Jens

Sermon August 31, Pordenone, on Job 23,1-17

Brothers and sisters,

today we hear the voice of Job. It is not a joyful voice. It is a broken voice… full of pain… and full of questions. Job feels that God is far away. He looks in every direction. He goes forward… backward… left and right. But God is hidden.

And Job cries: “If only I knew where to find Him. If only I could bring my case before Him.” This chapter is a prayer of lament. It is a cry for justice. And it speaks to us today. Because we too know moments… when God seems silent… when life feels unfair… when we do not understand.

Job does not pretend. He does not hide his feelings. He speaks honestly with God. “My complaint is bitter,” he says. “My hand is heavy because of my groaning.” Sometimes in church we think we must always be strong… always smile… always say, “Praise the Lord.”

But Job teaches us something different. Faith is not pretending. Faith is bringing everything to God— joy, but also anger; peace, but also tears. This honesty is holy. Because when we cry to God, we are still turning toward Him. When we bring our pain to God, we confess that He is still our God.

Job looks for God everywhere. But he cannot find Him. It is like shouting in the dark. We know this experience too. There are days when prayers seem empty. When heaven feels closed. When God is silent. This silence is hard to carry. But it is also part of faith. Faith is not always about answers. Faith is sometimes about waiting. About trusting in the silence. Believing that God is still present… even if hidden. Job never stops searching. That is already faith. To keep praying when God is silent… that is deep trust.

Then comes a surprising word. In verse 10 Job says: “He knows the way that I take. When He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” What a strong statement! Job cannot see God, but he believes that God sees him. Job does not understand, but he trusts that God understands. The fire of suffering may be hard, but it can purify like gold. Gold becomes pure in the fire. The fire does not destroy the gold— it makes it shine. Job believes: “My life is in God’s hands. My steps are known to Him. And even if I walk through pain, He will bring me through.”

Job’s cry is not only his own. Today many voices cry out. Poor people cry out for justice. Families cry out for food and work. Refugees cry out for safety. And the earth itself cries out. The forests are burning. The seas are rising. The air is polluted. Animals lose their homes. Creation is suffering.

The Bible says in Romans 8 that creation groans… waiting for redemption.

The earth groans like Job. The earth says: “Where is God when humans destroy me? Where is justice for creation?” This year, the “Earth Overshoot Day” came already in July.

That means: in only seven months we humans used all the resources that the earth can renew in a whole year. From August to December we live on credit. We take from the future. We steal from our children. Can we imagine the earth standing like Job, crying before God, saying: “I am wounded. I am exhausted. Where is justice for me?”

Brothers and sisters, as people of faith we must not close our ears. Job teaches us to give space to lament. And if the earth laments, we must listen, we must repent, we must act.

Job ends with trembling words. He feels fear in God’s presence. He feels overwhelmed. But he does not give up. He keeps speaking. He keeps searching. That is our task too. To live with hope… even in silence. To listen to the cries of the world. To answer with justice and love. Our faith is not only about heaven. It is also about this earth. It is about standing with the poor. It is about protecting the weak. It is about caring for creation. When Job says, “I will come forth as gold,” he shows us the way. God will not abandon us. And if we hold on to His word, our lives can shine… not only for ourselves, but also for others, and for the earth that God created.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us walk in the steps of Job. Let us cry when we need to cry. Let us listen when creation cries. Let us live with hope when God is silent. And let us trust: when the fire is over, God will bring us out as gold.

Jens Hansen Mastodon

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