[Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon On Haiti

[Joe Parrish]

Forwarded: 

Haiti  -  Job 1:12-21
ermon by Brett Blair
Many of you asked for the author and exact scripture text so we are sending
his out again. Members have access to this full sermon when you log into
ermons.com.
On Tuesday of this week just before sunset a powerful 7 magnitude earthquake
ocked the island country of Haiti. You have seen the images of suffering
nd the aftermath on the internet and TV. The horrible irony is that this is
onsidered by many to be the poorest country in the western hemisphere. They
ad no direction to go but up. And now this. Already at the bottom
conomically and now they have been shoved through the floor. As I watched
V, listened to radio, listened to people in our community, talked with
hildren, attended prayer vigils, and met with other clergy, I have been
truck by the questions: Why? Why do such things happen? How can there be
uch evil? Where is God? What can I do? How will they ever recover?
Questions are so hard to answer in tragic times. But we ask questions
onetheless. If you were to take a tour of the Bible you would find that one
ook has a more disproportionate number of questions than any other. Which
ook is that? It is the book of Job. Job has over 330 questions in its 42
hapters. The first book of the bible, Genesis, only has 160. Matthew, the
irst book of the New Testament has around 180. And that’s odd because it
eems that Jesus was asking questions every time he opened his mouth. Even
he book of Psalms with its 150 chapters has only 160.
So why does the book of Job have so many more questions? There is a very
imple reason. It is because the book of Job deals with a horrible tragedy.
Here is what happened. Job is a righteous man. Greater than all others. A
edge, a barrier, is set around him, his family, and his business. Suddenly,
ithout warning, and for no reason other than his being blameless and
pright, his family and business is wiped out. In the middle of the business
f everyday life two rogue groups conduct a raid taking away Job’s livestock
nd putting his servants to the sword. Then his family is lost in a freak
ccident when a mighty wind sweeps in from the desert, strikes the four
orners of the house, collapses it, and all are lost. 
It was swift. It was unwarranted. It was unconscionable. 
A very large hit and hit hard. In many ways the events of this past week
eem eerily echoed in the story of Job. Why is there then such a similarity
etween the events of Job and the events of this past week? It is because,
ven though 4000 years separate the two events, life, and I mean the things
hat make life meaningful, have not changed at all. Not even over 4
illennia. We all must make a living. We all love our family. We all want
ecurity. We all want a home.
I
So what do we do in tragedy? We do what Job did when he learned of his loss.
e mourn. He was silent when he received the first two reports that his
usiness and livestock had been wiped out. But when he received the news
hat his children were lost… He got up and tore his robe. Then, he feel on
is knees and mourned: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will
eturn.” In other words, everything that had meaning in his life was gone.
s he came into this world so Job felt he was leaving it: Barren.
As the news poured in, I saw images of children lying in the streets alone
rowds thronging past them. Bodies lined up on side of the street: Dads,
oms, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. I have no doubt
here is someone here this morning who knows somebody who has been to Haiti
r lives there. The news has shown us their faces and told their stories and
he mourning has rippled across the country. We mourn for every family lost.
very family torn apart. We weep for Haiti. We mourn because of their loss.
Mourning is part of a powerful process. It undergirds our strength and
eveals our soul. IT helps us reach out in compassion to those who hurt.
II
After we have mourned, we start asking questions: How can I help? Where do
e go from here? Where do we stand now? And perhaps we also wonder: How can
e stop this from happening again? That last question is the tricky one. I
ant to look at that for a moment.
Job had a hedge of protection. A barrier which God erected but then took it
way allowing Satan to have his way with Job. It is the Old Testament’s way
f saying even the most righteous and best of this earth are not immune to
vil. Just because we are good does not mean we are protected from bad. Not
n this life. The writer of Job understood this. But Job himself could not.
e was too caught up in his grief and loss. 
Neither could Job’s friends comprehend what had happened. His three friends
ome to him and say, in effect, only those who have done evil perish. Those
ho are righteous are never destroyed. They thought Job had done some
erribly evil thing and this is why he was suffering. God has lifted the
arrier to punish you, they said. They of course are wrong.
I was struck this week by Pat Robertson’s comments. He appeared to assign
he blame for this tragic earthquake on the Haitian people’s pact with the
evil made by the founders who wanted the country to be free from French
ontrol. Now I don’t want to go into a long narrative on Haitian history but
 little background is needed here. 200 years ago the French were using
aitian people as slaves. A fellow by the name of Boukman was a voodoo
riest and he lead a group of Haitians in a revolt. He started this revolt
y conducting a ceremony where a pig was sacrificed and the blood of the pig
as spread among the participants who, caught up by the “spirits” swore to
ill all the French people on the island. After many deaths the French
aptured Boukman and beheaded him and crushed the rebellion. Historians
onsider this to be the start of the Haitian revolution.

o, is Pat Robertson right? Or maybe we should ask: Is the media’s
nterpretation of Pat Robertson’s words, that the earthquake is the fault of
he Haitian people because they made a pact with the devil, is that correct?
o. God is not, in 2010, punishing one million people because Boukman, in
791, cut a pigs throat and made some voodoo pact with the devil. Come on.
eally, who believes . . . . 
NOTE: You can use this opening for free to begin your own sermon or join to
et the rest of this sermon. The Pat Robertson discussions is expanded upon
nd the Job idea is brought to a conclusion in the third point, with a
iscussion about where God was and is in all this tragedy. 
You can join www.sermons.com by going to: http://www.sermons.com/signup
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Whether you join or not we have made a substantial donation to Samaritans
urse.  Franklin Graham's disaster team is on its way to Haiti and we
egularly support their efforts when disasters strike.
Grace and Peace this Sunday as you address this tragedy.
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