RSS

Tag Archives: Job

“Little Shop of Horrors”

04 Oct

**Warning: If you have not seen the movie “Little Shop of Horrors” or it’s original ending that was not released in theaters, there are spoilers ahead.**

Dear God, I was talking with my wife about how I don’t like the last eight verses of Job:

10 When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! 11 Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the Lord had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money[a] and a gold ring.

12 So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters. 14 He named his first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15 In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers.

16 Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren. 17 Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life.

If Job is a novella and not an actual biography, as many scholars suggest, I wish it stopped with Job 42:9, with Job praying for his friends. But these last verses actually seem incongruous with the rest of the book. It’s almost like they undermine the lesson the book had taught me up to that point. Specifically, that our lives are not about our comfort or success. They are submitted to you. Laid on the line for you. Prepared to suffer for you. In fact, it feels like I can list on one hand the number of biblical characters whose lives got easier after they decided to dedicate them to you. Most of their lives got much more difficult and ended tragically.

So what does this have to do with Little Shop of Horrors, the Broadway play, turned musical, turned movie? Well, I first saw it in the theaters while I was a junior in high school. It was great. I loved it. Lots of fun. The music was great. Steve Martin’s dentist was awesome. And the ending left me with the two main characters getting their happily ever after. Then, about fifteen years ago, our local community theater did the stage production of the musical. I was really excited to see it. And the cast did a great job. The two young people who played Seymour and Audrey were great. The dentist was over the top in the best way. And then we got to the show’s climax. The plant, the Audrey II (which was revealed to actually be an alien), was going to try to eat the heroes love interest, but he would save her, find a clever way to kill the plant, and then they would live out their dreams in the suburbs. But that’s not what happened. Seymour failed to save Audrey. She was dead. Then the plant killed Seymour, and replicants of itself eventually took over the world. I was stunned.

I found the theater director after the show and said, “The plant wins?!?”

“Yes, she said, “that’s how it originally happnened. They changed the ending for the movie.”

I looked it up and, sure enough, that’s what happened. They screened the original ending (see above) to test audiences, and the movie was scoring off the charts until everyone died and the plants (aliens) won. It was a looming disaster, so they changed the ending. And I’ll admit, I don’t think 16-year-old me would have enjoyed that ending. The movie’s director, Frank Oz, said that he learned that the original stage musical could get away with it because the actors can come out for final bows and the audience doesn’t have to feel like they are really dead, while a movie doesn’t give the actors that chance. When they are gone, they are gone.

I am thinking about this because I almost feel like someone added the last eight verses of Job to make people want to read it. To tickle their ears. To give them hope. And I want to be careful to not just dismiss pieces of scripture or be so arrogant as to think that I know what should be in the Bible and what shouldn’t be. But I’m just having a hard time reconciling the lesson of submission regardless of what it costs me to the abundance provided to Job after his experience. This is thought to be an ancient story from even before Noah.

The New Testament reading for the church today is from Philippians 4. One of the verses says, “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests know to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” There’s no guarantee of wealth and success here. In fact, Paul’s life got nothing but harder, all the way up to his martyrdom. So he knew about bringing petitions to you, but he also knew about how you were using him beyond what he wanted and the peace you would give in that struggle.

Father, I don’t want to pretend that my life is suffering. In fact, outside of my and my wife’s one great sorrow, it is actually quite lovely. I don’t really know what it means to truly suffer, and I know I take that for granted. But you’ve used the sorrow to form me. You’ve used the challenges in my life to form me. Help me, Lord, to not lose sight of you and you alone as my priority. Not me. Not my wants, although I have wants and I’m delighted when I receive some of them. Not the way I want things to be, although I have preferences about politics and world events that I’m delighted when I get my way. No, I want to just see you, follow you, serve you, and rest in you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 4, 2026 in Job

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Job 42:7-17

03 Oct

7 After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has. 8 So take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. I will not treat you as you deserve, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did as the Lord commanded them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.

10 When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! 11 Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the Lord had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money and a gold ring.

12 So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters. 14 He named his first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15 In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers.

16 Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren. 17 Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life.

Job 42:7-17

Dear God, I was struck by the last sentence of verse 15 this morning: “And their father put them into his will along with their brothers.” What an interesting thing to include. Women had no agency back then–especially if this is assumed to be in a time before Noah. So the fact that the author of this story went out of their way to let us know this little detail seems like they are telling us that something new formed in Job as a result of his suffering. I did take a moment to look up some others’ commentaries on this subject, and I found this site, which did a nice job of quoting a lot of people about this one verse.

I am sitting here freshly from having visited with my wife over the breakfast table, and we were just talking about how some of our life sorrows have formed us. She was telling me about one of her dreams which seemed signficant, and that led to us talking about how she is different than she otherwise would be without our sorrow. I talked about a couple of instances this week where two different people commented about a particular aspect of my behavior, and I said that I don’t think I would be that way without the sorrow. The sorrow is awful. It’s painful. I hate it. I’d love for it to be resolved and over. I can’t imagine the delight it would bring me to have it over. But I can also see that it has formed me, and I don’t know who I would be without it. I don’t know that I would like the person I’d be without it as much as I like the person I am now.

Father, I was writing a letter to someone yesterday whose foundation is called “Make it Count.” It made me think about all of the things that can mean. It can mean, “I have a lot of wealth, and I want to make it count for something.” Or it can mean, “If there is going to be pain, let’s make it count for good.” In my life, I’ve learned to embrace both aspects of that phrase. If there is abundance, let’s make it count. If there is pain, let’s not let it be wasted, but let’s make it count. I have a day ahead of me. It will be slower than the days I had this week. It was a really busy and stressful week. But you led me through. And now there is a particular crisis happening in a coworker’s life–the dominoes of which will ripple through the lives of others. And some are having to make some potentially life-changing decisions because of this. For each life. For each family. For each soul that is touched by this, I pray that you will be with those who are making decisions and help them to know what to do. And for those who will be affected by those decisions, I pray that you will teach, love, support, and provide. In each thing all of us experience, Father, please don’t let it be wasted. Don’t let the abundance be wasted. Don’t let the pain be wasted. Please, make it count.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 3, 2026 in Job

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Job 19:21-22

01 Oct


21 “Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy,
    for the hand of God has struck me.
22 Must you also persecute me, like God does?
    Haven’t you chewed me up enough?

Job 19:21-22

Dear God, I sometimes wonder if I am a good enough friend to others. Am I there when they need me? When I’m there, do I do the right thing? Worse yet, do I ever say anything that actually does more harm that good–especially regarding their faith in and comfort from you?

There was an episode of Ted Lasso where one person was having an emotional outburst. She was sitting and crying uncontrollably. Another character came in, asked what was wrong, didn’t get much information from there, and then intuitively just sat next to the person to be with them while they cried. It was a great example of presence without acting on the compulsion to fix.

Early in our marriage, my wife taught me a phrase that I now not only use with her, but I use it with others too: “I’m so sorry. That sucks.” Men, especially, try to fix things. That’s what Job’s friends were doing here. They were convinced that Job had sinned and earned your wrath. If he would just repent then all would be well again. Maybe even tell them what he had done. They were trying to fix him. What would Job’s journey have looked like if they had just sat with him? I think there is a scene where they do that. I can’t remember where it is in job, but I have this image of Job sitting on a pile of garbage with sores and everything on him, and the friends just sit there. I need to look that up.

Okay, here is is from Job 211-13:

11 When three of Job’s friends heard of the tragedy he had suffered, they got together and traveled from their homes to comfort and console him. Their names were Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. 12 When they saw Job from a distance, they scarcely recognized him. Wailing loudly, they tore their robes and threw dust into the air over their heads to show their grief. 13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words.

Their first instinct was a good one. “No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words.” I just read ahead to chapters 3 and 4. Job finally speaks in chapter 3 and then one of his friends replies in chapter 4. That’s what breaks the silence. The friend is wrong about some things, but he doesn’t mean to be wrong. He’s speaking out of his own ignorance. But he’s well-intentioned.

Father, help me to love and also do no harm. Help me to know when to be present, when to be silent, and when to speak. And if it is time to speak or act, please, please keep me from hurting more than I help. Keep me from hurting at all. I want to be your ambassador in any situation. I want to be part of your kingdom coming into the world. I want to be used by you to be the hands and feet you need to do your will in this world. At a minimum, I want to do no harm, but at a maximum, I want to be exactly who you need me to be. And I suppose I should pray for myself when I feel like Job too. Help me to accept your comfort. Help me to let go of needing to “understand” and just ask you what you have next for me. I want to always find my peace and comfort ini you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 1, 2026 in Job

 

Tags: , , , , , ,

Job 9

30 Sep

Job’s Third Speech: A Response to Bildad

9 Then Job spoke again:

2 “Yes, I know all this is true in principle.
    But how can a person be declared innocent in God’s sight?
3 If someone wanted to take God to court,
    would it be possible to answer him even once in a thousand times?
4 For God is so wise and so mighty.
    Who has ever challenged him successfully?

5 “Without warning, he moves the mountains,
    overturning them in his anger.
6 He shakes the earth from its place,
    and its foundations tremble.
7 If he commands it, the sun won’t rise
    and the stars won’t shine.
8 He alone has spread out the heavens
    and marches on the waves of the sea.
9 He made all the stars—the Bear and Orion,
    the Pleiades and the constellations of the southern sky.
10 He does great things too marvelous to understand.
    He performs countless miracles.

11 “Yet when he comes near, I cannot see him.
    When he moves by, I do not see him go.
12 If he snatches someone in death, who can stop him?
    Who dares to ask, ‘What are you doing?’
13 And God does not restrain his anger.
    Even the monsters of the sea are crushed beneath his feet.

14 “So who am I, that I should try to answer God
    or even reason with him?
15 Even if I were right, I would have no defense.
    I could only plead for mercy.
16 And even if I summoned him and he responded,
    I’m not sure he would listen to me.
17 For he attacks me with a storm
    and repeatedly wounds me without cause.
18 He will not let me catch my breath,
    but fills me instead with bitter sorrows.
19 If it’s a question of strength, he’s the strong one.
    If it’s a matter of justice, who dares to summon him to court?
20 Though I am innocent, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty.
    Though I am blameless, it would prove me wicked.

21 “I am innocent,
    but it makes no difference to me—
    I despise my life.
22 Innocent or wicked, it is all the same to God.
    That’s why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
23 When a plague sweeps through,
    he laughs at the death of the innocent.
24 The whole earth is in the hands of the wicked,
    and God blinds the eyes of the judges.
    If he’s not the one who does it, who is?

25 “My life passes more swiftly than a runner.
    It flees away without a glimpse of happiness.
26 It disappears like a swift papyrus boat,
    like an eagle swooping down on its prey.
27 If I decided to forget my complaints,
    to put away my sad face and be cheerful,
28 I would still dread all the pain,
    for I know you will not find me innocent, O God.
29 Whatever happens, I will be found guilty.
    So what’s the use of trying?
30 Even if I were to wash myself with soap
    and clean my hands with lye,
31 you would plunge me into a muddy ditch,
    and my own filthy clothing would hate me.

32 “God is not a mortal like me,
    so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial.
33 If only there were a mediator between us,
    someone who could bring us together.
34 The mediator could make God stop beating me,
    and I would no longer live in terror of his punishment.
35 Then I could speak to him without fear,
    but I cannot do that in my own strength.

Job 9

Dear God, years ago, I tried to go through Job in my typical, small-chunks-at-a-time way. I found myself so confused. I knew Job’s friends were wrong, but they didn’t sound wrong as I read what they said. I knew Job was wrong, but he didn’t sound wrong. This passage is an example of what I’m talking about. Job knows you’re God. He knows he can’t begin to argue with you or try to make sense of you. At the end of the chapter, he talks about needing a mediator between himself and you. I’ll get to that later. But first I just want to sit with the idea that he just feels abandoned by the God he thought he knew all these years. Betrayed might be a better word. He feels like your unreasonable anger has turned against him, and he is angry with you. Ultimately, he would love to take you to court to get some justice from you because he’s not feeling it.

This is the Old Testament reading for the Catholic church today, and it’s ironic because it comes on a morning when I was listening to a report about a program called “Life Surge” that has come under some scrutiny recently. Apparently, they are trying to sell wealth under the guise of selling you. The report played one pitch where they were talking about making a lot of money through doing things the right way. I couldn’t help but think, “I wonder if they think the poor widow Jesus saw putting her two coins in the offering should have just taken their class to not be poor anymore. Should she have just worked harder and smarter? Then Jesus would have taken those two coins and turned them into wealth for the rest of her natural life.”

I heard someone say one time that, when you read the Bible, almost none of the characters’ lives got easier as a result of following you. Abraham. Jacob (well, maybe Jacob). Moses. Jonathan. David. Elijah. Elisha (well, maybe Elisha). Jeremiah. Mary and Joseph. All twelve disciples. Paul. The list goes on and on. Life got harder. Almost always. Even for David becoming king. His life would have probably been easier and even more faithful to you had he not been anointed by Samuel.

So we come back to Job, and he feels betrayed by you. He has grievances, but he has no mediator. I had a time in my life when I didn’t feel betrayed by you, but I certainly felt disappointed and let down. Things didn’t turn out the way I thought they should in my family, and I was disappointed that you didn’t keep it from happening. But then I learned that you had never made the deal I thought in my head you had made. I invented that deal. All you ever said was that if I walked with you, you would walk with me. In fact, much like Jesus plainly telling the disciples that he would die and rise again and they didn’t hear it, I can look at scripture and see all kinds of examples of times when Jesus and others warned me that my thinking was wrong, but I couldn’t hear it. I chose not to because it didn’t fit the narrative I was looking for.

So back to the mediator Job mentions at the end. I have two thoughts.

  • I take Jesus for granted. I take for granted the fact that I can sit here with you this morning. With your Holy Spirit teaching and comforting me. Without that mediation, you would not be able to stand my presence. But here I am, communing with you because Jesus links us.
  • The mediation Jesus gives simply brokers your forgiveness of me. It doesn’t earn me anything other than the privilege of walking with you and the opportunity to give your Holy Spirit good soil in my heart in which the fruit of your Spirit can grow. It doesn’t change you except that it makes me tolerable–no, loveable–no, tolerable to you. I was going to change it to loveable, but for some reason, I’ve always been loveable to you. I’m your child, and you love me. You want me. But without my mediator, you just can’t tolerate me.

Father, I have another full day in front of me. Be glorified in it. Be glorified in me and through me to others. Love others through me. Let your kingdom come into this earth through me. Let your will be done on this earth through me. I have to say, right now, the path I’m on is pretty easy. Other than a constant sorrow, nearly every other area is much more than I deserve. Even if all of the good were to go away and tragedy were to befall me in a few or multiple ways, help me to always remember Job. The lesson from Job isn’t patience. The lesson of Job is learning the hard lesson that my life is worth nothing to me. If only I can finish the race and complete the task you’ve given me. The task of testifying to the good news of your grace (Acts 20:24).

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on September 30, 2026 in Job

 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

1 Corinthians 8

10 Sep

8 Now regarding your question about food that has been offered to idols. Yes, we know that “we all have knowledge” about this issue. But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church. 2 Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. 3 But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.[a]

4 So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. 5 There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many lords. 6 But for us,

There is one God, the Father,
    by whom all things were created,
    and for whom we live.
And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ,
    through whom all things were created,
    and through whom we live.

7 However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated. 8 It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t lose anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain anything if we do.

9 But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble. 10 For if others see you—with your “superior knowledge”—eating in the temple of an idol, won’t they be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been offered to an idol? 11 So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for whom Christ died will be destroyed. 12 And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ. 13 So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble.

1 Corinthians 8

Dear God, reading this passage this morning reminded me of a conversation I had with my wife yesterday. She is teaching a Bible study for the next several months to a women’s group that she is in, and she will be going through John’s Gospel. We were talking about how one of her friends told her several months ago, “I don’t understand John.” My wife replied, “We aren’t commanded to understand. We are just commanded to believe.” I don’t know if she was consciously aware of why she said that, but she spent the next several weeks going carefully through John to see what Jesus called commanded us to do. His commands include believe, eat, and go. But none of them are “understand.” How interesting.

Maybe I miss the boat so often because I want to understand. I expect my little human brain should be able to figure this out. Why is this happening with my family? Why is this happening with my work? Why is this happening with my health? Why is this happening in someone else’s life? And now that I think about it, Job was never called to understand why everything that was happening to him was happening. And it was never revealed to him. He was just called to worship you and believe. Hmm.

Father, help me to find freedom in this today. I said all of this because of how Paul started out this part of his letter to the Corinthians: Yes, we know that “we all have knowledge” about this issue. But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church. 2 Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. 3 But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes. So I want to let go of my own quest for knowledge and just believe. Go. Eat. Worship. Love. I want to do what you actually commanded me to do and then just accept the rest of what it happening around me in peace and patience.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on September 10, 2026 in 1 Corinthians

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Job 19:21-27

29 Apr


21 “Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy,
    for the hand of God has struck me.
22 Must you also persecute me, like God does?
    Haven’t you chewed me up enough?

23 “Oh, that my words could be recorded.
    Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument,
24 carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead,
    engraved forever in the rock.

25 “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and he will stand upon the earth at last.
26 And after my body has decayed,
    yet in my body I will see God!
27 I will see him for myself.
    Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.
    I am overwhelmed at the thought!

Job 19:21-27

Dear God, I am reminded in this passage why I had such a hard time with Job the first time I read it and tried to journal through it. One simply cannot read Job in snippets. It must be ingested as a whole book. The verse for today was just verse 25:“But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. That verse makes Job sound like he’s worshipping you in what he’s saying, but he’s actually complaining in this whole section. How could you have turned on him. He admits that you live and that he will see you for himself one day after he has died, but until then he’s going to complain about you punishing him for wrongs he thinks he didn’t do.

But I do want to sit in this moment of frustration (and sin) with Job. You’ll let him know in chapter 38 just what you think of his complaints. But for the moment, he’s frustrated. And I’ll admit, I’m in probably my most frustrating stage of work right now. I’m looking for some answers with staffing, and I’m not finding them. I need your help. I need your guidance. I need you to bring the right people to us to help us help our patients. I need you to give me ideas, insights, and wisdom. I need you to make my path straight. I’m not complaining. I’m not saying that I’m suffering. And I’m grateful for what you’ve done for us to help us plug the gaps. But you know we are struggling right now to really reach our potential because of staffing, and I need you to guide us all.

There have been times in the past when I felt really let down by you, but you brought me through those times, and you were more gentle with me then than you were with Job starting in chapter 38. You sent me a former preacher who simply told me, “It’s hard when we are disappointed with God.” I was disappointed with you, but my expectations were misinformed.

Father, as I sit here now, I think about friends who have lost children to death. Friends who are widowed and lost their spouses too young. Friends who have lost family members to estrangement. The pain in my own life. And I don’t blame you for any of those, including allowing them to happen in the first place. This is life. It is our life. All you’ve told us is that you will walk with us. So walk with me today, as you walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden. Speak to me. Comfort me. Provide for me. And help me to worship you well.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on April 29, 2026 in Job

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Genesis 17:1-8, Genesis 28:10-15

26 Mar

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. 2 I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”

3 At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, 4 “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! 5 What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. 6 I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!

7 “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”

Genesis 17:1-8

10 Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. 11 At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. 12 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.

13 At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. 14 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. 15 What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”

Genesis 28:10-15

Dear God, I’m trying to remember if you had a similar conversation with Isaac. I don’t remember one. But you had an interesting relationship with this family. Honestly, I still don’t understand it. I mean, I can kind of get it with Abraham, but Jacob? I just don’t get it. What was it about him that made you want to make a covenant with him?

But then that’s not really my business, is it? I’m almost like the older son in the Prodigal Son story who can’t believe the father is giving mercy to his little brother. In this case, I’m questioning both your goodness and your plan. As if I could know. As if I should know. I can almost hear your words from Job 38 coming to me instead of Job:

2 “Who is this that questions my wisdom
    with such ignorant words?
3 Brace yourself like a man,
    because I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them.

4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
    Tell me, if you know so much.
5 Who determined its dimensions
    and stretched out the surveying line?
6 What supports its foundations,
    and who laid its cornerstone
7 as the morning stars sang together
    and all the angels shouted for joy?

8 “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
    as it burst from the womb,
9 and as I clothed it with clouds
    and wrapped it in thick darkness?
10 For I locked it behind barred gates,
    limiting its shores.
11 I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
    Here your proud waves must stop!’

12 “Have you ever commanded the morning to appear
    and caused the dawn to rise in the east?
13 Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth,
    to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?
14 As the light approaches,
    the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal;
    it is robed in brilliant colors.
15 The light disturbs the wicked
    and stops the arm that is raised in violence.

16 “Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?
    Have you explored their depths?
17 Do you know where the gates of death are located?
    Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?
18 Do you realize the extent of the earth?
    Tell me about it if you know!

19 “Where does light come from,
    and where does darkness go?
20 Can you take each to its home?
    Do you know how to get there?
21 But of course you know all this!
For you were born before it was all created,
    and you are so very experienced!

22 “Have you visited the storehouses of the snow
    or seen the storehouses of hail?
23 (I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble,
    for the day of battle and war.)
24 Where is the path to the source of light?
    Where is the home of the east wind?

25 “Who created a channel for the torrents of rain?
    Who laid out the path for the lightning?
26 Who makes the rain fall on barren land,
    in a desert where no one lives?
27 Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground
    and make the tender grass spring up?

28 “Does the rain have a father?
    Who gives birth to the dew?
29 Who is the mother of the ice?
    Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?
30 For the water turns to ice as hard as rock,
    and the surface of the water freezes.

31 “Can you direct the movement of the stars—
    binding the cluster of the Pleiades
    or loosening the cords of Orion?
32 Can you direct the constellations through the seasons
    or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?
33 Do you know the laws of the universe?
    Can you use them to regulate the earth?

34 “Can you shout to the clouds
    and make it rain?
35 Can you make lightning appear
    and cause it to strike as you direct?
36 Who gives intuition to the heart
    and instinct to the mind?
37 Who is wise enough to count all the clouds?
    Who can tilt the water jars of heaven
38 when the parched ground is dry
    and the soil has hardened into clods?

39 “Can you stalk prey for a lioness
    and satisfy the young lions’ appetites
40 as they lie in their dens
    or crouch in the thicket?
41 Who provides food for the ravens
    when their young cry out to God
    and wander about in hunger?

And that’s just chapter 38. I think you go on for three more chapters. Yeah, that’s me you’re talking to alright. I’m an impertinent mess.

Father, I’ll be your child. I’ll let you be my God. You make a covenant with whomever you see fit, be it today, tomorrow, or even yesterday. I know you’re probably saying (sarcastically), “Why thank you. That is so kind of you to allow!” I’ll worry about myself and how I’m doing with worshipping you and then loving others. I’ll let you take care of the rest.

I pray all of this in Jesus’s name,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on March 26, 2026 in Genesis

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Job 19:1-6

29 Apr

19 Then Job spoke again:

2 “How long will you torture me?
    How long will you try to crush me with your words?
3 You have already insulted me ten times.
    You should be ashamed of treating me so badly.
4 Even if I have sinned,
    that is my concern, not yours.
5 You think you’re better than I am,
    using my humiliation as evidence of my sin.
6 But it is God who has wronged me,
    capturing me in his net.

Job 19:1-6

Dear God, it can be hard to be a friend and know when to speak and when to remain silent. When to give a solution, when to give an admonition, or when to say, “That sucks,” and just give the other person a hug.

In this situation, Job was wrong, but he was also right. He was wrong that you had wronged him. But he was right in that he hadn’t done anything to incur your wrath so his friends were wrong to keep accusing him of such. Everyone was looking for someone else to blame when there was simply no one to blame. Job’s friends blamed him. He blamed you. None of them were right.

If I had been Job’s friend, what should I have done to help him? If I have a friend now, what is my role in their life. Where do I draw the line between helping them find a solution, perhaps pointing out an area where they are possibly at fault, and then just holding them and telling them, “That sucks”?

I heard a story recently about a father whose daughter intentionally threw a youth league game in a tournament so they wouldn’t have to go into overtime because she was too nervous about overtime. The father then sent out an email to the coach and possibly others saying his daughter was so anxious over two girls on the team who are not as good as she thinks they should be that she intentionally threw the game. In my mind, the father was so horrified he looked for someone else to blame so he put his daughter’s anxiety on these two young girls who are likely not part of the problem at all. But his blinders caused him to lose perspective.

Father, I’ve been too close to things and lost perspective before. I am sure there are things going on in my life that I can’t see as well. I am a fool, and I need to be careful in my own life to prayerfully consider situations before I speak. Before I act. To take a beat. Whenever I speak or act impulsively, I am almost always wrong. And I almost always cause more damage than I resolve. So continue to teach me. Forgive me for my foolishness. And I do want to say thank you for everything. For the food I am about to eat today. For the home I live in. For my health. For my wife’s health. For my wife and who she is. For our friends. Thank you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on April 29, 2025 in Job

 

Tags: , , , , , ,

Collect for Mass of the Day – April 14, 2025

14 Apr

Grant, we pray, Almighty God
That, though in our
Weakness we fail,
We may be revived through
The passion of your only
Begotten son.

Collect for Mass of the Day – April 14, 2025

Dear God, revive us again. That’s the verb I get from this phrase highlighted in Sister Miriam’s book Restored: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation. “Revive.”

I was reading a blog post this morning by Molly Wilcox, someone who “reconstructed” her faith through difficult times. Of course, I immediately thought about the phrase “deconstructing faith” that has become a lightning rod over the last few years. Some will tell you it’s dangerous. Some will tell you it’s essential. For my part, I like the idea of “reconstruction.” I built my faith when I was young and immature–both emotionally and spiritually. I’m still trying to mature even at the age of 55. Why wouldn’t I be consistently examining my beliefs and theology before you, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit?

The biblical example I thought of this morning was Job. He entered the narrative of Job as a mature man with what he thought was a mature faith. You seemingly found no blame in him, although you did still have lessons for him to learn. And by the end of the book he went from a faith that saw you as a rewarder of good and punisher of bad to a faith that saw his life as a complete submission to whatever your plan was, regardless of what it cost him personally. Some would call what Job did “deconstruction.” I like the word “reconstruction” better.

Father, all of this links to the verb “revive” because reconstruction done right does lead to revival. Life in you is full of new insights and realizations. Never let my heart grow so old or cold that it is defensive and unwilling to be examined for errancy, pride, and inflexibility. I want to know you. Teach me. Revive me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on April 14, 2025 in Restore: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Wisdom 11:21-26

05 Mar

21 For it is always in your power to show great strength,
and who can withstand the might of your arm?
22 Because the whole world before you is like a speck that tips the scales
and like a drop of morning dew that falls on the ground.
23 But you are merciful to all, for you can do all things,
and you overlook people’s sins, so that they may repent.
24 For you love all things that exist
and detest none of the things that you have made,
for you would not have formed anything if you had hated it.
25 How would anything have endured if you had not willed it?
Or how would anything not called forth by you have been preserved?
26 You spare all things, for they are yours, O Lord, you who love the living.

Wisdom 11:21-26

Dear God, my wife and I have decided to use a Lenten devotional book together called Restore: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation that a friend gave her. Since she’s Catholic and her friend is Catholic the books is Catholic as well. I’m actually interested to see what kinds of things might be outside of my experience. What scriptures from the Catholic Bible will be new. In this case, we are starting off with something from Wisdom. Okay. I’m in. What do you have for me this morning from Wisdom?

When I read this, I think about your restrained power. I saw a YouTube video yesterday of actors being asked, “If there is a heaven, what do you hope God says to you when you arrive?” In it, Dustin Hoffman leads off by quoting Robert DeNiro in saying, “If there is a God, he’s got a lot of explaining to do.”

My thoughts immediately went to Job and your words to him starting in chapter 38. Who are we to question you. You owe me no explanation. You owe me nothing.

But then I also thought about kind of my age-old questions when people complain about how you work: “How would you prefer God act?” Do we want you to smite and kill evildoers? Well, what if my sins put me on the wrong side of that line? Do we expect you to stop all natural disasters and question why you didn’t make the earth completely stable and safe for us? That doesn’t seem reasonable. Do we want you to eliminate all illness? I don’t think we want to never die. That doesn’t make sense. Do we want you to eliminate all injustice and harm we do to each other like human trafficking, war, etc.? Maybe that should be our responsibility. I guess I would ask Mr. Hoffman and Mrs. DeNiro what you have to answer for and how they would prefer you handle it.

Father, there is a lot of anger in people out there, and I’m sorry it gets misdirected at you. I know that is Satan’s plan, and it’s a good plan. And I know I’ve blamed you for things. There have been times when I haven’t liked how you get things done. I haven’t liked your plan. But you are my God. I am your creation. You owe me nothing. I owe you everything. And yet, as Wisdom puts it here, you show such restraint! You overlook my sins so I have a chance to repent. You could smite the whole lot of us, but you don’t. Thank you, Father. And thank you for the reconciliation you gave to all of us through the journey of Jesus. The entire journey of a piece of you. From before creation to this moment, you made a way for all of us. You made a way for me. You have done more than I could ever have asked you to. I love you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

P.S. I forgot to read the commentary for this passage from the book. The first paragraph is important: “Here we begin, dear friends. Ash Wednesday. Our foreheads are marked with the blackness of death while the words ‘Repent and believe in the gospel’ or ‘Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return’ are spoken over us.” That’s a nice humble reminder of our place in this world and your creation as well. Why do any of us think we deserve your goodness. We don’t. You freely give it. You freely love us. But it’s not something that you owe us. So here I am to worship you with nothing to offer but the life you gave me.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on March 5, 2025 in Restore: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation, Wisdom

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

← Older posts