Loving God, through your Son, Jesus, you share both our joy and our pain.  Help us to know and to trust that you are with us always, by the power of your Spirit; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            There is a bit of a courtroom drama unfolding as the book of Job begins.  Job is described as one of the most blameless and faithful men alive, who also happens to be blessed with ten children, and numerous servants, and wealth in the form of flocks and herds.  Job’s faith, however, is about to be put on trial.

         The heavenly beings, it seems, are coming before God and making reports about their work.  Among them is ha-satan – literally, the satan.  The word means adversary or accuser.  Satan’s role, it seems, is something like a prosecutor in a court case, and it is Job’s faith that he wants to put on trial.

         Job, after all, has always been blessed by God – so of course he believes!  Ha-satan, however, is convinced that once Job experiences some major trials in his life, he will curse God rather than continuing to worship God.  And thus begins the trial of Job’s faith.

         In one tragedy after another, he loses almost all of his property - both servants and animals.  And then, in the midst of a freak wind storm, he loses all of his ten children.  Those of you who have lost even one child know how absolutely devastating that loss can be.  And so, ha-satan watches and waits – expecting Job to curse God in the midst of all of his losses.

         However, instead, Job tears his robe and shaves his head as signs of his grief, and then he falls to the ground and worships God.

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).

Even in the midst of his suffering, Job’s faith in God does not waver.

         The thing that is missing from this courtroom drama is an advocate for Job.  His wife just tells him to curse God already.  He has some friends who show up and sit with him, but they insist that he must have sinned in order to merit such treatment.  Job ends up arguing in his own defense before almighty God.  This is one of a number of differences between Job and us.

         Just last Sunday we celebrated Pentecost – the coming of the Holy Spirit, who is called the Advocate and the Comforter, among other things.  Jesus is also named as an advocate on our behalf (1 Jn. 2:1).  When we face trials in our lives, we do not face them alone.  A question for you to consider, however: When bad things happen in your life, do you assume that God is punishing you for something?...

         I ask this because it still seems to be a widely held belief.  When disasters happen around the world, how many times have you heard that God is using them to punish people?  And yet, Jesus told his followers that even if they were doing what is right, they could expect suffering and trials in this world simply because of their faith in him (Mt. 5:10-12; 1 Pet. 4:12-19).

         When I imagine a modern-day Job, I imagine him as a man of colour.  He has lost his children – not in a freak wind storm – but to senseless violence and police brutality.  His property has been confiscated and stolen in the midst of false accusations against him.  He lost his job when Covid-19 hit, and depending on where he lives he might have also lost his health insurance.  Then he got sick with the virus and ended up in hospital.  He barely made it after losing almost everything that he has.  Can you imagine this modern-day Job saying, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord”?

         The thing about this modern-day Job, however, is that most of the trials he faces are caused, not by God, but by other human beings.  In fact, anybody who believes in God can see that the things that Job endured are quite obviously not from God.  Over the next few weeks, we will be hearing some of Job’s laments, and even Job’s anger – things that the black community and the indigenous community understand only too well.

         We noted earlier how Job was very much alone as his faith was put on trial, and we also noted how we have both Jesus and the Holy Spirit as Advocates in the midst of our trials.  And sometimes, we, too, can be advocates for others.  Those of us who do not face racism on a daily basis have an opportunity to stand with those who do.  Those of us who have never experienced getting pulled over simply because of the colour of our skin have an opportunity to stand with those who have.

         This is a messed-up world full of sinful people, and people continue to suffer – not because they deserve it, but because it is part of life in this world.  Some of it is humanly caused, to be sure – in fact, quite a bit of it can be traced back to human sinfulness.  However, the good news continues to be that Jesus shared our suffering so that we might share his salvation and abundant life.

         Yes – things will happen that will test our faith.  Yes – things will happen that will bring us grief and tears.  Yes – things will happen where we discover how fleeting and perishable our possessions really are.  However, unlike Job, we are not alone.  We have Jesus, who understands and shares our trials and suffering.  We have brothers and sisters in Christ who pray for us and support us and understand us.  And, we have the Holy Spirit, who prays for us when we don’t have the words and gives us the gifts of faith, hope and love.

         And so, regardless of what might be happening in our lives, may we always be reminded of God’s love for us in Christ, and may we be able to say with Job, “blessed be the name of the Lord.”  Amen.

Trinity Sunday (NL summer)                      Job 1:1-22

June 7, 2020

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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