armies? Up..."

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Created page with "==Job 25:1-6== 1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered: 2 “Dominion and fear are with God; he makes peace in his high heaven. 3 Is there any number to his armies? Up..."

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==Job 25:1-6==
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 “Dominion and fear are with God;
he makes peace in his high heaven.
3 Is there any number to his armies?
Upon whom does his light not arise?
4 How then can a mortal be righteous before God?
How can one born of woman be pure?
5 If even the moon is not bright
and the stars are not pure in his sight,
6 how much less a mortal, who is a maggot,
and a human being, who is a worm!”

==Job 26:1-14==
1 Then Job answered:
2 “How you have helped one who has no power!
How you have assisted the arm that has no strength!
3 How you have counseled one who has no wisdom,
and given much good advice!
4 With whose help have you uttered words,
and whose spirit has come forth from you?
5 The shades below tremble,
the waters and their inhabitants.
6 Sheol is naked before God,
and Abaddon has no covering.
7 He stretches out Zaphon over the void,
and hangs the earth upon nothing.
8 He binds up the waters in his thick clouds,
and the cloud is not torn open by them.
9 He covers the face of the full moon,
and spreads over it his cloud.
10 He has described a circle on the face of the waters,
at the boundary between light and darkness.
11 The pillars of heaven tremble,
and are astounded at his rebuke.
12 By his power he stilled the Sea;
by his understanding he struck down Rahab.
13 By his wind the heavens were made fair;
his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
14 These are indeed but the outskirts of his ways;
and how small a whisper do we hear of him!
But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

==The Book of Job: (Un)Friended==

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	#Third and finally, in every friendship it's important to know when to speak, and when to remain silent. I said earlier that after chapter 25, Job is effectively "unfriended." That's not exactly true, though. At the end of the book, when God speaks to Job out of the whirlwind, he also addresses Job's friends. Which means that they are still there, still with him, from chapters 26 through 42, although they remain silent. Remember also, that when they first came to him all the way back in chapter two, Job's friends sat with him in silence for seven days and seven nights, before Eliphaz finally began the conversation. I believe they waited to speak out of love for their friend... then they began to speak out of concern for their friend... and finally, they ceased to speak out of concern for their friendship, but they remained at Job's side through it all. It was never a perfect conversation, on Job's part or his friends, but we should remember that in every friendship, conversation is important. Silence is important. And most of all, presence is important.		#Third and finally, in every friendship it's important to know when to speak, and when to remain silent. I said earlier that after chapter 25, Job is effectively "unfriended." That's not exactly true, though. At the end of the book, when God speaks to Job out of the whirlwind, he also addresses Job's friends. Which means that they are still there, still with him, from chapters 26 through 42, although they remain silent. Remember also, that when they first came to him all the way back in chapter two, Job's friends sat with him in silence for seven days and seven nights, before Eliphaz finally began the conversation. I believe they waited to speak out of love for their friend... then they began to speak out of concern for their friend... and finally, they ceased to speak out of concern for their friendship, but they remained at Job's side through it all. It was never a perfect conversation, on Job's part or his friends, but we should remember that in every friendship, conversation is important. Silence is important. And most of all, presence is important.

−	So in the days and weeks to come, as we begin to redefine what it means to be "present" for each other~~--offline~~, online, ~~anything in between~~--I pray that your	+	So in the days and weeks to come, as we begin to redefine what that even means to be "present" for each other, online, offline, or some combination of the two--I pray that your friendships, your conversations, will be a blessing to you and those you share them with. May we draw closer to God, who is everywhere, and May God in turn draw us closer to each other, wherever we may be.

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 #First, try to remember that what's most important to you may not be the most important thing to your friend. We all have different circumstances, different priorities, different questions, and different ways of seeing the world--which will naturally lead us to different conclusions about the world, what's going on in it, and what we should do.  And the second thing flows from the first...
-#When your different questions, different circumstances lead you to different perspectives...put your desire to understand above your desire to be right.
+#When your different questions, your different circumstances lead you to different perspectives from your friends...put your desire to understand them above your desire to be right.  Job's friends fear God, and therefore God is not to be questioned.  Job, on the other hand, loves God and questions God precisely so that he can better understand God.  We could follow that example with our friends when we disagree.  If we truly love them, wouldn't we want to truly understand their point of view, and how they came to it?  Not in order to destroy it, but simply to understand them, and love them better, as friends should.   But that requires laying aside, at least momentarily, our own perspective, our own strongly held conviction that we are right, that we are righteous.
-*God speaks to us through circumstances, even tragic ones, and through friends, even imperfect ones.
+So in the days and weeks to come, as we begin to redefine what it means to be "present" for each other--offline, online, anything in between--I pray that your

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 Sometimes, in our conversations with our friends, we get so wrapped up in being right and correct that we forget to be helpful and kind.  And sometimes, we forget that what may be the most important thing for us, may not be the most important thing for our friend.
-Job actually agrees with his friends about God's absolute power and might: In chapter 26, he affirms this.  Yes,
+Job actually agrees with his friends about God's absolute power and might: In chapter 26, he affirms this.  Yes, God binds the waters in his thick clouds and covers the face of the moon. Yes, God calls the heavens into being and makes the pillars of the earth tremble.  But at the very bottom of the chapter, we find out that Job is asking a very different question than the one his friends are asking.
-  But at the very bottom of the chapter, we find out that Job is asking a very different question than the one his friends are asking.
+But the most important question to Job is found in verse 14, and he begins by agreeing with his friends: "These are indeed but the outskirts of his ways; and how small a whisper do we hear of him!  BUT the thunder of his power who can understand?”
-Bildad's central question about God in chapter 25 is "How can mortals be righteous before God?
+Job is more concerned with understanding God than being righteous before God.  And even though both pursuits may be futile in the end, I think Job's is the deeper question.  It's the kinder question.
-Job's central question about God is in chapter 26, verse 14: "These are indeed but the outskirts of his ways; and how small a whisper do we hear of him!  But the thunder of his power who can understand?”
+Look, most days if I'm honest, I'm a lot like Job's friends.  They have good intentions. They have good theology.  They like to talk.  I can go on and on about what something means in the original Hebrew or Greek, or about the history of some minute story in the Bible.  But I suspect that, like Job, what most of you are looking for when you come to church (or when you stream in from home!) is advice.  Something helpful.  Something useful.  Something kind.
-Job is more concerned with understanding God than being righteous before God.  And even though both pursuits may be futile in the end, I think Job's is the deeper question.  It's the kinder question.
+So here goes--gleaned straight from the Book of Job's great friendship meltdown, here are some tips about how to hang on to your friends and your own conversations in the middle of a global pandemic.
 *God speaks to us through circumstances, even tragic ones, and through friends, even imperfect ones.

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 ==The Book of Job: (Un)Friended==
-So, one day Job and his three friends, Eliphas, Bildad, and Zophar were all stranded on a deserted island.  They were dehydrated, starving, and starting to get desperate, when Eliphaz discovered an old lamp sticking out of the sand. When he picked it up and brushed off the dirt, a Genie appeared, and offered to grant each one of them one wish.  Zophar went first, and wished that the Genie might return him to his home and his family.  Poof! Zophar's wish was granted.  Bildad (who was very hungry) said, "Forget home--I wish that I were at Luby's with a fully stocked breakfast buffet!"  And poof! Bildad's wish was granted.  Eliphaz, the wisest of the friends, then made his wish, to be taken to a land of unlimited food, water and other resources, a land where there was no sickness or famine, where he might be nursed back to health and waited on hand and foot for the rest of his days.  Poof! The Genie granted him his wish.  Finally, it was Job's turn.  He looked around at the now *very* deserted island, paused in the quiet and stillness for a few moments and then said.  It sure is lonely here now.  I kind of wish my friends were back with me again...
+So, one day Job and his three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar were all stranded on a deserted island.  They were dehydrated, starving, and starting to get desperate, when Eliphaz discovered an old lamp sticking out of the sand. When he picked it up and brushed off the dirt, a Genie appeared, and offered to grant each one of them one wish.  Zophar went first, and wished that the Genie might return him to his home and his family.  Poof! Zophar's wish was granted.  Bildad (who was very hungry) said, "Forget home--I wish that I were at Luby's with a fully stocked breakfast buffet!"  And poof! Bildad's wish was granted.  Eliphaz, the wisest of the friends, then made his wish, to be taken to a land of unlimited food, water and other resources, a land where there was no sickness or famine, where he might be nursed back to health and waited on hand and foot for the rest of his days.  Poof! The Genie granted him his wish.  Finally, it was Job's turn.  He looked around at the now *very* deserted island, paused in the quiet and stillness for a few moments and then said.  It sure is lonely here now.  I kind of wish my friends were back with me again...
-Today's sermon is called (un)friended, in part because chapter 25 represents the very last words spoken to Job by his friends.  Over the last several chapters, the friends' speeches have been getting shorter and shorter.  They've been going in the same order:  First Eliphaz, then Bildad, then Zophar.  Round two:  Eliphaz again, then Bildad, then Zophar.  Round three begins with Eliphaz, then Bildad's incredibly short speech in this chapter, and Zophar doesn't even bother with a speech in round three.  It's almost like they are giving up, frustrated and largely ignored by Job, in his grief and anger with God.
+For those of you who are physically here with us today, you may be looking around and wishing our friends were back with us again.  For those of you watching at home, you may be kind of lonely too, and wishing the same thing.  Of course, we're all doing our best to be safe and responsible, and we are thankful for the technologies that allow us to remain connected in ways that weren't even possible 10 or 15 years ago.
-From here until the end of the book (16 more chapters), the friends have nothing more to say.  No more words.  No more arguments.  Job is, effectively, unfriended.
+In today's scripture passage from the Book of Job, we read the last words that any of Job's friends speak to him in the book.  If you've been keeping up with our daily reading through the Book of Job, you may have noticed that the conversation between Job and his friends has been deteriorating for several chapters now, becoming more and more fragmented as they speak about each other and past each other, rather than to each other.   After chapter 25, there is nothing but silence from Job's friends.  He has effectively become "unfriended."
-That's an interesting word by the way--unfriended.  It didn't really exist 15 years ago before Facebook.  We used to use the expression "I made a friend" which implies some effort, some work.  But today we click a button and "friend" someone, then click a button again to "unfriend" them.  By the way, that's a great example of a phenomenon called "verbing" or "verbification" --  taking a word that is usually used as a noun, then turning it into a verb.  Like when you "google" something.  Or when you "concretize" your plans.  Or when you "science" the heck out of something.  In the immortal words of Bill Watterson, "Verbing weirds language."
+I want to look at where exactly this breakdown happens between Job and his friends, especially keeping in mind our own friendships. Especially this week, as most of those friendships are moving online, happening via telephone and facebook conversations--places where the rules of conversation and even friendship are different, and to many, unfamiliar.
-But I digress.  Shall we bible some more?
+Bildad's final speech in chapter 25 is a summary of what all three friends have been saying to Job:  God is in charge of everything, the good and the bad--it's all his prerogative.  The central question comes in verse 4: "How then can a mortal be righteous before God?"  In other words, if God alone decides what is right, who are we to say that anything God does is wrong, even if we don't like it, even it seems harsh, cruel, or unjust?
-Bildad's final speech in chapter 25 is kind of a summary of what all three friends have been saying to Job:  God is in charge of everything, the good and the bad--it's all his prerogative.  Verse 4: How then can a mortal be righteous before God?  In other words, if God alone decides what is right, who are we to say that anything God does is wrong, even if we don't like it, even it seems harsh, cruel, or unjust?  In his closing words, Bildad again uses nature to make his point--if God is bigger, greater, more vast than the moon and the stars (the biggest things he can imagine) then by comparison we are worms, maggots (among the smallest things imaginable).  I would put it this way: If you think of the vastness of the universe, stretching out for billions upon billions of miles in every direction, existing for billions of years before and after us...our lives are just a tiny speck in all that.  Nothing we do, nothing we experience, from our greatest triumphs to our worst tragedies will even be remembered, will change anything, will amount to anything in the grand sweep of the cosmos.
+In his closing words, Bildad again uses nature to make his point--if God is bigger, greater, more vast than the moon and the stars (the biggest things he can imagine) then by comparison we are worms, maggots (among the smallest things imaginable).  Today you could put it this way: If you think of the vastness of the universe, stretching out for billions upon billions of miles in every direction, existing for billions of years before and after us...our lives are just a tiny speck in all that.  Nothing we do, nothing we experience, from our greatest triumphs to our worst tragedies will even be remembered, will change anything, will amount to anything in the grand sweep of the cosmos.
 Technically speaking, Bildad and the other friends are absolutely correct.  But I love Job's response to all that at the beginning of chapter 26:
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 "How you have helped one who has no power! How you have assisted the arm that has no strength! How you have counseled one who has no wisdom, and given much good advice!"
-Don't let anyone tell you that sarcasm is not part of the Bible.  Job's friends are correct in their theology, but Job is also correct that they haven't really given him any advice.  In fact, he goes on in the next ten verses to agree with them about God's vast and cosmic might:  Yes, God binds the waters in his thick clouds and covers the face of the moon.  Yes, God calls the heavens into being and makes the pillars of the earth tremble.  But at the very bottom of the chapter, Job asks a very different question than his friends are asking.  Bildad's central question is "How can mortals be righteous before God? And the presumed answer is, they can't.  Job's central question about God is in verse 14: "These are indeed but the outskirts of his ways; and how small a whisper do we hear of him!  But the thunder of his power who can understand?”
+Don't let anyone tell you that sarcasm is not part of the Bible.  Job's friends are correct in their theology, but Job is also correct that they haven't really given him any advice.
 Job is more concerned with understanding God than being righteous before God.  And even though both pursuits may be futile in the end, I think Job's is the deeper question.  It's the kinder question.

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 "How you have helped one who has no power! How you have assisted the arm that has no strength! How you have counseled one who has no wisdom, and given much good advice!"
-Don't let anyone tell you that sarcasm is not part of the Bible.
+Don't let anyone tell you that sarcasm is not part of the Bible.  Job's friends are correct in their theology, but Job is also correct that they haven't really given him any advice.  In fact, he goes on in the next ten verses to agree with them about God's vast and cosmic might:  Yes, God binds the waters in his thick clouds and covers the face of the moon.  Yes, God calls the heavens into being and makes the pillars of the earth tremble.  But at the very bottom of the chapter, Job asks a very different question than his friends are asking.  Bildad's central question is "How can mortals be righteous before God? And the presumed answer is, they can't.  Job's central question about God is in verse 14: "These are indeed but the outskirts of his ways; and how small a whisper do we hear of him!  But the thunder of his power who can understand?”
 *God speaks to us through circumstances, even tragic ones, and through friends, even imperfect ones.

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	Bildad's final speech in chapter 25 is kind of a summary of what all three friends have been saying to Job: God is in charge of everything, the good and the bad--it's all his prerogative. Verse 4: How then can a mortal be righteous before God? In other words, if God alone decides what is right, who are we to say that anything God does is wrong, even if we don't like it, even it seems harsh, cruel, or unjust? In his closing words, Bildad again uses nature to make his point--if God is bigger, greater, more vast than the moon and the stars (the biggest things he can imagine) then by comparison we are worms, maggots (among the smallest things imaginable). I would put it this way: If you think of the vastness of the universe, stretching out for billions upon billions of miles in every direction, existing for billions of years before and after us...our lives are just a tiny speck in all that. Nothing we do, nothing we experience, from our greatest triumphs to our worst tragedies will even be remembered, will change anything, will amount to anything in the grand sweep of the cosmos.		Bildad's final speech in chapter 25 is kind of a summary of what all three friends have been saying to Job: God is in charge of everything, the good and the bad--it's all his prerogative. Verse 4: How then can a mortal be righteous before God? In other words, if God alone decides what is right, who are we to say that anything God does is wrong, even if we don't like it, even it seems harsh, cruel, or unjust? In his closing words, Bildad again uses nature to make his point--if God is bigger, greater, more vast than the moon and the stars (the biggest things he can imagine) then by comparison we are worms, maggots (among the smallest things imaginable). I would put it this way: If you think of the vastness of the universe, stretching out for billions upon billions of miles in every direction, existing for billions of years before and after us...our lives are just a tiny speck in all that. Nothing we do, nothing we experience, from our greatest triumphs to our worst tragedies will even be remembered, will change anything, will amount to anything in the grand sweep of the cosmos.

		+	Technically speaking, Bildad and the other friends are absolutely correct. But I love Job's response to all that at the beginning of chapter 26:

		+	"How you have helped one who has no power! How you have assisted the arm that has no strength! How you have counseled one who has no wisdom, and given much good advice!"

		+	Don't let anyone tell you that sarcasm is not part of the Bible.


	*God speaks to us through circumstances, even tragic ones, and through friends, even imperfect ones.		*God speaks to us through circumstances, even tragic ones, and through friends, even imperfect ones.

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	==The Book of Job: (Un)Friended==		==The Book of Job: (Un)Friended==
	So, one day Job and his three friends, Eliphas, Bildad, and Zophar were all stranded on a deserted island. They were dehydrated, starving, and starting to get desperate, when Eliphaz discovered an old lamp sticking out of the sand. When he picked it up and brushed off the dirt, a Genie appeared, and offered to grant each one of them one wish. Zophar went first, and wished that the Genie might return him to his home and his family. Poof! Zophar's wish was granted. Bildad (who was very hungry) said, "Forget home--I wish that I were at Luby's with a fully stocked breakfast buffet!" And poof! Bildad's wish was granted. Eliphaz, the wisest of the friends, then made his wish, to be taken to a land of unlimited food, water and other resources, a land where there was no sickness or famine, where he might be nursed back to health and waited on hand and foot for the rest of his days. Poof! The Genie granted him his wish. Finally, it was Job's turn. He looked around at the now very deserted island, paused in the quiet and stillness for a few moments and then said. It sure is lonely here now. I kind of wish my friends were back with me again...		So, one day Job and his three friends, Eliphas, Bildad, and Zophar were all stranded on a deserted island. They were dehydrated, starving, and starting to get desperate, when Eliphaz discovered an old lamp sticking out of the sand. When he picked it up and brushed off the dirt, a Genie appeared, and offered to grant each one of them one wish. Zophar went first, and wished that the Genie might return him to his home and his family. Poof! Zophar's wish was granted. Bildad (who was very hungry) said, "Forget home--I wish that I were at Luby's with a fully stocked breakfast buffet!" And poof! Bildad's wish was granted. Eliphaz, the wisest of the friends, then made his wish, to be taken to a land of unlimited food, water and other resources, a land where there was no sickness or famine, where he might be nursed back to health and waited on hand and foot for the rest of his days. Poof! The Genie granted him his wish. Finally, it was Job's turn. He looked around at the now very deserted island, paused in the quiet and stillness for a few moments and then said. It sure is lonely here now. I kind of wish my friends were back with me again...
		+
		+	Today's sermon is called (un)friended, in part because chapter 25 represents the very last words spoken to Job by his friends. Over the last several chapters, the friends' speeches have been getting shorter and shorter. They've been going in the same order: First Eliphaz, then Bildad, then Zophar. Round two: Eliphaz again, then Bildad, then Zophar. Round three begins with Eliphaz, then Bildad's incredibly short speech in this chapter, and Zophar doesn't even bother with a speech in round three. It's almost like they are giving up, frustrated and largely ignored by Job, in his grief and anger with God.
		+
		+	From here until the end of the book (16 more chapters), the friends have nothing more to say. No more words. No more arguments. Job is, effectively, unfriended.
		+
		+	That's an interesting word by the way--unfriended. It didn't really exist 15 years ago before Facebook. We used to use the expression "I made a friend" which implies some effort, some work. But today we click a button and "friend" someone, then click a button again to "unfriend" them. By the way, that's a great example of a phenomenon called "verbing" or "verbification" -- taking a word that is usually used as a noun, then turning it into a verb. Like when you "google" something. Or when you "concretize" your plans. Or when you "science" the heck out of something. In the immortal words of Bill Watterson, "Verbing weirds language."
		+
		+	But I digress. Shall we bible some more?
		+
		+	Bildad's final speech in chapter 25 is kind of a summary of what all three friends have been saying to Job: God is in charge of everything, the good and the bad--it's all his prerogative. Verse 4: How then can a mortal be righteous before God? In other words, if God alone decides what is right, who are we to say that anything God does is wrong, even if we don't like it, even it seems harsh, cruel, or unjust? In his closing words, Bildad again uses nature to make his point--if God is bigger, greater, more vast than the moon and the stars (the biggest things he can imagine) then by comparison we are worms, maggots (among the smallest things imaginable). I would put it this way: If you think of the vastness of the universe, stretching out for billions upon billions of miles in every direction, existing for billions of years before and after us...our lives are just a tiny speck in all that. Nothing we do, nothing we experience, from our greatest triumphs to our worst tragedies will even be remembered, will change anything, will amount to anything in the grand sweep of the cosmos.
		+
		+
		+
		+
		+
		+	*God speaks to us through circumstances, even tragic ones, and through friends, even imperfect ones.

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	==The Book of Job: (Un)Friended==		==The Book of Job: (Un)Friended==
		+	So, one day Job and his three friends, Eliphas, Bildad, and Zophar were all stranded on a deserted island. They were dehydrated, starving, and starting to get desperate, when Eliphaz discovered an old lamp sticking out of the sand. When he picked it up and brushed off the dirt, a Genie appeared, and offered to grant each one of them one wish. Zophar went first, and wished that the Genie might return him to his home and his family. Poof! Zophar's wish was granted. Bildad (who was very hungry) said, "Forget home--I wish that I were at Luby's with a fully stocked breakfast buffet!" And poof! Bildad's wish was granted. Eliphaz, the wisest of the friends, then made his wish, to be taken to a land of unlimited food, water and other resources, a land where there was no sickness or famine, where he might be nursed back to health and waited on hand and foot for the rest of his days. Poof! The Genie granted him his wish. Finally, it was Job's turn. He looked around at the now very deserted island, paused in the quiet and stillness for a few moments and then said. It sure is lonely here now. I kind of wish my friends were back with me again...