There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East. 4 His sons used to go and hold feasts in one another’s houses in turn, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the feast days had run their course, Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all, for Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This is what Job always did.
Job 1:1-22
6 One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and the accuser also came among them. 7 The Lord said to the accuser, “Where have you come from?” The accuser answered the Lord, “From going to and fro on the earth and from walking up and down on it.” 8 The Lord said to the accuser, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.” 9 Then the accuser answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12 The Lord said to the accuser, “Very well, all that he has is in your power; only do not stretch out your hand against him!” So the accuser went out from the presence of the Lord.
13 One day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the eldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were feeding beside them, 15 and the Sabeans fell on them and carried them off and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.” 16 While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them; I alone have escaped to tell you.” 17 While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three columns, made a raid on the camels and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.” 18 While he was still speaking, another came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house, 19 and suddenly a great wind came across the desert, struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; I alone have escaped to tell you.”
20 Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 He said, “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.”
22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.
My sermon from the 16th Sunday after Pentecost (September 28, 2025) on Job 1.
******
So this week was rather busy when it comes to the apocalypse. I’m not saying there was some kind of event signalling the start of the end of the world. Rather, all over social media were folks claiming the Rapture was going to happen last Tuesday. The Rapture is a belief that when the end of the world finally comes, the people Jesus loves best will be taken to heaven, leaving their families, jobs, and possibly even their clothes behind. The true believers will, according to this idea, avoid all the nasty stuff that’s about to come. If you take a second to look around, you’ll notice that we’re all still here. And when we hear the word apocalypse, our imaginations are heavily influenced by all the movies, comic books, tv shows, and youtube videos we’ve consumed. To us, the end of the world might resemble something like Mad Max where small groups of people dressed in leather fight over a few barrels of gasoline and water. Or maybe our apocalypses involve zombies, aliens, a pandemic, the complete collapse of the climate on our planet, and a war filled with armies led by those we think are evil. The end of the world is scary and different Christian traditions have invested a lot of time, energy, and effort figuring out how to avoid all the violence we assume is on its way. And that’s because if God is love, then those who God loves should – this thinking assumes – be filled with a life and afterlife grounded in peace, safety, and comfort. The whole idea of the Rapture is less than 200 years old and it comes from one verse in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians that was taken completely out of context. And while it’s very human to be worried about what tomorrow might be, ideas like the rapture actually increase our anxieties and fears. When we spend our time wondering if God loves us and wants the best for us, we end up missing out on the life Jesus calls us to live. And if God was willing to be born, to be cared for, to grow up, and to experience what we do when God’s love is made real, we should realize we get to do the same. What the Rapture and other thoughts about the end of the world actually shows is what the word “apocalypse” originally meant. “Apocalypse” isn’t a word pointing to some kind of calamity. It is, instead, a Greek work that means “revelation” or “unveiling.” The “apocalypse” is a vision, a story, and a parable, revealing who we and our God choose to be. So during this week when the apocalypse was all over our social media feeds, let’s let our first reading from the book of Job begin to reveal to us how God’s wisdom will always be bigger than our own.
Now the book of Job isn’t, I think, meant to be heard as an event that really happened. It is, instead, a long parable – resembling the kinds of stories Jesus shared. All of us have – or will – experience moments when the wisdom we were taught as kids completely breaks down. And it can be terrifying to realize we can make zero mistakes and still lose. I saw this paradox and mystery within the words you shared with me last week. All of us assume behaviors such as “treating others respectfully,” showing “kindness, generosity, helpfulness,” putting “people over ego,” and “caring for others, especially when it requires self-sacrifice” are ones that should be rewarded. The other kinds of behaviors such as “hurting others,” “spreading false rumors,” “disregarding the needs of others,” “being a bully and putting ‘me’ first” over everything else are ones that should be pushed aside and seen as wrong. Yet we all know what it’s like to see goodness ignored and those who peddle in violence and harm failing upwards into positions of power, authority, and wealth. The holy, biblical, and faithful invitations to “help others,” “be responsible,” show “compassion,” “speak up and stand up for those who need our help,” to be “forgiving and not judgemental” are things we can embrace. But we’re often encouraged by our sin and the sin within the various communities we call home to “disgread others, to belittle people,” to “ignore the needs of others,” and to take advantage of them because if we don’t get ours someone will take it from us instead. We’re perfectly fine with others being held accountable for what they’ve done or what we think they’ve done, but we prefer our actions to be given the kind of forgiveness, mercy, and grace we refuse to offer others. Not every situation we run into or decision we make will always have a simple answer. And there are moments when life happens to us regardless of what we say and do. A wisdom shaped only by Proverbs or motivational phrases can’t withstand all the personal apocalypses that come our way. What we need is a deeper kind of wisdom that can bring us into the future God is already bringing about.
And so that’s why I think we should view the book of Job as an apocalyptic story revealing the strengths and weaknesses of the wisdom we were given when suffering comes our way. The Book of Job does this by crafting a what-if story about a man named Job from the land of Uz who wasn’t an Israelite nor living in any place we can easily identify. We’re told Job embodied so much wholeness, integrity and righteousness that it wrapped up everyone who was a part of his household. He was blameless because he intentionally maintained his relationship with God and trusted God over everything else. Job was the kind of faithful person who lived and received the fullness of what we imagine a good life should be. But it’s at that moment when the accuser, a kind of divine prosecuting attorney, showed up and wondered how deep Job’s integrity truly was. At the start of this extended parable, the God who gave is the same God who took it away. And that’s when we begin our process of revealing and unveiling who we truly are.
So at this time, you’re invited to take out the pink sheets in your bulletin and answer these questions:
How do you respond when you encounter something new or different?
What does it feel like when things just aren’t working out?
Why are things sometimes unfair or unjust? And in those situations, who is to blame?