The Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost - The Rev. Colette Hammesfahr

 Job 1:1, 2:1-10 

Well, we have had quite a week, haven’t we? The hurricane that was supposed to pass west of us didn’t go as far west as forecasters had expected, and we took on quite a bit more wind than we thought we would. Looking at the Georgia Power outage map yesterday, quite a few dots were still designating locations without power. Days without power, air conditioning, internet or television, cold showers, and food thawing out in our freezers. Yards were covered in limbs, leaves, and Spanish moss. In some cases, enormous trees had fallen to the ground, across roads, yards, and some on roofs and cars. It has been quite a week.   

Here at St. Thomas, we opened our doors to serve those in the community who were in need. We provided hot meals and charging stations for two days, with a generator, and three days with power. What was amazing was the gratitude people had not just for what we were doing but for what they still had amidst their losses. So often, people said they were thanking God because it could have been so much worse -- saying they were blessed. Sitting in a dark house, in the heat, people who are gracious for what they do have because it could have been much worse -- blessed.  

But that’s not to say that there wasn’t a good bit of grumbling and sometimes, down right anger. Social Media was booming with posts from people angry because a grocery store wasn’t open. Angry because the power company posted that power would be on at a particular day and time and it was a day later.   

We often ask, “Why is this happening to me? Is God punishing me?” We could ask the same question about Job today. We read that Job was a blameless and upright man. Job feared God. In our reading today, Job is covered from head to toe with sores. He’s taken a broken piece of pottery to scrape his painful sores. What we didn’t read today is everything that happened to him before this, in chapter 1. Job lost everything he had – his property, his children, his animals, his servants – everything was tragically taken away from him. Through all of this, Job maintained his faith. Now, sitting in a pile of ashes, scraping his sores, with his wife begging him to curse God, Job says, “Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?” The crux of Job’s faith…If we are willing to accept the good things from God, shouldn’t we also be willing to accept the difficult and painful things?  

What about our faith? Do we have faith because we hope to be blessed, or do we have faith in thanks for our blessings? If it’s the latter and we have faith in thanks for our blessings, what happens to our faith if the blessings are gone? Job lost nearly all of his blessings – his children, his livelihood all gone.  

We are studying about gratitude in the Tuesday morning Women’s Bible Study. It’s about giving thanks in life’s ups and downs. In the study, the authors, Dale and Sandy Larsen, make a couple of observations. One is that society has a “gratitude deficit.” We don’t say “thank you” to one another anymore. We often don’t thank God for what we DO have, but we are quick to come to God with the failures and tragedies in our lives. They use Paul as an example. While sitting in prison, he thanked the Philippians for what they were doing. Sitting in prison, he could still say “thank you” and encourage them. He maintained his strong relationship with God and saw the goodness around him while his life was in jeopardy.  

The authors' second observation is that we are going through a “gratitude fade-out.” When things are going well, we take our blessings for granted. When this happens, we become less aware of God’s ongoing blessings and how God provides for us.  

Job’s story addresses both of these things. Job shows us that gratitude to God should not be based only on favorable circumstances. Gratitude should be based on a deep trust in God’s goodness in times of blessing and in times of suffering. Job recognizes God’s presence, God’s love, and God’s grace in both good and bad times.   

Horatio Spafford was a lawyer and real estate investor who lived in Chicago. In 1871, he lost nearly all his fortune in the Great Chicago Fire. Two years later, he had planned a family vacation to Europe. He sent his wife and four daughters on a ship ahead of him, planning on meeting up with them later. On the voyage, the ship carrying his family collided with another vessel and sank. His daughters were killed. His wife survived the accident and sent a telegram that said, “Saved alone.”  

Heartbroken, Horatio traveled to England to meet up with his wife. As the ship he was traveling on passed over the area where his daughters had drowned, he wrote the famous hymn “It is Well With My Soul.” The words to the first verse read:  

When peace like a river attendeth my way, 

When sorrows like sea billows roll; 

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, 

It is well, it is well with my soul. 

 

Spafford showed a deep faith and trust in God even after devastating personal loss. His ability to say, "It is well with my soul" while grieving shows the same gratitude and trust that Job had. We can have gratitude and trust in God even when we face unimaginable hardships. Faith can lead to peace even when life is overwhelming.  

What about our faith – yours and mine? Do we have faith because we hope to be blessed, or do we have faith in thanks for our blessings? If it’s the latter and we have faith in thanks for our blessings, what happens to our faith if the blessings are gone? 

God tested Job’s faith to see if Job’s devotion to God was based on love for God alone or merely on what he received from God. Genuine gratitude is about trusting in God’s goodness, regardless of the circumstances. It encourages us to have an attitude of thankfulness that is deeper than just an appreciation for blessings—it’s an acceptance of God’s power over both the good and the bad.  Amen.