The Second Sunday After Pentecost, June 22, 2003 (Proper 7B)
Job 38:1-11, 16-18; Psalm 107:1-32 or Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32; 2 Cor. 5:14-21; Mark 4:35-41 (5:1-20)
For the faithful in Jesus, there are often occasions in our lives when troubles can seem overwhelming: a disaster of world proportions, a trusted leader falls publicly from grace, or a beloved family member is arrested. More often, it is the death of a loved one or news of severe or terminal illness for oneself. In such times, we can feel bereft of the comfort of God that had been standard in our lives. We sympathize with Job, whose complaint was that he was innocent of offense and yet was suffering terribly and therefore, so it seemed, unjustly. He had lost wealth; through tragic circumstances all his children had died; and he suffered from such a repulsive illness that even his wife and friends could neither console him nor even be comfortable in his presence.
When God finally responds to Job, as the Old Testament lesson for today reveals, it is not with solace or even explanation—he upbraids Job for questioning the sovereignty of God. Yet, even in the divine response, there is comfort and explanation indeed. In the lesson we learn that the world was created by God as an ordered place and was founded in joy; it is a world whose intricacies are beyond human understanding. A similar message is set forth in the gospel—the powerful narrative of the stilling of the storm. Though appearances had caused the disciples to fear for their lives, Jesus was with them. As in the time of Job’s trial, the divine presence appeared to be “asleep,” but there was never cause for alarm.
As God upbraided Job, so does Jesus admonish the disciples for their qualms. Our lives, like all those of fallen humanity, will occasionally be marked with tragedy, even tragedy of immense proportions, but the faithful will never be outside the lavish and all-powerful love and protection of God our Savior. The very title “Savior” implies that there is something from which we are saved — not only our sins but also the tragic nature of the fallen world.
The second lesson for today teaches “The love of Christ urges us on.”
Look It Up
How does the psalm for this day reflect and express the theme in the other lessons?
Think About It
Note how the epistle turns worldly measure upside down: Death, the death of Christ and the consequent death of all, bring invincible life to the faithful.
Next Sunday
The Third Sunday After Pentecost, June 29, 2003 (Proper 8B)
Deut. 15:7-11; Psalm 112; 2 Cor. 8:1-9, 13-15; Mark 5:22-24; 35b-43
