Musical Prelude and Service.

Job 38:1-18 & Luke 5:1-11
What did I ever do to deserve the terrible things that have happened in my life?
Why is God doing this to me, or why has God allowed this to happen?
These are not uncommon questions and challenges. I would hazard an assumption that each of us
has asked at least one of these questions at least once in our lives. Perhaps on frequent occasions.
Why do bad things happen to good people, or the corollary, why to good things happen for bad
people, has been a debate or a point of discussion for thousands of years. At least as long as human
beings have been taking time to ponder big questions.
The book of Job offers an answer of sorts, but it is one that people, since it was written, have
essentially said, that’s not enough. Or they have asked, was there an actual answer in there?
And then turned to someone with some study time under their belt and asked for some clarification.
I’m still not ready to say I have the answer you desire here.
It’s important to note that Job is not an historical figure. The story of Job is a fiction designed to
discuss and ponder this theological dilemma. Why does God let tragedy befall a good and decent
person? Job is a literary device created to discuss this hotly debated topic, which does not for one
minute diminish the wisdom and value of what is written in these pages. If we are open to listen and
to pray on these words, we can find God speaking to us in this story.
As the consequence of a bargain between God and Satan, Job suffers heartbreak followed by tragedy
and catastrophe. Will any of this calamity turn Job against God?
His friends and family sit with him in his sorrow and bewilderment and offer any number of
suggestions. You must have done something, just confess your sin and get it over with. God has
clearly abandoned you; curse God and die. But Job refuses to take that route or reach those
conclusions; basically saying, when I finally meet God, I have some questions for him. And so he
does, saying, “why me God?” “Why have you allowed such horrible things to happen to me?”
And God answers him. But it’s not so simple an answer.
Were you there when I set the foundations of the world? Were you there when I was designing the
oceans, the seabed or the creatures that inhabit the ocean and the skies? Do you have any idea how
immense this world is? How many creatures there are in the world? How interconnected everything
is?
At first blush it’s not a very compassionate answer for Job in his suffering. It’s certainly not how I
would respond to someone seeking pastoral care in the wake of a tragedy. All your troubles don’t
amount to a hill of beans in the grand scheme of things. No, that really doesn’t seem like a good or
compassionate response.
And I don’t think that is really what God is telling Job, but it can certainly be heard that way
depending upon circumstances. You as a human being are one part of a big beautiful, interconnected
creation. God created and is creating, but God is not micromanaging the fates of each and every bit
and part of creation. But God still sees each of us. God still sits with each of us. But God’s view, God’s
design is for the whole of creation, the land, the oceans, the sky, the cosmos.
If we look beyond Job to the whole of scripture, we are told over and over that God created us, God
loves us and God grieves with us. But God is not going to manage every detail of our lives. We have
been gifted with the ability to make our own decisions. If God intervenes every time something goes
wrong; our choice is meaningless.
As part of the season of Creation, we look at different aspects of creation. Today we look upon
Oceans. This planet we live on is immense and filled with mystery and wonder. Oceans make up
more than 70 per cent of its surface. The oceans are teeming with life – filled with species and
creatures most of us have no idea about. I believe it is safe to say most of us only have a passing
idea how the oceans affect us on a day-to-day basis. How the currents and the tidal forces impact
the environment and the weather. And yet, we tend to take all of it for granted.
As a species, humanity has assumed the bounty that is our oceans will always be there, no matter
how we abuse it or neglect it. We use the oceans as a dumping ground for sewage and refuse.
We overfish and pollute coral reefs. We carelessly and thoughtlessly discard plastics that kill over 100
million sea and ocean creatures every year through poisoning and suffocating. Never mind oil spills
and other humanmade disasters.
We are not alone. We live in God’s world. And it is a world we know only in part, and yet we depend
on it for everything.
We keep asking God to protect us and shelter us from the perils of this world while we abuse and
neglect the riches of that same world.
In our gospel reading, Jesus comes upon his disciples attempting to fish, what they were raised to do
for a living. And they are not having any success and are about to give up. The sea of Galilee or Lake
Tiberius has been overfished by an empire and system with no regard for the sustainability of the
lake or its importance to the lives and livelihood of the people who live by its shores. It is used to
help feed the empire. But Jesus instructs his followers to go deeper and to try again, and they are
rewarded with a bountiful catch.
We – and here I am using we to describe the whole of humanity, have taken this world God created
for granted. We have long assumed we have ultimate control over it. We can figure out everything
that happens and solve all our problems on our own. We are masters of our destiny. And then we are
reminded, often brutally, just how naïve we are. Floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires,
pandemics are just a few examples that remind us of our vulnerability. We still need to learn how to
live in harmony with one another and with the rest of God’s world.
God is still with us. God still works with us and inspires us.
But God also desires for us to open our eyes and see the wonder that is the world around us; to
recognize who we are and that we are one part of a wondrous and interconnected creation. That
what we do matters. Not just for ourselves, but for all of creation. God walks with us, recognizes us
and weeps with us and for us. And God will ask us to go deeper in our listening and our actions.
God will suggest we fish on the other side of the boat. To take a new look at what we do and how
we live in creation. But we need to listen. We need to recognize that we are part of something so
much larger than our eyes and ears can comprehend.
May we remember that we are a part of something so much larger than ourselves. That we are a
part of God’s world. We are loved; we are known. We have agency.
And may we live each day to its fullest with what we have, who we are and live with gratitude and
compassion for all of God’s creation. Amen
Rev. Warner Bloomfield

Music provided with permission through licensing with CCLI License number
2701258 and One License # A-731789