God's Sense - July 12, 2009
Sermon Notes for Job 12:7-13
Key verses: Job 12:7-8 “Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you. Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you. Let the fish in the sea speak to you.”
Today we examine the senses in creation. God gave us the gift of our senses (taste, touch, sight, smell, and hearing) to explore our world and discover more about the Creator. The Irish monk, Columbanus, said: “If you wish to know the Creator, come to know his creatures.” As we look with our outward senses on the world, we begin to see God with the eyes of our hearts, looking at the deeper reality of who God is, who God created us to be, and the relationship between humanity and God. Our senses remind us that we are fully alive, bringing us to a place of gratitude for that gift of everyday life. But to arrive at that place of thankfulness, we must be attentive to the world around us, and this attentiveness teaches us how to listen for God in all of creation.
Our key verses from Job echo this sentiment, reminding us that the world has much to teach us if we will listen. Most of us know about the Old Testament book of Job from a cliché—the patience of Job—which Job earned by patiently enduring suffering. But, the book contains many more difficult themes. The Satan talks with God, challenging Job’s faithfulness by saying that Job only loves God because God bestows great gifts on Job. Take away those gifts, the Satan warns, and Job will no longer be faithful. God, then, allows Job to be tested by removal of his family and wealth. Three friends gather to comfort Job and to discuss the meaning of his suffering. This dialogue takes place in poetic language and imagery, a stark contrast from the simple prose at the beginning of the book. Job argues with his friends and then argues with God. God responds by speaking in a whirlwind and the book ends in prose again, with Job’s family and fortune being restored.
Our passage today comes from the first cycle of dialogue between Job and his friends, where Job responds to what Zophar has said. The friends argue that God communicates to people through their suffering, either as judgment, punishment or warning for the wicked or for righteous people, suffering is something to be borne with confidence of God’s healing. Either way, the friends declare that the proper response to suffering is to turn to God in humility and trust because God is not to be questioned. Job, on the other hand, understands that his relationship with God can include demanding an answer from God. He holds onto the notion that God is good and just even in the face of evidence in the world to the contrary, where the wicked prosper and the poor are abused. Job believes that a relationship with God can involve mutual accountability. By the end of the book, however, we discover that truth cannot be contained in a single perspective. God declares that Job has spoken the truth, but then the events turn out just the way Job’s friends had predicted. In other words, each of them has a part of the truth, but the truth never fully explains the mysteries of God.
Zophar, one of Job’s friends, has just emphasized that inaccessible aspect of God’s knowledge. He, like the other two friends, uses clichés and proverbs that he believes derive from common sense and are universally accepted. The friends’ understanding of truth arises from these traditions and principles. Job, on the other hand, bases his understanding of truth on his experience, particularly his experience of God. Zophar says that he wishes God would reveal to Job the hidden things of wisdom. But Job responds that all we need to know we can learn through creation. Then, he uses another familiar proverb—”The hand of the Lord has done this”—to demonstrate that these accepted proverbs do not always hold true. They project a one-size-fits-all view onto a world that it seldom fits. Life rarely can be described by simple clichés, for it is much too complex. Religious people often turn to these clichés, however, because we think we need to have all the answers and these sayings provide easy answers. Also, we find it much easier to speak of God’s will than to say that we do not know. So language about God becomes a substitute for a relationship with God—a relationship that involves listening and understanding. We only need to look and listen to creation to discover that life contains many complexities and even paradoxes. As we learn from creation, we come to know a God who is big enough to hold all of these complexities and paradoxes.
Questions for Reflection
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In what ways have you enjoyed nature this summer? As you reflect on these moments, what do you discover about the nature and character of God from creation? How do the animals and birds and fish speak to you about God? What do trees and flowers and mountains and rocks say about who God is?
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Think about some religious clichés, such as: “It must be God’s will.” “God takes only the best.” “This is all for the best.” Has anyone ever used one of these sayings on you? How did it make you feel? When do you find yourself tempted to use these clichés? What else could you say to comfort someone who is suffering?
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Practice being attentive this week. Eat your food slowly and really taste it. Take time to smell your coffee, or food, or flowers. Listen to the birds sing. Feel the warmth of the sun or the gentle breeze. Open your eyes to see all the things around you, people and animals and creation. Spend some time reflecting on our God who made it all.
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How did the Holy Spirit speak to you in worship today?
