A Hard Days Night

October 14, 2012

Job 23:1-9, 16-17 Hebrews 4:12-16 Mark 10:17-31

Have you ever had a hard day? That turned into a hard month or a hard year? That just seemed to stretch on for what seemed like forever? Have you ever cried out to God and got nothing in return? Has heaven ever been so quiet that you wondered if God was still there, or if he still cared? Last week we talked about how hard life became for Job and how our sin and failure often makes our situation worse, but what if we did nothing wrong? What are we supposed to do when life is hard, through no fault of our own, and God seems to be silent? This is the place where I found myself ten years ago when I was unexpectedly laid off and out of work. I was unemployed for two years. The initial shock and confusion were terrible. I couldnt make sense of things. I couldnt understand why it was happening. For weeks I cried out to God and didnt really get any satisfactory answers. For a while it didnt seem like I was getting any answer at all. It took time. A lot of time. To help me put the pieces together, my pastor gave me books to read and scripture to study. I also read a lot of scripture on my own. Eventually, I began to understand that, perhaps, God was calling me to do something else but that took a long time. In scripture, we remember Job, a man who had it far worse than I ever did. Job questioned God, he cried out to God, he demanded justice from God and still God was silent. (Job 23:1-9, 16-17) Then Job replied:
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Even today my complaint is bitter; his hand is heavy in spite of my groaning. 3 If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling! 4 I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. 5 I would find out what he would answer me, and consider what he would say to me. 6 Would he vigorously oppose me? No, he would not press charges against me. 7 There the upright can establish their innocence before him, and there I would be delivered forever from my judge.
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But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. 9 When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.
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God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me. 17 Yet I am not silenced by the darkness, by the thick darkness that covers my face. 1

Job says that despite his complaining and groaning the burden of his life was bitter and heavy. He cried out to God, but God could not be found. Job searches for God but cannot find him. Job speculates, he guesses what would happen if he could confront God. He imagines that God would not find fault with him but no matter what happened in his imagination, Job could not find God. Even so, despite his problems, despite his burden, despite the unfairness of what had happened to him, despite his inability to get an answer from his God, Job does not surrender. Despite admitting that God has made Jobs heart faint, he has become terrified and filled with fear, Job does not give up. Job says that the darkness does not silence him, no matter what has happened to him, Job presses forward. Job had everything a man could want and has it all taken away from him and his response is to trust God and press on. This is presents for us a startling contrast to a story that we hear in Mark 10:17-31. In this story we hear about a man who has everything except eternity and gives up before even facing the smallest hardship.
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As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. Good teacher, he asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life?
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Why do you call me good? Jesus answered. No one is goodexcept God alone. 19 You know the commandments: You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.
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Teacher, he declared, all these I have kept since I was a boy.

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Jesus looked at him and loved him. One thing you lack, he said. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.
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At this the mans face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!

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The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.
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The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, Who then can be saved? Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God. Then Peter spoke up, We have left everything to follow you!

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Truly I tell you, Jesus replied, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fieldsalong with persecutionsand in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first. This wealthy young man runs up to Jesus and asks what he needs to do to live forever and Jesus reminds him that he already knows the Ten Commandments. In reply, the young man says that he has kept the commandments since he was a boy, but Jesus points out that he is missing one thing, I think missing one, perhaps two, commandments. To highlight what he lacks, Jesus tells the man to sell all he has and give it to the poor but the man goes away sad because he had great wealth. The man is not sad because he was rich, he was sad because he was too attached to his riches. Two of the commandments, neither of which was recited by Jesus, say that we are not to covet the belongings of others and that we cannot love anything more than we love God. While Job lost everything and held 2

tight to God. This young man however, cannot imagine giving up the things that he loves, even if it means gaining eternity with God. This exchange with the young man worries the disciples especially when Jesus says that it is hard for rich men to enter the kingdom of heaven. The disciples were people just like us. They were not wealthy but they desired success and wealth just as much as we do. We know that they sometimes had a hard time seeing what Jesus was trying to teach them because they held on to the idea that they would become rich and powerful when Jesus became and earthly king. Now they worry that if rich and powerful people cannot get into heaven, then perhaps they themselves will not make the cut and will be unable to get into heaven. Jesus calms their fears my saying that those who have given up homes or family or prosperity to follow Jesus or to spread the gospel will be repaid, sometimes in this world and sometimes in the next. It is not possible to follow God and enter into heaven if we use the mathematics of earth. Collecting stuff, piling up possessions and money, will not ever be enough. Here on earth, money and possessions are often the way that human beings keep score. As we have heard before in our culture, The one with the most toys wins. God does not keep score this way. In Gods calculation, sometimes the ones with the least will win and the ones with the most will lose. But many who are first will be last, and the last first. In these two stories we remember that following Jesus demands something of us. Believing can be hard. Following Jesus can sometimes be costly, but we must be prepared to give from what we have been given. Job lost everything but he knew that his real wealth was his relationship with God. The rich young man who ran up to Jesus had everything but held too tightly to his wealth. It is hard for us, just as it was hard for the disciples, to remember that we should not hold tightly to things, but instead hold on to things that matter. Like the disciples, we worry that were going through life and were trying to follow Jesus and, somehow, were going to get things wrong. Jesus said,
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Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:29-30) Jesus knows the heart of every human being. Hebrews 4:14-16 says,
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Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we areyet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach Gods throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. We all have hard days and sometimes those days stretch into weeks, months and even years but through it all we are never left alone. Even when it seems as if the heavens are closed to us even when it seems that God isnt listening, we know that Jesus is our great High Priest. Jesus knows what it is to be human. Jesus knows what it is to feel hunger, and pain, and suffering, and it is he that judges the souls of humanity. It is Jesus who sits in the throne room of God and it is he who speaks with God on our behalf. In 1964, the Beatles wrote a song entitled, A Hard Days Night. It tells a story of how much better they felt at the end of the day because of the love of a woman. It may sometimes help us to remember the first few lines, and then apply them to our relationship with Jesus. It's been a hard day's night/and I've been working like a dog. It's been a hard day's night; I should be sleeping like a log. But when I get home to you, I find the things that you do, Will make me feel alright. 3

Today we may experience what the Beatles called A Hard Days Night but tomorrow is a new day. This lifetime may be filled with hardship and pain, but this life is not all that there is. Through all of his trials, Job did not give up. No matter what happened to him, Job pressed on. He knew where his real treasure was. The stories of Job and Jesus both teach us not to hold too tightly to things but to hold on to things that matter. When we are in the middle of a hard days night press on and hold on to Jesus.

************************************************************************* A Hard Day's Night - Beatles July 10, 1964

You know I work all day To get you money to buy you things. And it's worth it just to here you say, You're gonna give me everything. So why on earth should I moan, 'Cos when I get you alone You know I feel okay. When I'm home everything seems to be right. When I'm home feeling you holding me tight, tight, yeah. It's been a hard day's night And I've been working like a dog. It's been a hard day's night, I should be sleeping like a log. But when I get home to you, I find the things that you do Will make me feel alright. So why on earth should I moan, 'Cos when I get you alone You know I feel okay. When I'm home everything seems to be right. When I'm home feeling you holding me tight, tight, yeah. It's been a hard day's night And I've been working like a dog. It's been a hard day's night, I should be sleeping like a log. But when I get home to you, I find the things that you do Will make me feel alright. You know I feel alright, You know I feel alright.

You have been reading a message presented at Trinity United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Trinity of Perry heights in Massillon, Ohio. Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Trinity United Methodist Church, 3757 Lincoln Way E., Massillon, Ohio 44646. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at subscribe@trinityperryheights.org. If you have questions, you can ask them in our discussion forum on Facebook (search for Pastor John Online). These messages can also be found online at http://www.scribd.com/Pastor John Partridge. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.