blip : Beefcake Living In a Poof :

Preaching on suffering makes the soul weary.

This past Sunday the lectionary led us into dark waters. There weren’t any easy texts to retreat to, where I could preach a pet messege. The gospel text was Jesus’ teaching about divorce (Mark 10). I didn’t dare attempt a sermon from that. The Old Testament reading introduced us to Job—it was a selection of verses from the first two chapters (the prologue). And, suffice it to say, Job is not an easy text; not only is the message of the book difficult, but the text itself is an assemblage of genres with many complicated textual variations at important places in the book. For example, Job’s final word in the book is quite ambiguous; how should we read 42:6? Option 1: “Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Option 2: “Therefore I retract my words and repent of dust and ashes.” Option 3: “Therefore I retract my words and have changed my mind concerning dust and ashes.” Option 4: “Therefore I despise and repent of dust and ashes.” (Carol Newsom lays out these options in her book The Book of Job, p. 29). As you can see, that ambiguity makes a difference for the message of the text. All this to say, Job is a difficult text. It’s so slippery. Jerome, writing in the late 4th century, compared the book to an eel: “if you close your hand to hold an eel, the more you squeeze it the sooner it escapes.”

But I tried to say something. Although I felt like I didn’t feel very confident about what I had to say, the sermon sparked a very interesting conversation during our time where we discern the Word together.

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Title: Broken Worlds. Date: 10/8/06. Lectionary texts: Job 1:1-5, 2:1-10Job 1:1-5, 2:1-10
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
Job and His Family ^{1 1} Many years ago, a man named Job lived in the land of Uz. a Uz: The exact location of this place is unknown, though it was possibly somewhere in northwest Arabia. He was a truly good person, who respected God and refused to do evil. ² Job had seven sons and three daughters. ³ He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred pair of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and a large number of servants. He was the richest person in the East. ⁴ Job's sons took turns having feasts in their homes, and they always invited their three sisters to join in the eating and drinking. ⁵ After each feast, Job would send for his children and perform a ceremony, as a way of asking God to forgive them of any wrongs they may have done. He would get up early the next morning and offer a sacrifice for each of them, just in case they had sinned or silently cursed God. Angels, the Lord, and Satan ⁶ One day, when the angels b angels: See the note at . had gathered around the Lord, and Satan c Satan: Hebrew “the accuser.” was there with them, ⁷ the Lord asked, “Satan, where have you been?” Satan replied, “I have been going all over the earth.” ⁸ Then the Lord asked, “What do you think of my servant Job? No one on earth is like him—he is a truly good person, who respects me and refuses to do evil.” ⁹ . “Why shouldn't he respect you?” Satan remarked. ¹⁰ “You are like a wall protecting not only him, but his entire family and all his property. You make him successful in whatever he does, and his flocks and herds are everywhere. ¹¹ Try taking away everything he owns, and he will curse you to your face.” ¹² The Lord replied, “All right, Satan, do what you want with anything that belongs to him, but don't harm Job.” Then Satan left. Job Loses Everything ¹³ Job's sons and daughters were having a feast in the home of his oldest son, ¹⁴ when someone rushed up to Job and said, “While your servants were plowing with your oxen, and your donkeys were nearby eating grass, ¹⁵ a gang of Sabeans d Sabeans: Perhaps the people of Sheba in what is now southwest Arabia . attacked and stole the oxen and donkeys! Your other servants were killed, and I was the only one who escaped to tell you.” ¹⁶ That servant was still speaking, when a second one came running up and saying, “God sent down a fire that killed your sheep and your servants. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.” ¹⁷ Before that servant finished speaking, a third one raced up and said, “Three gangs of Chaldeans e Chaldeans: People from the region of Babylonia, northeast of Palestine. attacked and stole your camels! All of your other servants were killed, and I am the only one who escaped to tell you.” ¹⁸ That servant was still speaking, when a fourth one dashed up and said, “Your children were having a feast and drinking wine at the home of your oldest son, ¹⁹ when suddenly a windstorm from the desert blew the house down, crushing all of your children. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.” ²⁰ When Job heard this, he tore his clothes and shaved his head because of his great sorrow. He knelt on the ground, then worshiped God ²¹ . and said: “We bring nothing at birth; we take nothing with us at death. The Lord alone gives and takes. Praise the name of the Lord!” ²² In spite of everything, Job did not sin or accuse God of doing wrong. Job Loses His Health ^{2 1} When the angels f angels: See the note at . gathered around the Lord again, Satan g Satan: See the note at . was there with them, ² and the Lord asked, “Satan, where have you been?” Satan replied, “I have been going all over the earth.” ³ Then the Lord asked, “What do you think of my servant Job? No one on earth is like him—he is a truly good person, who respects me and refuses to do evil. And he hasn't changed, even though you persuaded me to destroy him for no reason.” ⁴ Satan answered, “There's no pain like your own. h There's no pain like your own: The Hebrew text has “Skin for skin,” which was probably a popular saying. People will do anything to stay alive. ⁵ Try striking Job's own body with pain, and he will curse you to your face.” ⁶ “All right!” the Lord replied. “Make Job suffer as much as you want, but just don't kill him.” ⁷ Satan left and caused painful sores to break out all over Job's body—from head to toe. ⁸ Then Job sat on the ash-heap to show his sorrow. And while he was scraping his sores with a broken piece of pottery, ⁹ his wife asked, “Why do you still trust God? Why don't you curse him and die?” ¹⁰ Job replied, “Don't talk like a fool! If we accept blessings from God, we must accept trouble as well.” In all that happened, Job never once said anything against God. Job's Three Friends ¹¹ Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuah, and Zophar from Naamah i Teman ... Shuah ... Naamah: Teman was a place in northern Edom; Shuah may have been a town on the Euphrates River or else further south, near the towns of Dedan and Sheba; Naamah may have been located on the road between Beirut and Damascus, though its exact location is unknown. were three of Job's friends, and they heard about his troubles. So they agreed to visit Job and comfort him. ¹² When they came near enough to see Job, they could hardly recognize him. And in their great sorrow, they tore their clothes, then sprinkled dust on their heads and cried bitterly. ¹³ For seven days and nights, they sat silently on the ground beside him, because they realized what terrible pain he was in. Job's First Speech Blot Out the Day of My Birth ^{3 1} ; . Finally, Job cursed the day of his birth ² by saying to God: ³ Blot out the day of my birth and the night when my parents created a son. ⁴ Forget about that day, cover it with darkness, ⁵ and send thick, gloomy shadows to fill it with dread. ⁶ Erase that night from the calendar and conceal it with darkness. ⁷ Don't let children be created or joyful shouts be heard ever again in that night. ⁸ Let those with magic powers j those with magic powers: The Hebrew text has “those who can place a curse on the day and rouse up Leviathan,” which was some kind of sea monster. God's victory over this monster sometimes stood for God's power over all creation and sometimes for his defeat of his enemies . In , Leviathan is either a sea monster or a crocodile with almost supernatural powers. place a curse on that day. ⁹ Darken its morning stars and remove all hope of light, ¹⁰ because it let me be born into a world of trouble. Why Didn't I Die at Birth? ¹¹ Why didn't I die at birth? ¹² Why was I accepted k Why was I accepted: The Hebrew text has “Why were there knees to receive me,” which may refer either to Job's mother or to his father, who would have placed Job on his knees to show that he had accepted him as his child. and allowed to nurse at my mother's breast? ¹³ Now I would be at peace in the silent world below ¹⁴ with kings and their advisors whose palaces lie in ruins, ¹⁵ and with rulers once rich with silver and gold. ¹⁶ I wish I had been born dead and then buried, never to see the light of day. ¹⁷ In the world of the dead, the wicked and the weary rest without a worry. * ¹⁸ Everyone is there— ¹⁹ where captives and slaves are free at last. Why Does God Let Me Live? ²⁰ Why does God let me live when life is miserable and so bitter? ²¹ . I keep longing for death more than I would seek a valuable treasure. ²² Nothing could make me happier than to be in the grave. ²³ Why do I go on living when God has me surrounded, and I can't see the road? ²⁴ Moaning and groaning are my food and drink, ²⁵ and my worst fears have all come true. ²⁶ I have no peace or rest— only troubles and worries. Eliphaz's First Speech Please Be Patient and Listen ^{4 1} Eliphaz from Teman l Teman: See the note at . said: ² Please be patient and listen to what I have to say. * ³ Remember how your words ⁴ have guided and encouraged many in need. ⁵ But now you feel discouraged when struck by trouble. ⁶ You respect God and live right, so don't lose hope! ⁷ No truly innocent person has ever died young. ⁸ In my experience, only those who plant seeds of evil harvest trouble, ⁹ and then they are swept away by the angry breath of God. ¹⁰ They may roar and growl like powerful lions. But when God breaks their teeth, ¹¹ they starve, and their children are scattered. A Secret Was Told to Me ¹² A secret was told to me in a faint whisper— ¹³ . I was overcome by sleep, but disturbed by dreams; ¹⁴ I trembled with fear, ¹⁵ and my hair stood on end, as a wind blew past my face. ¹⁶ It stopped and stood still. Then a form appeared— a shapeless form. And from the silence, I heard a voice say, ¹⁷ “No humans are innocent in the eyes of God their Creator. ¹⁸ He finds fault with his servants and even with his angels. ¹⁹ Humans are formed from clay and are fragile as moths, so what chance do you have? ²⁰ Born after daybreak, you die before nightfall and disappear forever. ²¹ Your tent pegs are pulled up, and you leave this life, having gained no wisdom.” Eliphaz Continues Call Out for Help ^{5 1} Job, call out for help and see if an angel comes! ² Envy and jealousy will kill a stupid fool. ³ I have seen fools take root. But God sends a curse, suddenly uprooting them ⁴ and leaving their children helpless in court. ⁵ Then hungry and greedy people gobble down their crops and grab up their wealth. m wealth: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse ⁵. ⁶ Our suffering isn't caused by the failure of crops; ⁷ it's all part of life, like sparks shooting skyward. ⁸ Job, if I were you, I would ask God for help. ⁹ . His miracles are marvelous, more than we can count. ¹⁰ God sends showers on earth and waters the fields. ¹¹ He protects the sorrowful and lifts up those who have been disgraced. * ¹² God swiftly traps the wicked ¹³ . in their own evil schemes, and their wisdom fails. ¹⁴ Darkness is their only companion, hiding their path at noon. ¹⁵ God rescues the needy from the words of the wicked and the fist of the mighty. ¹⁶ The poor are filled with hope, and injustice is silenced. Consider Yourself Fortunate ¹⁷ Consider yourself fortunate if God All-Powerful chooses to correct you. ¹⁸ . He may cause injury and pain, but he will bandage and heal your cuts and bruises. ¹⁹ God will protect you from harm, no matter how often trouble may strike. ²⁰ In times of war and famine, God will keep you safe. ²¹ You will be sheltered, without fear of hurtful words or any other weapon. ²² You will laugh at the threat of destruction and famine. And you won't be afraid of wild animals— ²³ they will no longer be fierce, and your rocky fields will become friendly. ²⁴ Your home will be secure, and your sheep will be safe. ²⁵ You will have more descendants than there are blades of grass on the face of the earth. ²⁶ You will live a long life, and your body will be strong until the day you die. ²⁷ Our experience has proven these things to be true, so listen and learn. ² Job had seven sons and three daughters. ³ He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred pair of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and a large number of servants. He was the richest person in the East. ⁴ Job's sons took turns having feasts in their homes, and they always invited their three sisters to join in the eating and drinking. ⁵ After each feast, Job would send for his children and perform a ceremony, as a way of asking God to forgive them of any wrongs they may have done. He would get up early the next morning and offer a sacrifice for each of them, just in case they had sinned or silently cursed God. Angels, the Lord, and Satan ⁶ One day, when the angels b angels: See the note at . had gathered around the Lord, and Satan c Satan: Hebrew “the accuser.” was there with them, ⁷ the Lord asked, “Satan, where have you been?” Satan replied, “I have been going all over the earth.” ⁸ Then the Lord asked, “What do you think of my servant Job? No one on earth is like him—he is a truly good person, who respects me and refuses to do evil.” ⁹ . “Why shouldn't he respect you?” Satan remarked. ¹⁰ “You are like a wall protecting not only him, but his entire family and all his property. You make him successful in whatever he does, and his flocks and herds are everywhere. ¹¹ Try taking away everything he owns, and he will curse you to your face.” ¹² The Lord replied, “All right, Satan, do what you want with anything that belongs to him, but don't harm Job.” Then Satan left. Job Loses Everything ¹³ Job's sons and daughters were having a feast in the home of his oldest son, ¹⁴ when someone rushed up to Job and said, “While your servants were plowing with your oxen, and your donkeys were nearby eating grass, ¹⁵ a gang of Sabeans d Sabeans: Perhaps the people of Sheba in what is now southwest Arabia . attacked and stole the oxen and donkeys! Your other servants were killed, and I was the only one who escaped to tell you.” ¹⁶ That servant was still speaking, when a second one came running up and saying, “God sent down a fire that killed your sheep and your servants. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.” ¹⁷ Before that servant finished speaking, a third one raced up and said, “Three gangs of Chaldeans e Chaldeans: People from the region of Babylonia, northeast of Palestine. attacked and stole your camels! All of your other servants were killed, and I am the only one who escaped to tell you.” ¹⁸ That servant was still speaking, when a fourth one dashed up and said, “Your children were having a feast and drinking wine at the home of your oldest son, ¹⁹ when suddenly a windstorm from the desert blew the house down, crushing all of your children. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.” ²⁰ When Job heard this, he tore his clothes and shaved his head because of his great sorrow. He knelt on the ground, then worshiped God ²¹ . and said: “We bring nothing at birth; we take nothing with us at death. The Lord alone gives and takes. Praise the name of the Lord!” ²² In spite of everything, Job did not sin or accuse God of doing wrong. Job Loses His Health ^{2 1} When the angels f angels: See the note at . gathered around the Lord again, Satan g Satan: See the note at . was there with them, ² and the Lord asked, “Satan, where have you been?” Satan replied, “I have been going all over the earth.” ³ Then the Lord asked, “What do you think of my servant Job? No one on earth is like him—he is a truly good person, who respects me and refuses to do evil. And he hasn't changed, even though you persuaded me to destroy him for no reason.” ⁴ Satan answered, “There's no pain like your own. h There's no pain like your own: The Hebrew text has “Skin for skin,” which was probably a popular saying. People will do anything to stay alive. ⁵ Try striking Job's own body with pain, and he will curse you to your face.” ⁶ “All right!” the Lord replied. “Make Job suffer as much as you want, but just don't kill him.” ⁷ Satan left and caused painful sores to break out all over Job's body—from head to toe. ⁸ Then Job sat on the ash-heap to show his sorrow. And while he was scraping his sores with a broken piece of pottery, ⁹ his wife asked, “Why do you still trust God? Why don't you curse him and die?” ¹⁰ Job replied, “Don't talk like a fool! If we accept blessings from God, we must accept trouble as well.” In all that happened, Job never once said anything against God. Job's Three Friends ¹¹ Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuah, and Zophar from Naamah i Teman ... Shuah ... Naamah: Teman was a place in northern Edom; Shuah may have been a town on the Euphrates River or else further south, near the towns of Dedan and Sheba; Naamah may have been located on the road between Beirut and Damascus, though its exact location is unknown. were three of Job's friends, and they heard about his troubles. So they agreed to visit Job and comfort him. ¹² When they came near enough to see Job, they could hardly recognize him. And in their great sorrow, they tore their clothes, then sprinkled dust on their heads and cried bitterly. ¹³ For seven days and nights, they sat silently on the ground beside him, because they realized what terrible pain he was in. Job's First Speech Blot Out the Day of My Birth ^{3 1} ; . Finally, Job cursed the day of his birth ² by saying to God: ³ Blot out the day of my birth and the night when my parents created a son. ⁴ Forget about that day, cover it with darkness, ⁵ and send thick, gloomy shadows to fill it with dread. ⁶ Erase that night from the calendar and conceal it with darkness. ⁷ Don't let children be created or joyful shouts be heard ever again in that night. ⁸ Let those with magic powers j those with magic powers: The Hebrew text has “those who can place a curse on the day and rouse up Leviathan,” which was some kind of sea monster. God's victory over this monster sometimes stood for God's power over all creation and sometimes for his defeat of his enemies . In , Leviathan is either a sea monster or a crocodile with almost supernatural powers. place a curse on that day. ⁹ Darken its morning stars and remove all hope of light, ¹⁰ because it let me be born into a world of trouble. Why Didn't I Die at Birth? ¹¹ Why didn't I die at birth? ¹² Why was I accepted k Why was I accepted: The Hebrew text has “Why were there knees to receive me,” which may refer either to Job's mother or to his father, who would have placed Job on his knees to show that he had accepted him as his child. and allowed to nurse at my mother's breast? ¹³ Now I would be at peace in the silent world below ¹⁴ with kings and their advisors whose palaces lie in ruins, ¹⁵ and with rulers once rich with silver and gold. ¹⁶ I wish I had been born dead and then buried, never to see the light of day. ¹⁷ In the world of the dead, the wicked and the weary rest without a worry. * ¹⁸ Everyone is there— ¹⁹ where captives and slaves are free at last. Why Does God Let Me Live? ²⁰ Why does God let me live when life is miserable and so bitter? ²¹ . I keep longing for death more than I would seek a valuable treasure. ²² Nothing could make me happier than to be in the grave. ²³ Why do I go on living when God has me surrounded, and I can't see the road? ²⁴ Moaning and groaning are my food and drink, ²⁵ and my worst fears have all come true. ²⁶ I have no peace or rest— only troubles and worries. Eliphaz's First Speech Please Be Patient and Listen ^{4 1} Eliphaz from Teman l Teman: See the note at . said: ² Please be patient and listen to what I have to say. * ³ Remember how your words ⁴ have guided and encouraged many in need. ⁵ But now you feel discouraged when struck by trouble. ⁶ You respect God and live right, so don't lose hope! ⁷ No truly innocent person has ever died young. ⁸ In my experience, only those who plant seeds of evil harvest trouble, ⁹ and then they are swept away by the angry breath of God. ¹⁰ They may roar and growl like powerful lions. But when God breaks their teeth, ¹¹ they starve, and their children are scattered. A Secret Was Told to Me ¹² A secret was told to me in a faint whisper— ¹³ . I was overcome by sleep, but disturbed by dreams; ¹⁴ I trembled with fear, ¹⁵ and my hair stood on end, as a wind blew past my face. ¹⁶ It stopped and stood still. Then a form appeared— a shapeless form. And from the silence, I heard a voice say, ¹⁷ “No humans are innocent in the eyes of God their Creator. ¹⁸ He finds fault with his servants and even with his angels. ¹⁹ Humans are formed from clay and are fragile as moths, so what chance do you have? ²⁰ Born after daybreak, you die before nightfall and disappear forever. ²¹ Your tent pegs are pulled up, and you leave this life, having gained no wisdom.” Eliphaz Continues Call Out for Help ^{5 1} Job, call out for help and see if an angel comes! ² Envy and jealousy will kill a stupid fool.

; Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
^{1 1} Long ago in many ways and at many times God's prophets spoke his message to our ancestors. ² Ws . But now at last, God sent his Son to bring his message to us. God created the universe by his Son, and everything will someday belong to the Son. ³ Ws God's Son has all the brightness of God's own glory and is like him in every way. By his own mighty word, he holds the universe together. After the Son had washed away our sins, he sat down at the right side a right side: The place of honor and power. of the glorious God in heaven. ⁴ He had become much greater than the angels, and the name he was given is far greater than any of theirs. God's Son Is Greater than Angels ⁵ a ; b . God has never said to any of the angels, “You are my Son, because today I have become your Father!” Neither has God said to any of them, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son!” ⁶ . When God brings his first-born Son b first-born Son: The first son born into a family had certain privileges that the other children did not have. In “first-born” refers to God's special people. into the world, he commands all of his angels to worship him. ⁷ . And when God speaks about the angels, he says, “I change my angels into wind and my servants into flaming fire.” ⁸ . But God says about his Son, “You are God, and you will rule as King forever! Your c Your: Some manuscripts have “His.” royal power brings about justice. ⁹ You loved justice and hated evil, and so I, your God, have chosen you. I appointed you and made you happier than any of your friends.” ¹⁰ . The Scriptures also say, “In the beginning, Lord, you were the one who laid the foundation of the earth and created the heavens. ¹¹ They will all disappear and wear out like clothes, but you will last forever. ¹² You will roll them up like a robe and change them like a garment. But you are always the same, and you will live forever.” ¹³ . God never said to any of the angels, “Sit at my right side until I make your enemies into a footstool for you!” ¹⁴ Angels are merely spirits sent to serve people who are going to be saved. This Great Way of Being Saved ^{2 1} We must give our full attention to what we were told, so that we won't drift away. ² The message spoken by angels proved to be true, and all who disobeyed or rejected it were punished as they deserved. ³ So if we refuse this great way of being saved, how can we hope to escape? The Lord himself was the first to tell about it, and people who heard the message proved to us that it was true. ⁴ God himself showed that his message was true by working all kinds of powerful miracles and wonders. He also gave his Holy Spirit to anyone he chose to. The One Who Leads Us To Be Saved ⁵ We know that God did not put the future world under the power of angels. ⁶ . Somewhere in the Scriptures someone says to God, “What makes you care about us humans? Why are you concerned for weaklings such as we? ⁷ You made us lower than the angels for a while. Yet you have crowned us with glory and honor. d and honor: Some manuscripts add “and you have placed us in charge of all you created.” ⁸ And you have put everything under our power!” God has put everything under our power and has not left anything out of our power. But we still don't see it all under our power. ⁹ What we do see is Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels. Because of God's wonderful kindness, Jesus died for everyone. And now that Jesus has suffered and died, he is crowned with glory and honor! ¹⁰ Everything belongs to God, and all things were created by his power. So God did the right thing when he made Jesus perfect by suffering, as Jesus led many of God's children to be saved and to share in his glory. ¹¹ Jesus and the people he makes holy all belong to the same family. That is why he isn't ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. ¹² . He even said to God, “I will tell them your name and sing your praises when they come together to worship.” ¹³ a ; b . He also said, “I will trust God.” Then he said, “Here I am with the children God has given me.” ¹⁴ We are people of flesh and blood. That is why Jesus became one of us. He died to destroy the devil, who had power over death. ¹⁵ But he also died to rescue all of us who live each day in fear of dying. ¹⁶ Jesus clearly did not come to help angels, but he did come to help Abraham's descendants. ¹⁷ He had to be one of us, so that he could serve God as our merciful and faithful high priest and sacrifice himself for the forgiveness of our sins. ¹⁸ And now that Jesus has suffered and was tempted, he can help anyone else who is tempted. Jesus Is Greater than Moses ^{3 1} My friends, God has chosen you to be his holy people. So think about Jesus, the one we call our apostle and high priest! ² . Jesus was faithful to God, who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in serving all of e all of: Some manuscripts do not have these words. God's people. ³ But Jesus deserves more honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house deserves more honor than the house. ⁴ Of course, every house is built by someone, and God is really the one who built everything. ⁵ Moses was a faithful servant and told God's people what would be said in the future. ⁶ But Christ is the Son in charge of God's people. And we are those people, if we keep on being brave and don't lose hope. A Rest for God's People ⁷ . It is just as the Holy Spirit says, “If you hear God's voice today, ⁸ don't be stubborn! Don't rebel like those people who were tested in the desert. * ⁹ For forty years your ancestors tested God and saw the things he did. ¹⁰ “Then God got tired of them and said, ‘You people never show good sense, and you don't understand what I want you to do.’ ¹¹ God became angry and told the people, ‘You will never enter my place of rest!’ ” ¹² My friends, watch out! Don't let evil thoughts or doubts make any of you turn from the living God. ¹³ You must encourage one another each day. And you must keep on while there is still a time that can be called “today.” If you don't, then sin may fool some of you and make you stubborn. ¹⁴ We were sure about Christ when we first became his people. So let's hold tightly to our faith until the end. ¹⁵ The Scriptures say, “If you hear his voice today, don't be stubborn like those who rebelled.” ¹⁶ . Who were those people that heard God's voice and rebelled? Weren't they the same ones that came out of Egypt with Moses? ¹⁷ Who were the people that made God angry for forty years? Weren't they the ones that sinned and died in the desert? ¹⁸ And who did God say would never enter his place of rest? Weren't they the ones that disobeyed him? ¹⁹ We see that those people did not enter the place of rest because they did not have faith. ^{4 1} The promise to enter the place of rest is still good, and we must take care that none of you miss out. ² We have heard the message, just as they did. But they failed to believe what they heard, and the message did not do them any good. ³ . Only people who have faith will enter the place of rest. It is just as the Scriptures say, “God became angry and told the people, ‘You will never enter my place of rest!’ ” God said this, even though everything has been ready from the time of creation. ⁴ . In fact, somewhere the Scriptures say that by the seventh day, God had finished his work, and so he rested. ⁵ . We also read that he later said, “You people will never enter my place of rest!” ⁶ This means that the promise to enter is still good, because those who first heard about it disobeyed and did not enter. ⁷ Much later God told David to make the promise again, just as I have already said, “If you hear his voice today, don't be stubborn!” ⁸ ; . If Joshua had really given the people rest, there would not be any need for God to talk about another day of rest. ⁹ But God has promised us a Sabbath when we will rest, even though it has not yet come. ¹⁰ . On that day God's people will rest from their work, just as God rested from his work. ¹¹ We should do our best to enter that place of rest, so that none of us will disobey and miss going there, as they did. ¹² What God has said isn't only alive and active! It is sharper than any double-edged sword. His word can cut through our spirits and souls and through our joints and marrow, until it discovers the desires and thoughts of our hearts. ¹³ Ws . Nothing is hidden from God! He sees through everything, and we will have to tell him the truth. Jesus Is the Great High Priest ¹⁴ We have a great high priest, who has gone into heaven, and he is Jesus the Son of God. That is why we must hold on to what we have said about him. ¹⁵ Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin! ¹⁶ So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help. ² Ws . But now at last, God sent his Son to bring his message to us. God created the universe by his Son, and everything will someday belong to the Son. ³ Ws God's Son has all the brightness of God's own glory and is like him in every way. By his own mighty word, he holds the universe together. After the Son had washed away our sins, he sat down at the right side a right side: The place of honor and power. of the glorious God in heaven. ⁴ He had become much greater than the angels, and the name he was given is far greater than any of theirs. God's Son Is Greater than Angels ⁵ a ; b . God has never said to any of the angels, “You are my Son, because today I have become your Father!” Neither has God said to any of them, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son!” ⁶ . When God brings his first-born Son b first-born Son: The first son born into a family had certain privileges that the other children did not have. In “first-born” refers to God's special people. into the world, he commands all of his angels to worship him. ⁷ . And when God speaks about the angels, he says, “I change my angels into wind and my servants into flaming fire.” ⁸ . But God says about his Son, “You are God, and you will rule as King forever! Your c Your: Some manuscripts have “His.” royal power brings about justice. ⁹ You loved justice and hated evil, and so I, your God, have chosen you. I appointed you and made you happier than any of your friends.” ¹⁰ . The Scriptures also say, “In the beginning, Lord, you were the one who laid the foundation of the earth and created the heavens. ¹¹ They will all disappear and wear out like clothes, but you will last forever. ¹² You will roll them up like a robe and change them like a garment. But you are always the same, and you will live forever.” ¹³ . God never said to any of the angels, “Sit at my right side until I make your enemies into a footstool for you!” ¹⁴ Angels are merely spirits sent to serve people who are going to be saved. This Great Way of Being Saved ^{2 1} We must give our full attention to what we were told, so that we won't drift away. ² The message spoken by angels proved to be true, and all who disobeyed or rejected it were punished as they deserved. ³ So if we refuse this great way of being saved, how can we hope to escape? The Lord himself was the first to tell about it, and people who heard the message proved to us that it was true. ⁴ God himself showed that his message was true by working all kinds of powerful miracles and wonders. He also gave his Holy Spirit to anyone he chose to. The One Who Leads Us To Be Saved ⁵ We know that God did not put the future world under the power of angels. ⁶ . Somewhere in the Scriptures someone says to God, “What makes you care about us humans? Why are you concerned for weaklings such as we? ⁷ You made us lower than the angels for a while. Yet you have crowned us with glory and honor. d and honor: Some manuscripts add “and you have placed us in charge of all you created.” ⁸ And you have put everything under our power!” God has put everything under our power and has not left anything out of our power. But we still don't see it all under our power. ⁹ What we do see is Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels. Because of God's wonderful kindness, Jesus died for everyone. And now that Jesus has suffered and died, he is crowned with glory and honor! ¹⁰ Everything belongs to God, and all things were created by his power. So God did the right thing when he made Jesus perfect by suffering, as Jesus led many of God's children to be saved and to share in his glory. ¹¹ Jesus and the people he makes holy all belong to the same family. That is why he isn't ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. ¹² . He even said to God, “I will tell them your name and sing your praises when they come together to worship.” ¹³ a ; b . He also said, “I will trust God.” Then he said, “Here I am with the children God has given me.” ¹⁴ We are people of flesh and blood. That is why Jesus became one of us. He died to destroy the devil, who had power over death. ¹⁵ But he also died to rescue all of us who live each day in fear of dying. ¹⁶ Jesus clearly did not come to help angels, but he did come to help Abraham's descendants. ¹⁷ He had to be one of us, so that he could serve God as our merciful and faithful high priest and sacrifice himself for the forgiveness of our sins. ¹⁸ And now that Jesus has suffered and was tempted, he can help anyone else who is tempted. Jesus Is Greater than Moses ^{3 1} My friends, God has chosen you to be his holy people. So think about Jesus, the one we call our apostle and high priest! ² . Jesus was faithful to God, who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in serving all of e all of: Some manuscripts do not have these words. God's people. ³ But Jesus deserves more honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house deserves more honor than the house. ⁴ Of course, every house is built by someone, and God is really the one who built everything. ⁵ Moses was a faithful servant and told God's people what would be said in the future. ⁶ But Christ is the Son in charge of God's people. And we are those people, if we keep on being brave and don't lose hope. A Rest for God's People ⁷ . It is just as the Holy Spirit says, “If you hear God's voice today, ⁸ don't be stubborn! Don't rebel like those people who were tested in the desert. * ⁹ For forty years your ancestors tested God and saw the things he did. ¹⁰ “Then God got tired of them and said, ‘You people never show good sense, and you don't understand what I want you to do.’ ¹¹ God became angry and told the people, ‘You will never enter my place of rest!’ ” ¹² My friends, watch out! Don't let evil thoughts or doubts make any of you turn from the living God. ¹³ You must encourage one another each day. And you must keep on while there is still a time that can be called “today.” If you don't, then sin may fool some of you and make you stubborn. ¹⁴ We were sure about Christ when we first became his people. So let's hold tightly to our faith until the end. ¹⁵ The Scriptures say, “If you hear his voice today, don't be stubborn like those who rebelled.” ¹⁶ . Who were those people that heard God's voice and rebelled? Weren't they the same ones that came out of Egypt with Moses? ¹⁷ Who were the people that made God angry for forty years? Weren't they the ones that sinned and died in the desert? ¹⁸ And who did God say would never enter his place of rest? Weren't they the ones that disobeyed him? ¹⁹ We see that those people did not enter the place of rest because they did not have faith. ^{4 1} The promise to enter the place of rest is still good, and we must take care that none of you miss out. ² We have heard the message, just as they did. But they failed to believe what they heard, and the message did not do them any good.

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A funny thing happened yesterday, around lunch time. I think I met Job…and, among other things, it meant I had to re-think this sermon. I got a call on the church phone and this stranger told me about his problems and asked if I could meet him to pray—all he told me he wanted was prayer… but that turned out not to be the case, but I’m getting ahead of myself. He needed to meet right away, he said. So I did. I drove over to some hotel off the freeway in Durham and met this man in the lobby—I’ll call him James.

I don’t want to say too much about James; it wouldn’t be right. But I will say this: as he spoke to me with his drunken slur, I thought to myself… “Is this Job?” The connection wasn’t necessarily self-evident. There were many important differences between James and the Job I was reading about in the Bible. If it was any other week, I probably wouldn’t have asked that question. But I couldn’t help it; I’d been thinking about Job and working on this sermon all week; the bible character was fresh on my mind.

There are many things I could have said about our Job from the text. Lots of stuff to preach about, and, I must admit, lots that I read and shook my head at in disbelief—like a God who, as it says in 2:7, “afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.” I’ll be honest: I’m not sure what to do with that image of God. But talking with James brought my attention to something in the text, something right there at the end of the passage, 2:9: “His wife said to him, ‘Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!’” Then Job replies, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”

In an instant, Job went from the pleasant pastures of life to the misery of the valley of the shadow of death. In a moment all the good things of life were stripped away. He lost it all. He lost his wealth, his sons and daughters, and his health. And after all that Job’s closest companion turns into a nihilist: “Curse God and die,” she says. Your life is headed toward death, she says. Embrace it. Accept it. Forget the God of your past, all those pathetic promises, and turn towards your own death. “Curse God and die.” There’s nothing more worth living for. Everything is misery.

But he doesn’t. And that’s what I found in James, the stranger I met and prayed with at the Hampton Inn. Amidst the slurs, the shifting stories, the manipulation—under all that stuff, I was struck with James’ will to live, that same will to live I see now in Job. They both are fighting to continue on. They fight to live. Even when it looks like the universe is plotting against them, even God at times, Job and James refuse to give up. They stay in the game. James was doing whatever he knew, using any possible strategy in order to make it through the day, and the week. Sure, for James it involved skills of deception—and that’s not a good idea. But I saw something underneath that, some desire at work behind that, although misdirected. He wanted to keep on with life, even when everything collapses, when the world falls apart.

At the heart of these stories, these two lives, is a question: How to go on when the world gets turned upside down? The Bible story shows us how Job’s known world falls apart. And in the lobby of the Hampton Inn, I began to see how James’ world fell apart a long time ago. But they keep on going, trying to make it in an unfamiliar world.

How to go on when the world gets turned upside down? That’s what our passage from Job asks us. But it’s also the same question at the heart of our passage from Hebrews. I’ll explain. At the very beginning of the letter we hear a glorious vision of Jesus, the Son of God. 1:3: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.” That’s quite a glorified vision of Jesus: the radiance of God’s glory, seated at the right hand of majesty, superior to the angels.

It’s the same sort of vision of Jesus repeated in chapter two, in the quotation from Psalm 8: “You crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet.” Then the writer of Hebrews goes on—this is the second half of verse 8: “In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him.” These passages speak of a world completely under Jesus’ lordship—everything is under his feet, it says. This is a vision of a world that obeys the command of Jesus, the good will of God, where the good and the true triumph. This is the world that all of us want, a world without pain and suffering, a world without powers that tempt us with sin, a world without evil, a world where I don’t have to face the news of more deaths in Iraq, a world where a powerful politician doesn’t take advantage of teenagers, a world where a violent man doesn’t kill Amish children at school, a world where Durham teenagers don’t murder.

That’s the world that I want. And that’s the world the writer of Hebrews starts with. “In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him.” But then you can almost sense a pause in the writer’s thought. He has been caught up in this glorious vision of a triumphant Jesus who is in complete control of world affairs… he can barely write fast enough as he tries to describe this wonderful world, the world offered in the Psalm he quotes. But then he stops. He pauses. He puts down his pen. He feels the weight of experience, of pain and suffering, of sin. And then he writes, “Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.” (2:8b). And with that, everything comes crashing down. It’s the same thing that happens with Job. The perfect world collapses. And that question I mentioned before comes back again: How to go on when the world gets turned upside down?

I’ll read from Hebrews 2:8Hebrews 2:8
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
8 And you have put everything under our power!” God has put everything under our power and has not left anything out of our power. But we still don't see it all under our power.

again: “In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.” Now listen to this next part in verse 9: “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”

When the glorious vision of the world collapses under the weight of experience, the writer of Hebrews offers us Jesus: “But we see Jesus.” And it’s a Jesus who knows suffering—“who suffered death” and “tasted death for everyone.” When we wonder about how to go on when the world falls apart, or when the world we hope for is nowhere to be seen, we are offered a vision of a suffering Jesus, a Jesus who is familiar with pain, with death, with the human condition, the human struggle.

I have to admit, part of me cringes as I read that line in Hebrews 2:9Hebrews 2:9
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
9 What we do see is Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels. Because of God's wonderful kindness, Jesus died for everyone. And now that Jesus has suffered and died, he is crowned with glory and honor!

—“But we see Jesus.” I cringe because I’ve heard too many sermons that stop there. So, the call at the end of those sermons is to somehow look with my mind’s eye at Jesus, to close my eyes and think about Jesus, or see some figure of Jesus in my head. And at that point I hear all the voices of criticism in the recent centuries—all those important figures that claim that Christianity is for the delusional, for those who deny the world around them in order to escape into their own psyche. Or I hear the voices of my friends who look around and see the Christian mainstream in this country as a myth that provides comfort for souls as people go about supporting the harshest of evils.

But we need to go further. If we want to believe something that is more than mere spiritualism, mere piety, mere Christianity, then we have to follow the gaze of Hebrews 2:9Hebrews 2:9
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
9 What we do see is Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels. Because of God's wonderful kindness, Jesus died for everyone. And now that Jesus has suffered and died, he is crowned with glory and honor!

further than most want to go. “But we see Jesus” must be more than a retreat into the caverns of our own heads. It must be more than escapism. It’s a call to look deeper, a call to look into the suffering Jesus, into those wounds and see the wounds of humanity. Jesus doesn’t bypass suffering. Jesus doesn’t offer salvation as a short cut to the messiness of life. No. As Hebrews 2:10Hebrews 2:10
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
10 Everything belongs to God, and all things were created by his power. So God did the right thing when he made Jesus perfect by suffering, as Jesus led many of God's children to be saved and to share in his glory.

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puts it, the author of our salvation is made perfect through suffering. Not around it. Through suffering.

This is what I think this means for us. We have to go back to Job and that man I met at the Hampton Inn yesterday, James. If you know the story of Job, then you know that the rest of the book (except for the last few chapters) is a conversation. Job’s friends show up and try to explain away Job’s suffering. And then at the end God shows up and has something to say. But what the friends fail to realize is that through Job’s pain and suffering, Job is lead into new mysteries of God. Suffering has broken his comfortable world and led him into something new, a conversation with God, a struggle with God, a struggle which is a new intimacy.

Here’s my question: Is it possible to “see Jesus” in those who suffer? Is it possible to hear the call to “see Jesus” as a call, not to escape into your head, but to sit and wait and pray and serve those who know suffering and pain? “But we see Jesus”—Can we look with the writer of Hebrews, and follow that line of sight into the realities of a world turned upside down and learn to see the mysteries of the suffering Christ? A Jesus who chose to suffer with us instead of the comforts of heaven.

This is not to say that all those who suffer are innocent victims. That’s also delusional. It was pretty clear to me in the lobby of that hotel that James wasn’t simply a victim of circumstance. He wasn’t exactly Job, nor was he Jesus. But that’s where I think we need to hear the call to look more closely, to look deeper, to reach further, to wait patiently for the strange appearance of our Lord.

Let me close with a story. It goes something like this. In an interview with Mother Theresa, a reporter asked her how she found the strength and hope to work day after day in the middle of so much suffering. Mother Theresa replied, One day a long time ago I went to nurse a woman with leprosy. Her body was covered with sores. So, I began the slow work of tending to the sores up and down her arms. And when I reached her hand, I saw a sore in the middle of her hand that looked like it went though. And I thought to myself, My Lord has holes in his hands. Then I prayed, “Lord, is this you?”