Loving God, in this sinful world there continues to be suffering and pain, as well as blessing and joy.  Help us to know the comfort of your presence in all circumstances, and heal us by the power of your Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    What do you do when you are suffering?  What do you do when you have suffered unspeakable losses and are also in physical pain?  Do you cry out to God for help?  Do you yell at God in anger?  Do you give up on God and shut yourself off from everybody?  Do you lament and cry and stamp your feet?  Or do you tear your clothes, shave your head, and fall to the ground and worship?  “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

    In this statement we see Job’s tremendous faith in the face of the death of all ten of his children and the loss of pretty much everything he owned.  Even after he has also experienced terrible sores breaking out all over his body, he still worships God.  Yet, today we start to hear his response after the tragedy has had a few days to sink in.  Job laments and curses the day he was born.  And then Job starts talking to God and asking lots of questions.

    “Why won’t you leave me alone?” asks Job.  “Why do you pay so much attention to human beings and ‘test them every moment’? (7:18)  ‘Why have you made me your target?  Why have I become a burden to you?’ (7:20)  If I have sinned, why don’t you forgive me?”  And then Job tells God that he would rather die than live in such anguish.

    At least Job is able to be honest!  Yes, he believes in God, and yes, he worships, but he is also suffering greatly.  Job is honest in his lament and in his anger and in his questioning, and he takes it all to God and lays it out there.  If nothing else, Job gives us permission to lament.  Job gives us permission to take it all to God and lay it out there and to be honest in our questioning and in our anger and in our suffering.

    At the same time, the book of Job has a lot to teach us about what to do and what not to do if we want to help somebody who is suffering.  When it comes to Job’s friends, they get it right when they first get there, but after that they are decidedly not helpful.  At the end of chapter 2, Job’s friends Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite arrive at Job’s house in order to comfort him.  For seven days they sit on the ground with him in silence, “for they saw that his suffering was very great” (2:13).  Silence and listening are helpful!

    At first, when Job begins to speak, they listen, but then Eliphaz the Temanite speaks, some of which we heard today.  The message that Eliphaz and the other friends have for Job goes something like this: “God doesn’t punish innocent people.  If trouble has come to you, you must have done something to deserve it.  Confess your sin and repent, and then God will heal you and bless you.”

    The fancy term for this type of thinking is Retributive Justice Theology.  In other words, it reflects the understanding that when bad things happen, God is punishing sin, and when somebody is blessed, God is rewarding their faithful and righteous behaviour.  However, Job does not find this theology particularly helpful.  As we are told right from the beginning of the book, Job had been blameless and upright and always worshiped God.  He had not done anything to deserve the things that happened to him.

    Thus, Job’s friends are described in at least one commentary as useless theologians (workingpreacher.org).  This is because they talk endlessly to Job about God and how God works, and yet not once do they actually pray to God for their suffering friend.  Prayer, as it happens, might actually have been helpful, and later in the book, Job is commended for actually talking to God about what’s going on.

    So far, then, we have two things that are helpful and two things that are not helpful in trying to help somebody who is suffering.  The helpful things are listening and prayer.  The unhelpful things are giving advice and telling them to repent of their sin.  We could also add to the “unhelpful” column talking about similar things that we have gone through.  When somebody is suffering and is grieving a terrible loss, they don’t want to hear all about how you lost your brother five years ago and managed to get through it.  They don’t want to hear about how you have suffered or what kind of pain you have experienced.  In that moment, when they are grieving, they really don’t care! What is far more helpful is listening, and prayer, and if you’re going to talk at all, giving comfort and support.

    It is important to allow for honesty when we are dealing with suffering.  It is okay to be honest in what we have to say to God.  It is okay to be honest in our lamenting and in our questioning when we are the one who is in the midst of a tragedy.  And if we are the people who are trying to help, it is okay to allow the other person to be honest and to express their pain.  You don’t have to fix it right away.

    There is one question, though, that we haven’t addressed yet today and that is, “What is the good news?”  What is the good news in the midst of all of this talk about suffering and comforting one another?  For us, the good news is always centered in Jesus Christ.  Just as we heard in the gospel for today that “the kingdom of God is among you,” or “the kingdom of God is within you” (Lk. 17:21), so Jesus is both among us and within us.

    While his presence on this earth did not take away all suffering, he certainly entered into our suffering, transforming death into life and suffering into salvation.  Thus, when we are in the midst of suffering, we not only look to others for comfort and to God, but to the one who has shared in our suffering and who takes our pain upon himself.  No matter what it is that we are going through, Jesus is with us, and understands, and prays for us, and heals us.  We are never alone with Jesus Christ as our Saviour.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Pentecost 8 (NL summer)                        Job 3:1-10; 4:1-9; 7:11-21
July 10, 2016                            Luke 17:20-21
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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