Epiphany 5

Why the parallel question? Who is speaking? He seems to be leading up to a situation that can be described as difficult.

Words can refer either to those in the military or day laborers. Context would determine which is the case.

Verse two. Parallelism is that of someone who is enduring the present with hope for the future whether it is the end of the work day or getting paid for work. “Everybody’s working for the weekend. “ What song is this lyric from? Working for the Weekend by Loverboy.

Verse three. Job summarizes his plight as months of futility and miserable nights. Those who suffer prolonged illness can certainly relate to what Job is saying.

Verse four. A further description of his ongoing suffering. See other passages where someone asks, “How long?”

Verse five. A further description of his physical ailments.

Verse six. “Without hope.” One of the most encouraging things we can have is hope. At this point Job seems to be hopeless. Develop the hope that we have as Christians. Turbo Tax “At least your taxes are free.” The silver lining when all else is falling apart.

Verse seven. Job is at the pit of despair. “My eyes will never see happiness again.”

C.S. Lewis does not claim to offer a complete “solution” to the problem of evil. In fact, he argues that we should not expect to fully understand why God permits evil. Humans, he notes, cannot possibly see “the big picture” as God does. Nor, as finite, temporal creatures, can we truly grasp how “the sufferings of this present time are not to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" ().

But the problem runs even deeper than this, Lewis suggests. "[I]f God is wiser than we, His judgments must differ from ours on many things, and not least on good and evil. What seems to us good may therefore not be good in His eyes, and what seems to us evil may not be evil."[2] This does not mean that what we consider good could be completely different from what God considers good. That would make it empty to speak of God as "good," and would take away all moral reasons for loving and obeying him.[3] Still, like Job, we should humbly acknowledge the limits of human wisdom and not presume to fully fathom why God permits suffering and evil. With that important caveat, Lewis proceeds to suggest some reasons why a good and all-powerful God might allow evil. Lewis also addresses issues in The Problem of Pain on the Fall and original sin, hell, animal pain, and heaven.

Job 7:1–7 NIV

1 “Do not mortals have hard service on earth? Are not their days like those of hired laborers? 2 Like a slave longing for the evening shadows, or a hired laborer waiting to be paid, 3 so I have been allotted months of futility, and nights of misery have been assigned to me. 4 When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’ The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn. 5 My body is clothed with worms and scabs, my skin is broken and festering. 6 “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end without hope. 7 Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath; my eyes will never see happiness again.

Relation to other works

Today’s sermon is not going to be a happy one. But it is meant to be a hopeful one. If we had a choice, we would sail along through life with never a care or worry and everything that we do would prosper. We would never suffer pain, sorrow, setbacks, or be lacking for anything. Everyone would love us and we would love everything that we do.

Lewis' philosophical approach in Problem of Pain bears some similarity to his later, more personal approach to the problem of evil in A Grief Observed.[4] The latter of these works is a reflection on his own experiences of grief and anguish at the death of his wife.

Pain is a central part of the human experience; there's no way around it. The Book of Job covers all its pain bases. Physical pain? Rash, boils, and blisters. Emotional pain? Death of pretty much everyone Job knows. Spiritual pain? Yeah, the whole "why is God punishing me?" thing should count. In this story, the question isn't whether pain exists, but how to react to it in the context of divine loyalty.

“The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom.”

Today’s sermon is not going to be a happy one. But it is meant to be a hopeful one. If we had a choice, we would sail along through life with never a care or worry and everything that we do would prosper. We would never suffer pain, sorrow, setbacks, or be lacking for anything. Everyone would love us and we would love everything that we do.

Our congregation would have the problem that one of our missions has in Arizona (Not enough hymnals for everyone.) Attendance would be exploding, we would have to turn away volunteers, and we would have so much money coming in to the General Fund we wouldn’t know what to do with it all. But that is not how life works. At our annual meeting today we will be reminded that attendance is not exploding, we may not have enough volunteers, and our offerings are not enough to cover our expenses. But that is not the only pain we suffer, is it?

This past week, my neighbor was out whistling for his dog. She wasn’t coming back. She had run away and was tragically hit and killed by a vehicle. The loss of a pet is never easy for the one who loved that pet.

On a more serious note, two weeks ago a man that I have known as a classmate and fellow pastor for over thirty years was in a serious car accident. The worst injury he had was a severe blow to the head which made him unconscious. The treatment was to keep him sedated in the hope that his brain would be able to heal and that he would be restored to health. Perhaps you can relate to people you know who have also suffered a serious head injury and the hope that you had while they were being treated. In the days that followed, his family shared their thoughts and prayers as they kept interested parties up to date with what was happening. Like Job, they turned to their fellow believers for help during this critical time. It is instructive to read about the hopes that they had and the trust they and literally thousands of others showed as they prayed to the Lord for a favorable outcome. Never did they share any doubts or feelings of hopelessness. And even though Pastor Weiland would succumb to his injuries, the comments continue to come in regarding the hope of heaven for him and the Lord’s strength for those who suffer heartache and loss.

As I think about this recent event, my thoughts also turn to members of the congregation who also experienced the deaths of loved ones whether it was sudden result of an unexpected accident or illness or they also spent days, weeks, even more by the bedside of a close family member who was nearing the end of his or her life. Sometimes the anguish seems almost unbearable. Often words of hope are expressed. We may even refrain from speaking of doubt, fear, or hopelessness.

The book of Job is not like that. At times Job felt like giving up and that his situation was indeed hopeless. Our text is a sampling of that. It speaks to real, raw emotion that is felt by those in difficult situations and shows us that the Lord understands just how we feel even if we aren’t able to put on a brave face as it were. It is honest, hard hitting, and not very happy. But in the end, it is hopeful.

Verse one. “Hard service” Military service or compulsory labor.

Why the parallel question? Who is speaking? He seems to be leading up to a situation that can be described as difficult.

Words can refer either to those in the military or day laborers. Context would determine which is the case.

Verse two. Parallelism is that of someone who is enduring the present with hope for the future whether it is the end of the work day or getting paid for work. “Everybody’s working for the weekend. “ What song is this lyric from? Working for the Weekend by Loverboy.

Verse three. Job summarizes his plight as months of futility and miserable nights. Those who suffer prolonged illness can certainly relate to what Job is saying.

Verse four. A further description of his ongoing suffering. See other passages where someone asks, “How long?”

Verse five. A further description of his physical ailments.

Verse six. “Without hope.” One of the most encouraging things we can have is hope. At this point Job seems to be hopeless. Develop the hope that we have as Christians. Turbo Tax “At least your taxes are free.” The silver lining when all else is falling apart.

Verse seven. Job is at the pit of despair. “My eyes will never see happiness again.”

You should be familiar with the theme of the book of Job.

Theme of the book of Job.

Pain is a central part of the human experience; there's no way around it. The Book of Job covers all its pain bases. Physical pain? Rash, boils, and blisters. Emotional pain? Death of pretty much everyone Job knows. Spiritual pain? Yeah, the whole "why is God punishing me?" thing should count. In this story, the question isn't whether pain exists, but how to react to it in the context of divine loyalty.

But is more than a story about how everything works out in the end. It conveys the full range of emotions that someone who is struggling with pain can go through.

Another helpful book on this subject is “The Problem of Pain.” C.S. Lewis also wrote a piece on this subject as he conveyed his thoughts on the loss of his wife.

The Problem of Pain

C.S. Lewis does not claim to offer a complete “solution” to the problem of evil. In fact, he argues that we should not expect to fully understand why God permits evil. Humans, he notes, cannot possibly see “the big picture” as God does. Nor, as finite, temporal creatures, can we truly grasp how “the sufferings of this present time are not to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" ().

But the problem runs even deeper than this, Lewis suggests. "[I]f God is wiser than we, His judgments must differ from ours on many things, and not least on good and evil. What seems to us good may therefore not be good in His eyes, and what seems to us evil may not be evil."[2] This does not mean that what we consider good could be completely different from what God considers good. That would make it empty to speak of God as "good," and would take away all moral reasons for loving and obeying him.[3] Still, like Job, we should humbly acknowledge the limits of human wisdom and not presume to fully fathom why God permits suffering and evil. With that important caveat, Lewis proceeds to suggest some reasons why a good and all-powerful God might allow evil. Lewis also addresses issues in The Problem of Pain on the Fall and original sin, hell, animal pain, and heaven.

Relation to other works

Lewis' philosophical approach in Problem of Pain bears some similarity to his later, more personal approach to the problem of evil in A Grief Observed.[4] The latter of these works is a reflection on his own experiences of grief and anguish at the death of his wife.

And so we can learn from those who have also experienced pain and loss and who continue to give us hope. The message of Job is more than the platitude often expressed that “He is with Jesus now.” or “The Lord’s will is always best.” It explores the depths of emotion in dealing with pain. It takes us to questioning why do bad things happen to good people and how can a good and gracious Lord allow such a tragedy to happen to such fine Christian people.

And even though at points Job sounded hopeless (quote), we can trust that there is always hope. In the book of Job, he recovers and the Lord gives him twice as much as he had before. This is, of course, not always the case. What we can be sure of is that even in the worst of times, our Lord does not forsake us and we can trust that though we do not understand, God has a plan for us.

Note how this is expressed in other parts of the Bible.

Isaiah 55:6–9 NIV

6 Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. 8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

2 Timothy 4:16–18 NIV

16 At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17 But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

2 Timothy 4:6–8 NIV

6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

“My ways are not your ways.”

Hymns from the Trust section of the hymnal.

“He will deliver me safely to his heavenly kingdom.”

“There is in store for me a crown of righteousness.”

That hope is found in Christ alone. (Quote from hymns).

Hymn 413:4

And so we come, O God, today

And all our woes before you lay.

Be with us in our anguish still;

Free us at last from every ill.