ave you ever heard of Murphy's Law? Here is a definition
of Murphy’s Law:
1) Anything that can possibly go wrong will go wrong.
2) It will do so at the worst possible time.
I suspect the reason why we chuckle over Murphy’s
Law is because we can relate to it. BTDT--been there, done that. We have
expressions that express Murphy’s Law, such as: “when it rains, it pours,” and
“bad things happen in three’s.” Is this coincidence? Is Murphy’s Law based on
some cosmic scheme of evil? Or is it just our imagination?
The laws of physics give some credence to
Murphy’s Law. The so-called second law of thermo-dynamics states that the
universe is headed toward deterioration. In other words, everything around us
is falling apart; over time even the suns and the planets will disintegrate into
a state of molecular equilibrium. I am all too familiar with this thing; I am
so tired of fixing things around the house. I spend an average of 5-6 hours a
week to try to keep the upper hand over my front and back yards, and still I am
on loosing ground in some areas where I have conceded victory to weeds and wild
animals.
I have often wondered how long it would take for an entire
town to disintegrate if everybody left. How long would it take for the houses
to fall, for the streets and the concrete to crumble away, and for the metals to
rust down to a heap of dust? 50 years? 100 years?
The bottom line is that we don't have to look far
to see why bad things happen to us. The world itself, once beautiful and made
by God to last forever, is now corrupted and evil is a reality we are facing
every day. It’s not our imagination, real bad things happen to us. And quite
often these things happen at the most inconvenient time.
In a few weeks we will once again listen to the
Christmas story once again. Consider this story from the angle of Murphy’s Law:
Joseph, a man of little means, and his fiancée were forced to travel to
Bethlehem on Imperial orders.
·
Strike number one: Joseph needs to take an unpaid
leave from his business and has to eat the travel expenses.
·
Strike number 2: there is not a single room to be
found in the entire town, and that after the hardships of a long foot journey.
·
Strike number 3: right then, at the worst possible
time, Mary goes into labor. Now that’s Murphy’s Law in action.
Today’s Scripture passage isn’t really about Murphy’s Law;
it is rather Job’s final response to the consequences of Murphy’s Law in his
life.
As you know, terrible things happened to Job and his
family. Just like we do when disaster befalls us, Job had many questions: What
is God doing to me? What did I do to deserve this? Why me?
Before we look at his final response to God, we need to
consider what exactly he went through. Let’s review:
In the prime of his life, everything that was dear to Job
was taken away from him: his harvests, his livestock, his house, his children,
his health, and his wife. The thing is: Job was a good and God-fearing man,
who had done nothing to deserve this plight. And he sat on he ruins of his life
and he complains to God.
The man had every right to complain. How come
that bad things happen to good people, how come bad things happen to God’s own
children? Has God not redeemed us from the corruption and sin of this world?
Why, then, does Murphy’s Law still apply to us?
And what does it mean when bad things happen to
the children of God? Does it mean that we don't have enough faith? That there
is still some hidden, unconfessed sin in our lives? That God is punishing us
for the sins of our parents or our children? Or does it mean that God has
forgotten us in the big scheme of things? Or that God cannot prevent bad things
from happening to us? Or that God chooses not to get involved?
All of these questions and more have been raised
by people throughout the centuries and there are many that raise this question
today.
What, then, can we say to those among us who suffer, those
who have lost their home to foreclosure, those who worry about their future, the
future of their family? Do we console them in the manner of Bette Middler’s hit
song: “God is watching us from a distance” (in other words: God really chooses
not to get involved--so, don’t take it personal!). Do we console them in the
manner of prosperity theology that says: if God doesn’t bless you, it’s your own
fault, you must muster up your faith?
Job sat through all of these sermons. They were
sermons given by what he thought were his friends. They really laid it on him,
according to all the choice theologies available at that time in Judaism. And
not only did their words not help Job, but they caused him great agony and
despair. And Job’s responded to them by saying: “Don’t give me your pat
answers! I know the pat answers—you’re not helping!”
So, what is it that Job finally clings onto for
salvation and hope? After all his prayers, his ranting, his complaints and
tears, he says:
“42:2 "I know that you can do all things, and that
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”
Job finally finds comfort and new hope in the realization that God is the One
who is in control. We might think: Duh, everybody knows that. Of course, God is
in control, God is all-powerful.
But that’s just it: on a theoretical level we know that God is in control,
but when the chips are down, we humans are known to question God’s wisdom and
authority, don’t we?
When bad things happen to good people, when bad things happen to us, we—much
like Job—ask: “what are you doing, Lord?” Suddenly, we know better than God
himself what is right and fair and just and how things should be done.
When Job said these words about God being in control, he said them in a
spirit of personal knowledge. He was no longer talking theory. He exclaims:
“42:5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and
ashes."
In the midst of his worst crisis, Job gets to know God on a very intimate
level; he has a new, personal and deep revelation of the power and wisdom of God
which causes him to totally trust God and surrender to his very will.
At this moment, it’s no longer about Job, it’s all about God and how
wonderful God is and how wonderful God’s ways are in spite of the severity of
Job’s crisis:
“Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for
me, which I did not know.”
In the end, Job surrendered himself into the hands of God—no matter what
would come his way. And I have a feeling that we can never really experience
the peace of God until we start doing the same.
Eventually Job’s story had a happy ending. In fact, Job was blessed more
than ever before.
42:12 The LORD blessed the latter days of Job
more than his beginning; and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand
camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand donkeys.
The happy ending is nice, but I believe the lesson from Job is not “trust in God
and everything will be ok in the end.” I believe that it is about finding peace
in our hearts through complete surrender to and trust in our God and
Savior—whether there will be a happy ending or not!
There is a prayer in the Wesleyan Covenant tradition that
expresses this spirit of surrender to God’s will. I would like to invite all who
are willing to utterly and entirely surrender to God’s will to pray along with
me:
I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or bought low by thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.
