Bible Text: Job 2:1-10 and Mark 10:13-16 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes | I recently saw on a friend’s Facebook page an important exercise in gratitude. It read, “I am thankful for laundry because it means that my family has clothes to wear. I am thankful for dishes because it means that my family has food to eat. I am thankful for bills because it means we have financial provisions. I am thankful for making beds because it means we have warm, soft places to rest at night. I am thankful for dusting because it means we have furniture to enjoy. I am thankful for vacuuming because it means we have a home to look after.” Seeing this list of things to be thankful for has made me think about other areas in which I could improve on my gratitude. For example, I am thankful for a cluttered desk because it means that I am busy at work. Or perhaps, I am thankful for the rain because it means there will be enough water for the salmon to come up stream. Or, I am thankful for the quirky characters of this congregation because it means that we are a true family.
It seems appropriate to spend some time discussing what we are thankful for on such a Sunday as this, but at first read, the Scripture passages do little to help us articulate this gratitude. I can remember struggling through Job in seminary, especially as one who studied Hebrew rather than Greek, and trying to decipher what it all means. As mentioned in the introduction this is not an easy book to interpret. In fact, it is even a difficult book to translate because the Hebrew in the original text is so archaic that we don’t know what some of the words mean. Yet, I am thankful for passages in the Bible that are challenging because it means that God wants us to engage with the Word.
I am also thankful for scholars like the Rev. Dr. Karl Jacobson, because it means I can use his words to help us explain some of this complicated text. For example Dr. Jacobson helps us wrap our heads around the introduction of “Satan”. Now most of us assume that Satan was the one who tricked Eve into eating the fruit off the tree of knowledge, but remember- nowhere in Genesis does it say that Satan or even the devil was even there. The first time Satan is introduced is in 1 Chronicles where Satan provokes David to count the soldiers of Israel which angers God because God already knows how many soldiers Israel has. In a similar way, when Satan is introduced in Job it is not meant to signify one particular person, like say, the devil; in fact, we should probably try to dispel the idea that Satan and the devil mean the same thing. Rather Satan is a Hebrew word for an adversary. In Hebrew the verb “to oppose” or “thwart” is saTan. As Dr. Jacobson says, “the satan in Job works in much the same way as the angel of the Lord who appears to Balaam’s donkey (that story takes place in Numbers 22:22 and in that story the Lord is in fact called saTan in the Hebrew), blocking Balaam’s donkey’s way “as his adversary”. The Satan is one, usually an angel, who serves as an adversary or “prosecuting attorney” on God’s behalf. What is often overlooked, but cannot be ignored, is that Satan functions as an adversary on God’s behalf.”
In the book of Job Satan is not a name but rather an office. And in case that isn’t confusing enough, Satan does not show up for the rest of the book of Job! I know, this is a very odd passage to deconstruct and attempt to interpret on Thanksgiving Sunday, to say nothing of the fact that we have communion. But it is also an intriguing passage. God sends Satan to demonstrate that Job, despite all struggles, ailments, deaths, pain, will not curse God. This section of Job is setting the stage for the rest of the book. We would do well to remember that Job always argues, believes and even complains that his life and breath, even in his awful circumstances, are in God’s hands. Note, God’s hands not Satan’s.
But here is where we can tie this book into our annual thanksgiving holiday. When Job’s wife asks him, “Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse God, and die.” Job reminds his wife, “Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?” I think we tend to forget to be thankful each day yet we have no trouble complaining, or even cursing, every day. I am absolutely in this same boat. For a while there was a phrase that was rather popular in hipster vernacular, in which one would state that we have “First World problems.” It highlighted that all those complaints we have, all those beefs, all those pity parties, usually have more to do with our amazing privilege than they do with real problems. What a privilege it is to be able to complain about so many “problems” in our personal lives. I will absolutely admit that my biggest problem is with complainers. I, ironically, complain about complainers nearly every day, so I likely have a bit of an agenda in this sermon. Imagine turning those complaints into thanks. I will be thankful for the housework that needs to be done because it means I have a house.
Now we tend to think that what makes Job a man of integrity is that he never complained- but the truth is, he complained a lot! He was in pain, he was heartbroken, he was depressed, he was angry but what gave him integrity is that he never cursed God. Job argues against the often simplistic view that only good things come when people are good. Job speaks against what is often referred to as the “prosperity gospel.” Job speaks against the idea that financial wealth and physical wellbeing are directly linked to the will of God. Or more importantly Job speaks against the idea that those who are facing challenges are facing them because it is a sign of being out of synch with God’s will.
And here is where I think we can tie it into the true understanding of thanksgiving. It was Governor General Vincent Massey who issued a proclamation in 1957 that stated we should have a day of “general thanksgiving to almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed.” We absolutely should give thanks for all that is good in our lives but we cannot receive the good at the hand of God and not receive the bad. When Job asks this rhetorical question Job is not being fatalistic. Instead it is an instruction. It acknowledges that true gratitude and faith also involve struggle, and these struggles are not usually because of a deal with the devil; rather they are a reality of a life of immense blessing.
I am thankful that Jesus says “Let the children come to me; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.” Because it means that one must have faith like a child. It means that being confused by scripture is normal. It also means that no matter where we are in understanding our relationship to God, or no matter what struggles we are facing, or how we react to those struggles, that we are welcomed to this table. Let us all be thankful for the welcome that we receive at Christ’s table. But we would do well to also be thankful that God is with us in our good days- days in which we are truly thankful for all the good that is in our lives, and God is with us in our bad days- those days that cause us to stumble and struggle. Today I will be thankful for the challenges because it means I have much to be thankful for. Amen