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A reading from the Book of Job. Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself. Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are in the right? Or is it gain to him if you make your ways blameless? Is it for your fear of him that he reproves you and enters into judgment with you? Is not your evil abundant? There is no end to your iniquities, for you have exacted pledges of your brothers for nothing and stripped the naked of their clothing. You have given no water to the weary to drink, and you have withheld bread from the hungry. The man with power possessed the land, and the favored man lived in it. You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless were crushed. Therefore snares are all around you, and sudden terror overwhelms you or darkness, so that you cannot see and a flood of water covers you. Is not God high in the heavens? See the highest stars, how lofty they are. But you say, what does God know? Can he judge through the deep darkness? Thick clouds veil him so that he does not see, and he walks on the vault of heaven. Will you keep to the old way that wicked men have trod? They were snatched away before their time. Their foundation was washed away. They said to God, depart from us, and what can the Almighty do to us? Yet he filled their houses with good things. But the counsel of the wicked is far from me. The righteous see it and are glad. The innocent one mocks at them, saying, surely our adversaries are cut off, and what they left the fire has consumed. Agree with God and be at peace. Thereby good will come to you. Receive instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up. If you remove injustice far from your tents, if you lay gold in the dust and gold of Ophir among the stones of the torrent bed, then the Almighty will be your gold and your precious silver. For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty and lift up your face to God. You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you, and you will pay your vows. You will decide on the matter, and it will be established for you. And light will shine on your ways. For when they are humbled, you say it is because of pride, but he saves the lowly. He delivers even the one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands. Then Job answered and said, today also my complaint is bitter. My hand is heavy on account of my groaning. Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat. I would lay my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. I would know what he would answer me and understand what he would say to me. Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No, he would pay attention to me. There an upright man could argue with him, and I would be acquitted forever by my judge. Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward. But I do not perceive him on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him. He turns to the right hand, but I do not see him. But he knows the way that I take. When he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. My foot has held fast his steps. I have kept his way and have not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of his lips. I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food. But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires that he does, for he will complete what he appoints for me, and many such things are in his mind. Therefore I am terrified at his presence. When I consider, I am in dread of him. God has made my heart faint. The Almighty has terrified me. Yet I am not silenced because of the darkness, nor because thick darkness covers my face. A reading from the book of Psalms to the choirmaster. According to Mihaleth Emascul of David, the fool says in his heart there is no God. They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity. There is none who does good. God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand who seek after God. They have all fallen away together. They have become corrupt. There is none who does good, not even one. Have those who work evil no knowledge. Who eat up my people as they eat bread, or do not call upon God there they are in great terror where there is no terror. For God scatters the bones of him who camps against you. You put them to shame, for God has rejected them. Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion when God restores the fortunes of his people. Let Jacob rejoice. Let Israel be glad. A reading of the Gospel according to Luke. And he said to his disciples, temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come. It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin, Pay attention to yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in the day and turns to you seven times, saying, I repent, you must forgive him. The apostles said to the Lord, increase our faith. And the Lord said, if you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it would obey you. Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him, when he has come in from the field, come at once and recline at table? Will he not rather say to him, prepare supper for me, and dress properly and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink. Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, we are unworthy servants. We have only done what was our duty. On the way to Jerusalem, he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by 10 lepers who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, jesus, Master, have mercy on us. When he saw them, he said to them, go and show yourselves to the priests. And as they went, they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. And he fell on his face at Jesus feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, were not 10 cleansed? Where are the 9? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner? And he said to him, rise and go your way. Your faith has made you well. Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed. Nor will they say, look, here it is, or there. For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. And he said to the disciples, the days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man. And you will not see it. And they will say to you, look there, or look here. Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage until the day when Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot. They were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all. So will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, let the one who was on the housetop with his goods in the house not come down to take them away. And likewise, let the one who was in the field not turn back. Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life will keep it. I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left. And they said to him, where, Lord? He said to them, where the corpse is there the vultures will gather.
Episode Date: August 27, 2025
Readings: Job 22–23; Psalm 53; Luke 17
This episode features Jackie Hill Perry reading and reflecting on three passages: Job 22–23 (the ongoing dispute and lament between Job and his friend Eliphaz), Psalm 53 (a psalm of David meditating on human corruption), and Luke 17 (Jesus’ warnings about temptation, faith, gratitude, and the coming kingdom). Each passage is read for its own sake; the episode invites listeners to consider the weight and beauty of each text as part of their daily Bible journey.
Eliphaz’s Accusation (Job 22)
“Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are in the right? Or is it gain to him if you make your ways blameless?... Is not your evil abundant? There is no end to your iniquities.” (00:16)
Job’s Response (Job 23)
"Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat. I would lay my case before him..." (02:10)
“But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.” (03:05)
“I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.” (03:33)
“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity. There is none who does good.” (04:14)
“Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.” (05:15)
Temptation and Forgiveness
“If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him… If he sins against you seven times in the day... you must forgive him.” (05:41)
“If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” (06:06)
Humility in Service
“When you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” (06:46)
Gratitude of the Leper
“Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?... Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” (07:44)
The Kingdom of God and the Day of the Son of Man
“The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed... For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (08:25)
“Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.” (10:19)
“Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat.” (Job, 02:10)
“But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.” (Job, 03:05)
“There is none who does good, not even one.” (Psalmist, 04:29)
“If he sins against you seven times in the day and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” (Jesus, 05:51)
“Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?” (Jesus, 08:06) “Your faith has made you well.” (Jesus, 08:19)
“The kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Jesus, 08:36)
“Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.” (Jesus, 10:19)
This episode highlights the depth and complexity of human suffering, faith under duress, God’s expectations, and the promise of salvation. The readings call listeners to humility, persistent faith, radical forgiveness, gratitude, and readiness for God’s kingdom — themes that collectively capture the heart of Christian discipleship.