In Robert Frost’s The Masque of Reason God tells the "Easy Answers Committee" that it is mistaken. This sermon does the same. Its probing, illuminating force conforms to the terrain of human experience. It conforms to the terrain of God’s experience in Emmanuel - God with us.

Rich textual reference, literary allusions, carefully chosen language, experience common to all keep the listeners listening, the readers reading.

An atheist is expected to ask the "Why?" of things. It’s part of the practicing atheist’s repertoire. But what if a believer asks "Why?" with an intensity even greater than that of the atheist? Well, the preacher responds with Job’s help - the book and the person.

Our lectionary, for the most part in its three-year cycle, stays clear of Job. It is a rare day, like today,…