This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 18:1-20; Job 8:1-10,20-22 (per BCP) or Job 8:1-22; Acts 10:17-33; John 7:14-36
This morning’s Canticles are: following the OT reading, Canticle 8 (“The Song of Moses,” Exodus 15, BCP, p. 85); following the Epistle reading, Canticle 19 (“The Song of the Redeemed,” Revelation 15:3-4, BCP, p. 94)
Some off the cuff musings today, inspired by the readings, in view of a (made up) conversation with a friend.
When things just aren’t working. Everything has been turned upside down for everybody. Nothing seems to be working the way it’s supposed to. A friend in ministry—call him Fred—and I were talking the other day. He’s done everything right. He’s gone to the right schools, paid his dues in his work, done his best as husband and father—but things have stalled out. Ministry’s become a dead end. Relationships are flat. He’s wondering what he’s done wrong: “Why has God ghosted me?”
According to Bildad the Shuhite, my friend has clearly done something wrong. Otherwise, things would be great. But all he has to do to get things back on track is to “seek God … if you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and restore you to your right place.” Yeah, right. There are some generally true axioms in Bildad’s counsel, but they don’t fit Job’s situation—nor do they fit Fred’s.
Encouragement from Job. Job (and my friend Fred) are going to have to wait out a hard season and hold on to God as tenaciously as possible. Job can be an encouragement to Fred by virtue of his example of the kind of “patience” (see James 5:11) that won’t let go—but a patience that won’t let itself be “ghosted” either. Because it won’t be quiet. Maybe along the way, Fred, like Job, will learn some deeper things about God, who will eventually make his presence known.
Encouragement from Jesus. Knowing that he is in the hands of the Jesus of John 7 can be an encouragement to Fred, too. In today’s passage in John, the authority of Jesus is in question. By what right had he cleansed the Temple (John 2), healed on the Sabbath (John 5), and declared himself to be the people’s Passover meal (John 6)? Some of the people cannot understand the source of Jesus’s authority because he had not been taught by a particular rabbi, nor trained in a particular school of interpretation.
When challenged about his credentials, Jesus says that his authority comes from higher up: “My teaching is not mine but his who sent me.” Jesus has been taught by his Heavenly Father. Now, my friend Fred went to the best schools—those schools refined his ability to convey the message, but they didn’t supply it. And while he needed the church to authenticate his “calling,” his call really came from higher up. Having something to say is all about listening directly to the Father’s voice—which is found in his Word and in prayer. My friend could lean more on the Father’s daily instruction, and less on others’ validation.
Jesus’s understanding of his goal can be an encouragement to Fred as well. When people try to arrest Jesus, his response is (I paraphrase): “I know where I came from, and you should too. And I know where I’m going, and you can’t stop me.” And besides, his “hour” has not yet come. As long as Fred rests in Jesus’s hands, he can have that same confidence. No matter how foggy the road ahead looks, the Lord Jesus knows what’s out there, and he is directing the traffic. It may mean that Fred gives up leaning on his own five-year plans, and instead learns to trust Jesus to manage, or modify, them. Or to possibly lead him in a totally different direction altogether.
Encouragement from Peter. Peter’s readiness to respond to God’s unexpected leading can also be an encouragement to Fred. Who knows when “messengers” will come knocking? Who knows how God may use our pain and stumbling to bring healing and direction to others—at the right time and in the right place? Sometimes, as in Peter’s case, there are seasons when we’re unaware that we’re just getting ourselves ready for whatever’s next.
Be blessed this day,
Reggie Kidd+