The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost - October 14

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

Do you see a connection between today’s readings from Job and from Mark? Can you believe that Job and Jesus’ words in Mark are related? The messages they convey are much the same. Both speak to how God acts in the world. Or, more accurately, how God doesn’t act. And both Job and Jesus radically challenged the presumptions of faithful people in their day. The Book of Job and at least part of what Jesus is saying in today’s Gospel passage both present a stark contradiction to peoples’ faith-view at the time these words were spoken and shared.

Job says: God does not send suffering as a punishment for sin.

Jesus, in Mark, says: God does not send wealth as a reward for righteousness.

Which is to say, you cannot look at your neighbor, assess their current state of life, and thereby judge whether they are sinful or righteous. Are they currently suffering with poverty, illness or loss? Or are they comfortable, thriving with abundance? You cannot assess your neighbor’s state of life and thereby deduce whether or not they are sinful or righteous. God does not send suffering as a punishment for sin. God does not send wealth as a reward for righteousness.

 I expect most of us would affirm those statements without hesitation. Intellectually, at least, we do not expect God to act that way in our lives, materially punishing or rewarding our individual behavior. But on a gut level, I do think we expect God to act that way. So much of life does. There are consequences for good and bad behavior… reward and punishment. We WANT life to work that way. And, while we may not want God to punish our bad behavior, there are times when we think he should punish other peoples’ bad behavior. And we’d definitely like him to reward our good behavior.

And Scripture, especially the Old Testament, contains many passages where God is understood by God’s people to act in exactly this way—punishing the sinful and rewarding the righteous. But the Book of Job and Jesus’ words directly contradict that perspective.

First, Job. We had a little bit of Job last week, a little this week, and we’ll get one more snippet next week. If you don’t already know the story, it’s hard to get a sense of the book as a whole. God does not cause Job’s suffering, but God definitely allows it. But over and over again, we are told that Job is righteous. He has done nothing wrong. In the passages that occur in the lectionary, we don’t hear from Job’s endearing friends, but they go on for chapters, persisting in their belief that Job must have done something terrible to deserve this suffering. They believe that Job’s suffering is punishment for sin. But no. Job is righteous and Job suffers. That is the heart of the entire book of Job. Job is righteous and Job suffers. Ultimately Job comes to a richer understanding of his place in God’s creation and a deeper relationship with God. But the through-going theme of Job is that Job is righteous and Job suffers. Therefore, suffering is not God’s punishment for sin. God does not send suffering as punishment for sin.

 The story we heard today from Mark appears in all three synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. There are variations, but in all three the young man has done well. He definitely has wealth in Luke he is a ruler. He has power and money. And yet he evidently still feels some lack, some absence of grace, uncertainty about salvation. And how, he might ask, can that be? I have done what I am supposed to do, observing the laws of Moses. I have been richly rewarded by God for my righteous observance of the law… Because I have followed God’s commandments God has bestowed power and wealth on me. How can I still feel a lack? And Jesus tells him, more or less, not only is his wealth not a reward for righteousness it may be an impediment to entering the kingdom of God.

Another detail in this passage is interesting. The disciples are surprised that it will be difficult for someone who is rich to enter heaven. They are astounded, Mark says. If the rich are not to be saved, then who is? It is certainly plausible that the disciples, like others in their day, viewed riches as a sign of righteousness. Wealth is the reward of the righteous, so surely the wealthy can expect salvation.

As you may know there is a popular strand in Christianity known as the prosperity Gospel. It teaches just this: that God rewards the righteous with prosperity. Jesus says, no.

 I do think we experience consequences based upon our behavior, when we are sinful or when we follow God’s will. But I think those consequences are self-imposed, not God-imposed.

There’s one implication of all of this that I find very helpful to remember. Neither suffering nor wealth are God’s purpose for us. They are not the endgame in God’s will for us. They are not the ultimate destination of our faith journey. Thus, they are not cause for despair or celebration before God.

Of all of the Scripture readings we heard today, Hebrews was written last. It presents a reflection on Jesus’ life and ministry, their meaning and implications for us. And Hebrews says that because we have a great high priest like Jesus, because the Son of God lived as one of us, because of these things, we can boldly approach the throne of grace. Grace is God’s purpose for us. To be filled with God’s grace is God’s desire for us. And, through Christ, we have courage, strength, boldness, encouragement to enter into God’s grace. There are no impediments to receiving God’s grace.

We can boldly pray the collect for today that God’s grace may always precede, follow, surround and fill us. And that makes all the difference in the world. In times of suffering God’s grace brings us God’s own peace and hope and healing. In times of prosperity or comfort or wealth, God’s grace brings us compassion and empathy and the motivation to generous good acts. In times of suffering God’s grace brings us compassion and empathy and the motivation to generous good acts. In times of prosperity or comfort or wealth, God’s grace brings us God’s own peace and hope and healing.

God sends us grace and the ability to live gracefully, filled with grace. And, whether you are facing suffering or prosperity, that makes all the difference in the world.