Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Lectionary for 2/17/09

Today's readings are Job 13.1-12 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Job+13.1-12 ) and John 6.1-21 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=John+6.1-21 ).

Today Job essentially says that he would like to give God a piece of his mind.  He understands what is going on and wants to have a heart to heart talk with the Lord about it in order to clear his own record.  This appears to be as close as Job goes to sinning.  We are told that Job does not sin, yet he is ready to tell God he is innocent.  How can this be?  What Job does here reminds me of the Prodigal from Jesus' parable.  When ill-fed, homeless, and defiled from living with pigs he comes up with a plan to return home, explain to his father what has happened, and ask him for his favor.  Yet we notice when the prodigal returns home he never does ask his father for his favor.  He pours out the trouble of his heart but sees his father's solution.  Job is ready to confront God.  He is ready to present him with a solution.  What will he in fact do when he God comes onto the scene?  He will pour out his heart before God and the Lord will speak.  Job does not need to present a solution to his woes.  God presents the solution.

Jesus does exactly that in John 6.  The people are hungry.  There is no evidence that they were complaining.  That wouldn't be polite.  But people without food predictably get hungry after a number of hours.  Jesus takes their lack of a solution and makes it into a solution - not only a snack to tide them over while they go home but a feast, all they want, then leftovers in abundance.

What kind of a Lord do we look to? Do we look to God to provide a solution of our making?  Should we not rather look to God to provide a solution of his own devising?  Thanks be to God, who can do above all we can imagine.


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