23rd Sunday after Pentecost
Job 42: 1-6, 10-17; Mark 10: 46-52
“Repentance“
Pulpit Supply Preacher:
Commissioned Pastor Elaine York
Repentance
**Please note: Due to technical issues, we are unable to share the entire video of the worship service. We are able to share the first 22 minutes and 16 seconds of the service. You may read the entire sermon below.**
Good Morning! I am honored to be asked to be your Pulpit Supply Person today.
Next week your new Pastor will be here. What exciting times. I do miss Tom though and hope to find out where he is going next.
Today we are going to talk about repentance in the Book of Job and in the Gospel of Mark.
Since I sent Connie my biography, I became Under Care with St. John’s Session and the Presbytery of Nevada to begin the process of becoming Ordained as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament. I need to take 3 classes and pass 5 tests. I ask for your prayers as I try to accomplish these requirements.
Let us begin with some humor. The first one is from Vern Manke, the Presbytery Chief Financial Director.
- A little girl wanted to know what the United States looked like. Her Dad tore a map of the USA from a magazine and then cut it into small pieces. He told her to go to her room and see if she can put it together. After some minutes she returned and handed the map correctly fitted and taped together. The dad was surprised and asked how she had finished so quickly. She said the other side was picture of Jesus and when I put it together then our country just came together.
- Santa has been reading your posts all year. Most of you are getting Bibles and dictionaries.
- Go to church Sunday. If Jesus can rise from the dead, you can rise from the bed.
And now let us pray!
Our Lord and our God, now as we hear your word, fill us with your spirit. Soften our hearts that we may delight in your presence. Sharpen our minds that we may discern your truth. Shape our wills that we may desire your ways. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Today we are going to explore two sections of scripture verses from the book of Job. I was a Job’s Daughter during my teenage years in Cincinnati. I do not remember much except sitting in robes with our feet flat on the floor and having to memorize lines from the book of Job. I really liked the pin I got to wear because it reminded me of the sorority pins that the girls in my high school wore. Later I joined a Greek Sorority in college and again got to wear a pin.
During High School I volunteered to do the sermon in my Presbyterian Church on Youth Sunday. I was extremely shy and wonder how I got the nerve to do this. I think God was prodding me back then. I know that my sermon was about Job and with my knees shaking behind the pulpit I wonder what in the world I said.
From a sermon by Tom Shepard, he says, We have reached the final chapter of Job. In chapter one Job is put to the test. Satan has asked God to test Job. The testing becomes more severe in chapter two. The rest of the book is Job’s response to the testing. A basic truth is – life is a test and it is a trust. How we handle the bad stuff in life is important – so too is how we handle the good stuff. Things like faithfulness, hope, are endurance are important. How do you know if you will be found faithful if you are not tempted with unfaithfulness? In the Bible – James 5:11 asks: “Have you not heard of the endurance of Job?” Endurance counts. Job endured the test. He has set an example for all of us to follow.
The book of Job is considered by many to be the oldest book of the Bible yet it deals with a basic question – the problem of evil in our lives. Because of the fall on Adam and Eve – all of us suffer – those who are righteous and those who are wicked. Suffering is a part of life – because of the fall. If we think that the righteous will not suffer – we only need to look at what happened to Jesus. He did not suffer because of the sin in his life – he suffered because of the sin in our life. “He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our inequity.” (Isa. 55:7)
Then Job answered the LORD and said: “I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’ “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but, now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:1-5 (NKJV)
JOB HUMBLY SUBMITS TO GOD
God has spent the last four chapters asking Job, “Who do you think you are?” Job now answers. He starts by glorifying God. He says, “You can do anything and everything. Nothing You set your mind on will be stopped – all of Your purposes will be fulfilled.”
Job goes on to say in verse three, “You have asked me, ‘Who is this that speaks of things he does not understand? Who is this that opens his mouth and inserts his foot? You are right – I have spoken when I should have observed and listened. I should have been – quick to listen and slow to speak – but I wasn’t. I spoke of things that I don’t know about’.”
Job humbles himself in verse four humbles himself before God when he pleads with Him, “Will You please listen to me? Will You hear me out?” In this verse Job is asking permission to speak to God because he says, “You questioned me and You asked me for an answer. Please let me give you one.”
Job does not strive to answer the great and grand questions of the universe – instead he explains what he has seen, “I have heard stories of You – but now I have seen You with my own eyes. I am humbled – I am undone – I am shattered before You. I will repent in the mudhole of my life – for nothing compares to Your Glory.”
Great is God and mighty to be praised. There is no one like Him. He alone is holy. Even when we think we have the purest of motives – there are shadows. Only in Him are there no shadows at all. Job knows this – for he has seen God and Job realizes that his hands are dirty. No amount of scrubbing that one does on his own hands will get them clean. That is why Job says in verse six, “I can’t stand myself – I will go, sit and repent in a pile of dirt. From dust I was made – to dust I will return.”
And so it was, after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. ”So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD commanded them; for the LORD had accepted Job. (Job 42:7-9)
According to Jon Daniels a Baptist Pastor: “This Old House” – a TV show that features the renovation and restoration. Bob Vila was host for many of the 25 years that it has been on TV. They’ve worked on every type of house imaginable – modern style, 1849 Greek revival farmhouse, 1928 brick Tudor, 1865 2nd-Empire style brick townhouse, 1907 Craftman’s-style bungalow, 1835 barn, Victorian cottage, even a church. All over the country, coast to coast – Santa Barbara, CA; Boston, MA; Tampa, FL; Tucson, AZ; and Honolulu, HI.
Christian life is like “This Old House.” Go through life. The storms beat against us, the sun beats down on us, and the enemy beats us up. We begin to show signs of the stress. Life has broken us down into a state of despair and disrepair. We find ourselves in need of renovation and restoration. We need for the Master Carpenter from Nazareth to step in and go to work. On “This Old House, “they worked on all sorts of houses of all sizes in all sorts of locations. In the Christian life, doesn’t matter who we are, where we live, what we’ve gone through. God is ready, willing, and able to step in and begin His restoration and renovation process. He’ll take all the ugly messes that we’ve made and turn our lives back into something beautiful and useful.
And now we turn to our scripture reading in Mark 10. Another Baptist Pastor tells us that, this is a story that is familiar to those of us who grew up in Sunday School. The story of “Blind Bartimaeus” is what my teacher called it. It’s the story of a man who was reduced to begging because he was blind. Unlike our day, in the first century blindness meant you could no longer go about your trade. A blind shepherd could not look for sheep; a blind shopkeeper could not manage his wares; a blind carpenter was a danger to himself and those around him; a blind farmer could not plant, nurture his crop or see when it was ready for harvest. No guide dogs for the blind, no books on tape, no institutions for those who are visually-impaired. Blindness was a sentence of destitution and hopelessness.
Plus, this man had undoubtedly been able to see at one time. So, we only have to speculate that disease or accident left him blinded. He once had seen the sun rise over the Judean hills. He once had looked at the face of his wife, the love of his life. He once had watched his children playing outside the family’s home. All he had now were memories – memories of colors that were fading, images that seemed to dissolve from his mind with the passing of time.
Whatever the cause of his blindness or its duration, he still had some fire in his heart. And, in order to support himself and his family, he would cry out, “A penny for a blind man.”
“Help a blindman for once I could see just like you.”
“I know you can see me – help me or this fate might be yours also.”
He wasn’t shy. He still tried to keep up with the local gossip, even though people walked around him, and acted as though he were invisible himself. But, he overheard their conversations. “It’s amazing,” he thought, “I’m blind but people talk around me as though I were deaf, too!” So, he kept up with the local gossip, news, and rumors just by sitting in the same spot every day and listening as people passed by.
One day there seemed to be an unusual amount of commotion. Bartimaeus heard the plop of feet as the slapped the dusty ground around him. He heard shouts of “He’ll be coming by here soon,” from those rushing by. One person said the name, “Jesus” – a common name, but he had heard about a Jesus from Nazareth, a teacher. But not just a teacher. A man who had miraculous powers. He heard that this Jesus had made a deaf man hear, and a lame man walk, and had fed thousands of people. But, he also heard that this Jesus had made a bunch of people mad – primarily the religious leaders. But, “Who cares about them,” Bartimaeus thought, “they pass me by saying their prayers loudly and never drop so much as a penny in my cup.” And he thought, “Anybody who can stand up to the Pharisees is all right by me!”
But, apparently Jesus was coming and Bartimaeus now sensed that he was close. He heard people call out, “Jesus, over here.” “Jesus, where are you going?” “Jesus, feed my family like you fed that other crowd.” Laughter and shouts rang out and Bartimaeus could tell the crowd was getting near, so he shouted out, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.” And he yelled it out again, “Jesus, help me!”
Then, something happened. The shouting stopped and the crowd got quiet. Bartimaeus heard a voice – a kind, strong voice say, “Come here.” Instantly people in the crowd were grabbing at Bartimaeus. “It’s your lucky day,” one man said, “Jesus wants to see you.” Someone grabbed his arm, but he couldn’t get up because somebody was standing on his cloak. Bartimaeus quickly shrugged off his cloak and jumped to his feet.
Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do or you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. Wow, what an incredible story!!! Do we have that kind of faith? I pray that we do or that we can develop it.
Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, Thanks you for the story of Job and the story of the blind beggar. I pray that we will learn from these scriptures and will call on this wisdom when we are put to the test. In your Son’s precious name. Amen.
