Emphasis Preaching Journal

Job 42:1-6, 10-17
Job teaches us that being in the presence of God is an impressive experience. It is beyond what we can think or express. Author Christopher Morley in his book Inward Ho expressed this awesomeness: “I had a thousand questions to ask God; but when I met him they all fed and didn’t seem to matter.” Everything that we thought was so important vanishes in the presence of God. John Wesley put it this way:

When the mind is enlightened by the Spirit of God, our knowledge of divine things as far exceeds what we had before, as knowledge by ocular demonstration exceeds that by common frame. (Commentary On the Bible, p.272)

John Calvin further elaborates on this theme:

The sum of the discourse is, that when we come before God, we must lay aside all presumption... But, on the contrary, if we acknowledge that all the services which we can yield him are in themselves of naught, and undeserving of any recompense, this humility is a perfume of a sweet odor, which will procure for them acceptance with God. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.IV/2, pp.217-218)
Mark E. 

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Job 42:1-6, 10-17
Job’s faithfulness is rewarded by the restoration of his fortune, his family, and a long life. Sometimes, we, too, wish that our whole lives would be focused in attaining the rewards we think we deserve. The difference I suppose is that Job did not ask for these things; he was instead, simply blessed by them. The blessings were in response to his acknowledgement that Job knew God could do all things, and that no purpose of God’s can be thwarted. As we live into our belief and gratitude to God, we too are blessed. Maybe we are not blessed with money or fortune or the children and family we might desire. But we are blessed. True gratitude is lived out in thankfulness for with which we are blessed to have, rather than the desire to have more. It’s a paradox, but it is true.
Bonnie B.

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Hebrews 7:23-28
Knowing what to say and how to say it is important. Nataly Kelly and Jost Zetzsch wrote in their 2012 book Found in Translation about an incident that happened in 1980. 18-year-old Willie Ramirez was admitted to a Florida hospital in a comatose state. His friends and family tried to describe his condition to the paramedics and doctors who treated him, but Willie’s family only spoke Spanish. They told the hospital staff that Willie was “intoxicado.” The word is what translators call a “false friend”—it doesn’t mean what you’d assume it means. In Spanish, “intoxicado” refers to a state of poisoning, usually from ingesting something toxic to the system. Ramirez’s family was trying to say Willie was suffering from food poisoning—literally “He is poisoned.” However, when the doctors grabbed a hospital staff person to translate for the Ramirez family, the staff worker said Willie was intoxicated. The doctors wrongly treated him as if we were suffering from an intentional drug overdose. Using the right words matter.

We all go through difficult times in our lives. We know the power and importance of prayer but struggle to find the right words. Our hearts are heavy. In those moments, our high priest Jesus is our intercessor. Robert Murray M’Cheyne, the Scottish minister of the 19th century, wrote, "If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet the distance makes no difference. He is praying for me!"
Bill T.

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Hebrews 7:23-28
The author notes in passing that those who were priests in this life “…were prevented by death from continuing in office….” This comment gave me pause. You know, the pharaohs of Egypt, the emperors of Rome, and the other rulers of the earth seem to have assumed that after death their reigns would continue, and that they would be just as important and powerful in the next world as they were in this life.

Not necessarily. Think of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Jesus depicted their circumstances in the afterlife as quite different. The author of Hebrews is busy with a discussion of how Jesus the perfect high priest makes all the other priests unnecessary. I don’t want to push analogies too far, but I wonder if we are needed in heaven not for a particular talent, but because we are loved.
Frank R.

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Mark 10:46-52
How often are we urged to be quiet about that which we feel we need from God? How often are our hopes and dreams stifled by the attitudes of others, and their reactions whether spoken or unspoken? Yet, as the blind man on the side of the road, Jesus calls us to him, seeks to move toward us, to be with us in whatever we need. Jesus provides the healing to our hearts and spirits, even if not our bodies. As a hospice chaplain, I was often reminded that spiritual pain worsens whatever physical pain there was. A relief of the spiritual pain enables us humans to move toward relief and healing. In many cases, pain that could not be relieved by medication was relieved when the spiritual healing began. Walking toward God, moving into the embrace of Jesus, helps us to heal, moves us toward healing. For that hope and that experience I am grateful.
Bonnie B.

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Mark 10:46-52
Martin Luther well summarized the meaning of this lesson. He proclaimed in a sermon:

But faith rests alone on this, that God for the sake of Christ, his son and our Lord, bears, shields, rescues, and saves. (Complete Sermons, Vol.5, p.311)

John Calvin nicely points out the significance of the way in which many of the followers of Jesus originally ordered Bartimaeus the blindman to remain silent. He says that this is indicative of our sinful waywardness, as he writes:

But it frequently happens that the greater part of those who profess the name of Christ, instead of inviting us to him, rather hinder or delay our approach. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XCI/2, p.431)

Let’s not keep others who are looking for Jesus away from him.
Mark E.