B 142 - Pentecost 20 (Proper 23)

For Pentecost 20 Fran and Sean focus on Job’s profound sense of God’s absence in Job 23:1-9; 16-17. We note that Job has loudly rejected the theology  of his friends, who all assert that Job’s suffering is the result of his sin. Job’s is a bold and courageous stance is to defy them, and to continue to seek, approach, even rebel against God despite his ongoing despair. Psalm 22;1-15 is an echo of Job’s suffering and also, of course, the Psalm from which Jesus’ cry of dereliction comes. Both the Psalmist and Job somehow remain faithful when all the evidence asks them to do otherwise. Mark 10:17-31 outlines the hard call of discipleship for the rich man. We talk about the radical deconstruction of economic and power structures required when following Jesus ‘on the way’, and note the emotional and existential shock – the disruption – that the call to follow elicits in Jesus’ followers – including us! We mention Jesper Svartvik’s The New Testament’s most dangerous book for Jews. Ched Myers et al’s Say to This Mountain: Mark’s Story of Discipleship