Week of Proper 21: Monday, Year 2

Above:  Parisian School Children

Dealing with the Unexpected

SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

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Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada.  I invite you to follow it with me.

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Job 1:6-22 (TANAKH:  The Holy Scriptures):

One day the divine beings presented themselves before the LORD, and the Adversary came along with them.  The LORD said to the Adversary,

Where have you been?

The Adversary answered the LORD,

I have been roaming all over the earth.

The LORD said to the Adversary,

Have you noticed my servant Job?  There is no one like him on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil!

The Adversary answered the LORD,

Does Job not have good reason to fear God?  Why, is it You who have fenced him round, him and his household and all that he has.  You have blessed his efforts so that his possessions spread out in the land.  But lay Your hand upon all that he has and he will surely blaspheme You to Your face.

The LORD replied to the Adversary,

See, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on him.

The Adversary departed from the presence of the LORD.

One day, as his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother, a messenger came to Job and said,

The oxen were plowing and the she-asses were grazing alongside them when Sabeans attacked them and carried them off, and put the boys to the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.

This one was still speaking when another came and said,

God’s fire fell from heaven, took hold of the sheep and the boys, and burned them up; I alone escaped to tell you.

This one was still speaking when another came and said,

A Chaldean formation of three columns made a raid on the camels and carried them off and put the boys to the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.

This one was still speaking when another came and said,

Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother when suddenly a mighty wind came from the wilderness.   It struck the four corners of the house so that it collapsed upon the young people and they died; I alone have escaped to tell you.

Then Job arose, tore his robe, cut off his hair, and threw himself on the ground and worshiped.  He said,

Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there; the LORD has given, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

For all that, Job did not sin nor did he cast reproach on God.

Psalm 17:1-7 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 Hear my plea of innocence, O LORD;

give heed to my cry;

listen to my prayer, which does not come from lying lips.

2 Let my vindication come forth from your presence;

let your eyes be fixed on justice.

3 Weigh my heart, summon me by night,

melt me down; you will find no impurity in me.

4 I give no offence with my mouth as others do;

I have heeded the words of your lips.

5 My footsteps hold fast to the ways of your law;

in your paths my feet shall not stumble.

6 I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me;

incline your ear to me and hear my words.

7 Show me your marvelous loving-kindness,

O Savior of those who take refuge at your right hand

from those who rise up against them.

Luke 9:46-50 (The Jerusalem Bible):

An argument started between them [the Apostles] about which of them was the greatest.  Jesus knew what thoughts were going through their minds, and he took a little child and set him by his side and said to them,

Anyone who welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.  For the least among you all, that is the one who is great.

John spoke up.

 Master,

he said,

we saw a man casting out devils in your name, and spoke because he is not with us we tried to stop him.

But Jesus said to him,

You must not stop him:  anyone who is not against you is for you.

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The Collect:

O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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The Book of Job is an often quoted and frequently misunderstood text.  For example, the main character is quite impatient, with a few notable exceptions, yet the English language contains an inaccurate cliché,

the patience of Job.

And the book does not explain the cause of all suffering, so that cannot be its topic.  The text makes clear that Job’s suffering results from the actions of God’s loyalty tester, an employee called the Adversary or the Satan, with divine consent.  So God is on the hook for this one, according to the Bible itself.

More than one commentator has noted the theological difficulty of the Book of Job, which does not depict God in an entirely positive light.  Yet theological difficulty is par for the course in pondering the Bible.  May we who read the Bible do so carefully and honestly, not fearing to admit which passages and concepts make us uncomfortable.  More will cause discomfort as we progress through the Book of Job for a few more posts.

Speaking of discomfort…

The least among us is great, so social status means nothing to God.  And God has servants whom we do not recognize and of whom we do not know; anyone who is not against us is for us.  So we need to dispense with our exclusive club mentality.  This might threaten our identities, perhaps carefully crafted and well-honed ones.

So God works in various ways, including those we dislike and/or do not expect.  Few things are more disconcerting than the unexpected.  Do we then pretend that these realities do not exist, or do we admit that our knowledge is quite limited?

KRT

http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/dealing-with-the-unexpected/