Fourth Sunday after Pentecost Fr. Rick, Rector In the poem To a Mouse, Robert Burns wrote something that achieved popularity as an insight into the human condition: “The best laid schemes of mice and men oft go astray.” Rarely spoken, the rest of the saying continues “…and leave us nothing but pain and grief, for promised joy.” I thought of the first part of this saying as I read today’s reading from Job and remembered his story. While we all may be familiar with Job, I am not sure if we all know the framework of the understanding of the world the Book of Job challenges. In a nutshell, the theory of the world that is being challenged is one shared by ancient Israel and many of its surrounding cultures. In Feasting on the Word, Leanne Pearce Reed explains the framework as one where it was believed “those who live a good life and are obedient to God’s commands will be rewarded with good fortune – health, wealth, and other blessings.” And “those who sin and disobey God’s commandments will meet misfortune – illness, poverty, and other woes.” This focus on right and wrong was considered the basis of justice. So if one experienced illness, poverty, and other problems, one deserved it by having done a wrong. Justice was served by such punishment. However, this perspective meets a challenge in the life of Job because he encounters multiple woes –his flocks stolen, his servants murdered, his children killed, and his health ruined. There is no indication that Job has done anything wrong. His life is out of control even though he did nothing to warrant this chaos. Job wants a chance to plead his innocence. He demands to know why he must suffer in spite of his innocence. In Chapter 31:35, we hear Job demand: “Let the Almighty answer me.” What we hear is part of God’s response. As you listen, you may notice no explanation is given to Job. God’s response from within a whirlwind goes on for four chapters. Theologian and priest Barbara Brown Taylor says of God’s response, “Job’s question was about justice. God’s answer is about omnipotence and as far as I know, that is the only answer human beings have ever gotten about why things happen the way things do. God only knows. And none of us is God.” Reed maintains that Job is comforted not by an answer from God but by a vision of God. He has seen the Divine and lived. The chaotic is an inescapable presence in existence but creation continues to be supported and sustained by God. Job continues as a person of faith even though he now knows that chaos, the loss of control within one’s life, is an unavoidable reality yet God remains present. It becomes a matter of maneuvering through chaos or regaining what control one can with God’s help. Experiencing being out of control is something we encounter in today’s Gospel reading as well. Jesus and his disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee when chaos strikes. This chaos is a great windstorm that may very well threaten to capsize the boat. How do they control the boat through such a violent encounter? They decide to awaken Jesus. As you heard this story, did you ask why they did this? Do you think that they did so in case the boat capsized and everyone would have to swim for their lives? Do you think they did so because they thought maybe he
could pray away the storm? When they witness him stilling the storm, they are filled with awe. Was this because this is not one of the things they thought he would do when they awakened him? I believe Jesus’ words “Peace! Be still!” were meant not only for the storm but for his disciples on the boat and not only in reaction to the storm. All of this occurs in the early part of Jesus’ ministry, so his disciples are still at the early stages of learning about this rabbi they are following. Already they have seen some level of chaos surround him with his family coming to take him home and the scribes stating he may be in league with demons. Their trip to the other side of the Sea of Galilee will land them in Gentile territory. His disciples may be wondering: What is Jesus thinking going over there, a place that may be inappropriate for a Jewish teacher and dangerous as well? Is the teacher chaotic? Peace! Be still! These words of Jesus could easily form a chant that one could use in meditation. They could be a prayer to invoke a strong sense of confidence in God’s presence, a reassurance that God remains present as an individual or a community faces chaos or some loss of control within one’s life. In this regard, I think of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, where a man with a gun went into the church and killed the pastor and eight parishioners earlier this week. How horrible! How intense must be the grief among the victims’ family members and the rest of the church and the shock resonating throughout the entire city of Charleston. Like Job, whenever we experience chaos, we ask why? We recall Barbara Brown Taylor’s response: “God only knows. And none of us is God.” But we follow Job’s lead and work through the chaos and regain what control we can. We hear and repeat within ourselves, Jesus’ words, “Peace! Be still!” I believe that everyone here has probably had at least one occasion to ask the question “Why?” Hopefully, each of us here has had at least one occasion to be reassured that God is present through the chaos and loss of control we experience. I don’t doubt many of us have had the experience of sitting with a loved one during a challenge the loved one is experiencing. Conceivably, all we can give at that moment is our presence. There is much beauty within the cosmos. In the four chapters of God’s response to Job, the majesty of creation is highlighted. We also know there is chaos we experience within this majesty. As followers of Christ, let us be a people who knows how to experience peace even within chaos and be still whenever everything is out of control, whenever “the best laid schemes of mice and men go astray.” God is with us! Amen!