The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY (Retired)
Perhaps Job was the first person to struggle with the question that occupies
much of the time and thought of many people: why do bad things happen to
good people?
Job knew that he was as good as he was able to be. He was wealthy; the
prevailing thought in the Middle East, and in many other places, at that time
was that if you are a good, honest person, you will be rewarded with wealth. On
the other hand, if you are a self-centered lout, you will lose whatever you
have. And Job, according to the Bible, was good, more good than most. He was not
only wealthy, he was kind. He was generous. He gave away much of his money and
quite a bit of his possessions to help the poor, the widows and orphans. He took
in folks who were down on their luck and let them become household servants and
field hands, and paid them well, so they'd have a leg up on becoming
independent, respectable citizens, if they wanted to work at that. His
generosity and kindness were legendary.
Then, why was he suddenly stripped of all he had? Why had all his children
suddenly died? Why had his wife left him? Why had he been struck with leprosy,
so that few people would even come near him any more? Why was he unable to do
anything other than sit on his ash heap and scratch his oozing sores? He could
see that it wasn't fair. He had been generous, had kept the Lord's law, had done
all he could to help the less fortunate. He had not deserved all that had
happened to him. And so he called out to God, asking for a fair hearing, so that
he could understand his plight, and perhaps point out to the Lord that he really
did not deserve all this ill fortune. If only God would listen. God was supposed
to be just and fair, wasn't he? If this was true, Job was sure he could present
his case and get this ill fortune reversed.
What was even worse was that his so-called friends kept coming by and telling
him that he simply must repent of the great secret sin they assumed that Job had
committed, in order to have earned all this calamity. Job himself knew there was
no such sin to repent of; but he couldn't persuade his so-called friends of
this. Because they believed that these misfortunes must be punishment for some
terrible sin, they went right on lecturing him and telling him that he really
must repent and set things right with God. Then, for sure, he would get his
wealth back again, they said. But Job was an honest man. He could not repent of
a sin he had not committed. He just wanted a fair hearing with God.
Before we get too high-and-mighty in our own thinking, and decide that these
primitive types simply didn't understand, let's take a moment to look at our
present-day attitudes. How many people you know assume that if we're good folks
and don't commit any major crimes, do well in school and live so our parents
will be proud of us, we're almost automatically entitled to a good, successful
life? How many folks you know look down on welfare families and single parents
and say that if they'd only get a good job and apply themselves, they could have
a good, satisfying life and no money troubles? They're poor, so they must be
lazy, right? Or maybe they're poor because they're really into crime or
something like that...everyone knows that poverty goes with being "not quite
nice" people, after all.
Our present-day attitudes and beliefs are basically the same as those of
Job's so-called friends. We simply ignore the fact that some kids cannot afford
to go to college, some families don't have the knowledge or the funds to provide
enriching atmospheres for kids to grow up in, and some people are poor because
of illness, early death of a parent, or just plain economics and employment
problems. We ignore the fact that things happen to people, things beyond their
control: fires, floods, earthquakes, the death of a parent, serious illnesses
that wipe out savings, a tight job market coupled with inadequate educational
opportunities, and just plain discrimination in hiring and promotions. We
overlook the fact that divorce usually leaves the custodial parent on the
fringes of poverty. We ignore the fact that a parent who walks out of the family
can leave the remaining parent, and the children, in a very bad fix, financially
and socially and psychologically.
Bad things, you see, really do happen to good people, and it's
almost impossible, sometimes, to recover from these happenings.
Now let's take a look at the Gospel for today.
The rich young man was a good young man. He was observant of religious rules.
He kept God's law strictly. But somehow he had a feeling that this was not
enough. So, when he heard that the famous rabbi, Jesus ben Joseph, was coming to
town, he decided to ask Jesus' advice. Approaching the group around Jesus, he
asked, Good Rabbi, what must I do to get eternal life?
Jesus reminded him that only God is good, and also reminded him of what God's
laws say.
But, Rabbi, he said, I have obeyed all these laws from my
childhood up.
Then, Jesus said, go, sell all that you have and give the
proceeds to the poor, and come, follow me.
The young man turned away, dismayed. He simply could not bring himself to do
as Jesus suggested.
Now, Jesus did not make this suggestion because he felt that money was wrong
or bad. He certainly did not; he was a carpenter, after all, with a respect for
money honestly earned.
But Jesus sensed, with his godly ability to see what is in peoples' minds and
hearts, that this young man put money first in his life. We don't know why.
Maybe being rich meant to him, as to many people, that he was a good person.
That's the way Job's friends felt, you remember. It's the way many people today
feel: be good, and you will be rewarded with riches. And of course there is a
reward for being good, but the reward is not necessarily in dollars. it is more
often in esteem, from others or from oneself. it is often a reward in just
knowing we have done our best to solve a need or a problem, or to help others.
Money, you see, isn't the most important thing on earth.
But, Jesus saw that, for this young man, his family's money WAS the most
important thing on earth.
And, Jesus saw, too, that the only way this young man could merit eternal
life was to replace money with God, as his Number One priority. It was necessary
that he get rid of all his earthly wealth, and live as Jesus and his followers
lived, depending wholly on God for a place to sleep, food to eat, and clothing
to wear....and depending wholly on God for work to do. God has plenty of work
for us all to do, you know, but most of us don't pay attention to that fact. And
most of us want to be independent of God, and depend only on ourselves and our
families for everything...we just plain don't trust God enough to depend on him
for what we need and what we should do.
What all this...Job's ponderings, and honest evaluation of the situation, and
the young man's refusal to live as Jesus lived...comes down to, for us, is one
question: What is there in my life that prevents me depending wholly on
God? And that, of course, leads to a second question: What am I
going to do about it?
Amen.
