What does it mean to be great? That is the question our texts raise today. "Great" is a wide-ranging word: You can have a great king, great skill, a great storm, a great number, great joy, or great fear. You can use it in its Greek form, mega — as in megachurch; or in its Latin form, magna — as in magnify. It can refer to physical form, size, or height. Pull yourself up, stand tall, like the cedars of Lebanon! Be great!

Oh, just to touch on greatness! To shake the hand of an all-star, to have an audience with the president (or the pope), to crash a Hollywood party and mingle with the stars, to wave like a fool in front of the television cameras for the Today show. Oh, for that fifteen seconds of fame.

Well, Job was the greatest! "This man was the greatest of all the people of the east" (…