Thank Heaven for Little Girls (Job Series: Part IV)

Text:  Job 42:1-6, 10-17

Theme:  “Thank Heaven for Little Girls”

22^nd Sunday after Pentecost/Reformation Sunday
October 25, 2015

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Denton, Texas

Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

+In the Name of Jesus+

Then Job replied to the Lord:

2

“I know that you can do all things;

no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

3

You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’

Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,

things too wonderful for me to know.

4

“You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;

I will question you,

and you shall answer me.’

5

My ears had heard of you

but now my eyes have seen you.

6

Therefore I despise myself

and repent in dust and ashes.”

10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. 11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver[a] and a gold ring.

12 The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.

16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17 And so Job died, an old man and full of years.

“Reform” is at the heart of “Reformation”.  To “reform” means “to change”.  As we have observed in the reading, things changed for Job.  But who is the active agent?  Who is doing the changing?    Job 42:10 declares:  “…the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.”

Twice as much?  Our Lord tends to overdo it a bit with His reforming generosity.  If Job 42 doesn’t convince you, try Isaiah 40 on for size: 

Comfort, comfort my people,

says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

and proclaim to her

that her hard service has been completed,

that her sin has been paid for,

that she has received from the Lord’s hand

double for all her sins.

Is that double punishment for all her sins?  Or is that double forgiveness for all her sins? Don’t be shy!  Always take the latter – the double forgiveness!   The Lord forgives us more sins than we’ve got!

If that weren’t enough, the Lord’s generosity is unique to the person!  Job’s daughters are named:  Jemimah, Keziah, and Keren-Happuch. 

My daughters are Amanda, Kiersten, Caroline, and Bridget.  Job 42:15 says:  “Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters.”  Hmmm.  I have a bone to pick with that.  My daughters are beautiful too.

Lerner and Loewe nailed the lyrics, and Maurice Chevalier gave them voice:

Thank heaven for little girls

For little girls get bigger every day! Thank heaven for little girls

They grow up in the most delightful way!

Those little eyes so helpless and appealing

One day will flash and send you crashin thru the ceilin’!

Indeed, those girls grow up and face a world where a motorist, driving under the influence of alcohol, rams into a crowded homecoming celebration in Oklahoma City.  Lives are lost.  Many were injured – a number of them critically.  

We shake our heads and try to forget it.  Or we, too, numb the pain and make sure we have a designated driver.  Then we go about our daily business – hoping that we don’t get rammed in one way or another.  Life goes on pretty much as it always haws, but there’s this lingering dis-ease as the days grow colder and time grows shorter.

Martin Luther, living nearly five hundred years ago, knew all about this.  He struggled mightily with his devotion to God, to his prayers, and his piety.  But for him it always fell short.  His soul, like Job’s, had its dark night.  And when Luther tried to conform himself to Christ (with his devotion, prayers, and piety), it did not signal the dawn; it deepened his darkness!  How could he know, for sure, that God was gracious and forgiving?

Meanwhile, in the Roman Catholic Church of Luther’s day, representatives from that church were selling indulgences.  The proceeds went to fund the building of St. Peter’s basilica in Rome.  An indulgence, basically a sheet of paper, granted your deceased loved one time off in purgatory. At least, that’s what the faithful were told by their ecclesiastical leaders. 

Luther, now a university professor in Wittenberg, observing all this, decided to take up his pen.  With his 95 Theses pinned to the door of the Castle Church, four hundred ninety eight year ago next Saturday, he essentially said that forgiveness cannot be bought. 

This seminal event began a wave of change that has continued unabated to our own day.  The Reformation initiated a seismic shake-up of church, secular government, and society that is still being felt.

In our Presbyterian circles, we speak of ourselves as “Reformed, and always reforming.”  In other words, we’re into change!  I was reminded by one of our members last year:  “Yes, pastor.  But you forgot the entire phrase:  ‘Reformed and always reforming – according to the Word of God!”

That member was right.  But my question is:  what Word of God is it?  Is it the Word of the Law, of the old covenant that kills?  Are we talking Ten Commandments with its rights and wrongs, thou shalts and thou shalt nots?  In many churches of the Reformation today (Protestant churches), that law is taught primarily as a list of “how to”’s that help you live in conformity with Jesus.  This, then, is put forth, in so many words, as “godly living”. 

Luther knew that quite well, and I’d argue he knew it far better than the most pious Presbyterians. But he discovered something:  all of that trying to live in conformity to Jesus and His perfect love was never enough.  And this made him as miserable as he was pious.

In 1517, Luther had not yet figured it out.  Eventually, though, it dawned on him.  An ancient Old Testament prophecy from Habakkuk put it straight to him:  “The just shall live by faith.”  Then he tacked that on to this from the New Testament:  “By grace are you saved through faith.  And this is not from yourselves; it is the gift of God.”  Then, chiming in from the book of Romans, Luther read this one again: 

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.  This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.  There is no difference fir all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

And all the bells that signaled the dawn started to ring!   He described it as a turmerlebnis – a “tower experience”; it was though he was set free from a prison.  The Gospel came clear.  No longer was it covered up by tradition, by piety, by politics, by fear-based fund-raising,  by conformity.  It became what it was and still is:  a gift! 

Like Job, Luther’s fortunes were restored.  Thank heaven for little girls?  Absolutely!  But above all, thank heaven for the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

“I am not ashamed of the Gospel,” declared St. Paul, “it is the power of God unto salvation.”  At heart of that Gospel, that good news, is what the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are all about!  It’s that Gospel that makes the reformation, that makes the change! 

My friends, thank you for the opportunity of sharing some meditative thoughts on the book of Job for the last four weeks.  In keeping with the material, we’ll let Job have the last word.  Here it is from the 19^th chapter: 

Oh, that my words were recorded,

that they were written on a scroll,

that they were inscribed with an iron tool on[a] lead,

or engraved in rock forever!

I know that my redeemer[b] lives,

and that in the end he will stand on the earth.[c]

And after my skin has been destroyed,

yet[d] in[e] my flesh I will see God;

I myself will see him

with my own eyes—I, and not another.

How my heart yearns within me!

Amen.

Out of the Whirlwind (Job Series: Part III)

Text:  Job 38:1-7 (34-41)

Theme:  “Out of the Whirlwind”

21^st Sunday after Pentecost

October 18, 2015

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Denton, Texas

Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

+In the Name of Jesus+

Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:

2

“Who is this that obscures my plans?

with words without knowledge?

3

Brace yourself like a man;

I will question you,

and you shall answer me.

4

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?

Tell me, if you understand.

5

Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!

Who stretched a measuring line across it?

6

On what were its footings set,

or who laid its cornerstone—

7

while the morning stars sang together

and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?

34

“Can you raise your voice to the clouds

and cover yourself with a flood of water?

35

Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?

Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?

36

Who gives the ibis wisdom[a]

or gives the rooster understanding?[b]

37

Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?

Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens

38

when the dust becomes hard

and the clods of earth stick together?

39

“Do you hunt the prey for the lioness

and satisfy the hunger of the lions

40

when they crouch in their dens

or lie in wait in a thicket?

41

Who provides food for the raven

when its young cry out to God

and wander about for lack of food?

How does God speak to people?  Well, variety appears to be the spice of life, or, in this case, the spice of conversation with the divine.  Here’s a short list of ways God spoke:  God spoke through a “still small voice”; think of Elijah.  God spoke through a donkey; think of Balaam.  God spoke through a dream; think of Peter.  “In many and various ways,” writes the author of Hebrews in the New Testament, “God spoke to His people of old through the prophets.  But now, in these last days, he has spoken to us through His Son.”

Now we come to the character that has been center-stage from this pulpit for the last three Sundays:  Job.  How did God speak to him?  “Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm,” declares our text.  “Storm” can also be translated “whirlwind” – which can also mean tornado or hurricane.   Would the National Hurricane Center dub it a category 5?   Let’s just say God spoke to Job out of a pretty awesome meteorological event.

You will recall that Job sort of went from hero to zero.  He had it all:  massive wealth and a great and loving family.  But that stock crashed; that portfolio got soaked; the 401K vanished.  He experienced the loss of life on a personal, familial, and broad scale.  His roaring 20s gave way to the dustbowl, depression-era 30s.  He lost it all. 

It has been said “When you win in life, you hear from everybody; when you lose, you hear from your friends.” For most of the book, Job wasn’t on a winning streak.  Contrarily Job pretty much lost it all.  He had his faith in God, which is, of course, great. He had his wife.  And he did have at least three friends. 

When we get to this morning’s segment, both wife and three buddies have all weighed in on Job’s plight.  Have you ever noticed that when a little bit of upheaval hits your life that everyone seems to have an opinion?  You might even have solicited some of those opinions!  I think most people mean well when they put forth advice; they want to be helpful.   But it’s harder, much harder, when those who are supposedly there to help are engaged in hindering.  Job experienced a little bit of that; you’re not alone!

Job could be your inspiration.  He shoots  or the moon; he’s going straight to the top.  The opinions, counsel, and advice he is looking for needs to be divine, period.  Job might be the first rigid fundamentalist – as the saying goes, “If God said it, I believe it.  And that settles it.”  Job’s got questions; God’s got answers.  Once those answers are put forth, that will be that.   Whatever the answer or answers will be, it will be fair.  And isn’t that what we all want – a little fairness, a little justice in the world?  Better yet if it comes from the mouth of God – and that we are SURE it comes from the mouth of God, whether it be through a “still small voice”, a “whirlwind”, or whatever.

As an aside, I’m persuaded that lots of voices can emerge from out of a whirlwind.  Hurricane Katrina certainly qualifies.  A reporter walked up to a woman, probably 30something or so, displaced and huddled outside the Superdome in New Orleans.  “What do you need?” he asked.  She looked up.  Her eyes met his gaze.  Gasping for breath, she whispered:  “Methadone.”  Do we hear the voice of God in the displaced, the addicted, the sick, the imprisoned, the hungry, those whose voices have been muted and whose basic rights have been trampled on? 

Back to Job!  The thing that throws me into a tizzy about this text is not that God speaks.  It’s not that God speaks out of a whirlwind either.  It’s just that when God speaks He makes no statements of the kind of which Job yearns for.   All God does is ask questions. 

For over two full, large chapters, there are forty-five questions that God asks of Job.  Job, meanwhile, is tongue-tied.  This is a “Q&A” with God moderating, but it’s all “Q” and no “A”—all questions and no answers.  Our text gave us examples. 

If I may, let me now try to sum up what God was getting at in asking these questions of the beaten down, bedraggled person of Job, and I offer this illustration to set it forth:  many people here at FPC, of a certain age, remember the Watergate scandal that brought down the Nixon presidency in the early 1970s.

There was as reporter for the Washington Post by the name of Bob Woodward who had a source that gave him information on deep background.  The man wouldn’t reveal his name and, therefore, could not be quoted.  He would only lead the reporters on their search for information.   They met late at night in darkened, Washington D.C. parking garages. 

On one of the occasions, Woodward mentions a young attorney by the name of Daniel Segretti who worked for the Committee to Re-elect the President.  Segretti was involved with some of the less than ethical tactics, bordering on the illegal, that sometimes are involved in the cut and thrust of American politics.  Woodward’s source, known as Deep Throat (played by actor Hal Holbrook, was hearing none of it.  “Quit focusing on little Daniel Segretti; you’re missing the overall.”

By the way, I almost forgot:  the questions God asks – all 45 of them – are rhetorical.  In other words, the answer is obvious to each question.  In these questions, God is saying – ‘ala Woodward’s source:  “Job, you’re focused on your individual problems to such a degree that you’re missing the overall.”

This was not to belittle Job or make matters worse for him.  God wasn’t being mean or rude.  God was opening Job’s eyes, heart, and soul to a much broader perspective.  God is in charge.

Better yet, God respected Job’s humanity and understood why Job posed his case the way He did. 

More than understand humanity, the Christian gospel tells us that God actually entered in to our humanity in the person of Jesus Christ.  Sadly, this was not well received.  We read in the prologue of John’s account of Jesus:  “He came to His own and His own received Him not.  But those who received Him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” 

When life does a Job number on you; when God, the devil, the faculty, the staff, the situation on the ground, and the circumstances, the whatever seem to conspire against you; when your ill health and impending death pummel you; when you’re faced with your own, approaching-category-5 storm in whatever form it may take, sit down with the 45 questions.  Read John’s prologue.    Or see Jesus in the form of a woman who can only whisper “methadone”.  And do not miss the overall.

God is in charge.  You are one of God’s kids – born from above. 

Amen.