Our readings this morning – a little bit intense, aren’t they!
There’s a thread through all of them… it’s likely familiar to us all:
Being tested.
Eeek – that word that strikes terror into the hearts of students everywhere! A TEST!
Because in our society, the concept of TEST comes right alongside a judgement – right or wrong. It’s a fairly strict dichotomy.
We see TEST as an evaluation, an assessment – a means for measurement – whereby the test-taker has to demonstrate their skills or knowledge.
And so, in that scope – the readings today are rather… well, intense.
Job – tested by Satan. Yowsers. And weknow it was repeated – and it wasn’t pleasant.
The Psalmist – TEST ME O LORD – stark! Harsh! Whoever *wants* to go into an examination?
The Gospel – the whole context is one of judgement – right from the start, the Pharisees come to test him.
Tests. Hard judgements; right or wrong answers; trick questions, high stakes, high stress. But…
Let’s consider how else the word TEST can be used and understood.
Because for someone or something to BE tested means that measures are being taken to seek out the quality or performance or reliability of something, often (ideally) before it is shard broadly in the wider public.
Think about it: our cars are tested for safety, our personal grooming products are tested for healthiness, our food is tested for nutritional benefit…
We want the things in our lives to be of a certain standard or level that will keep us healthy and safe – we aspire to trust the things that we consume, knowing that they have been through processes of improvement.
So what happens when we apply THAT framework to the tests of today’s scriptures?
Well, in the first reading the tests are difficult – and we see how Job and his wife react differently in faith to the challenges.
In the Psalm we have this person of prayer singing out their qualifications, describing the actions of their faith – not necessarily defensively, but lovingly as a celebration.
And our Gospel has Jesus challenge his testers – to see where they are at in their faith journey; whether they rely more strongly on their earthly love of the law or the heavenly law of Love.
The testing then shifts that again.
So what happens when we apply yet another definitive framework of TEST to these readings?
For this one, I’m going to invite us to consider the understanding of a test as a practice of proficiency.
Ooooh, proficiency. Not right or wrong, but a sliding scale of knowledge and practice and experience. For example, to be proficient in a second language means you are able to communicate in that language, with a level of accuracy in comprehension (both what you understand, and what the other understands) – either written or spoken.
Proficiency is a good place to be!
Job’s faith is proficient; it carries him through quite a lot.
The psalmist is also proficient in faith, to the point of making his declarations and singing them!
Jesus – well, his proficiency excels as he turns the test around to the testers – those who started out seeking a pass/fail exam are now being invited to consider their relationship with God and their actions of faith.
So what then do we consider to be our Christian proficiency?
I’ll share some thoughts from the late Martin Thornton. He wrote an entire book called “Christian Proficiency” – and in it he describes how as we get closer and closer to God, through prayer and worship, we will become more active with one another in faith-filled action.
As our focus moves away from the distractions of the world and away from the self-centredness of humanity, we will move closer to God. We’ll increase in our understanding and expression of what it means to be a Christian, and to live the Christian life, making sure that all of our actions reflect the majesty of God.
As our connection to the gospel life increases, so does our connection with the Christian community, always keeping God at the centre. The stages of development and prayerful advances are not static like school grades, but fluid and gradual – because life is fluid and gradual.
Martin Thornton – fascinating guy. Sharing what is a Gospel invitation to journey ever closer to God, and to understand it as an ongoing exciting opportunity. It’s a great testimony to the power of prayer.
And – that’s a convenient segue to a final use of TEST, one that we hear about in today’s scriptures: Test as related to the words Testify and Testimony.
Modern society has seen these words come to have a strictly legal connotation: to testify (for or against) in a court of law.
But the actual meaning of testifying serves as an invitation to share your account with a neutral third party – someone who has no interest or benefit one way or another.
What a test – to testify our testimony in describing our faith.
It’s exactly what’s happening in the letter to the Hebrews today: the writer is providing their own proficiency in faith: testifying to how they have come to know God, and love God, and desire to serve God. They are using what others have said and shared, in their own declarations of faith, as a means to support their own faith journey – which they are sharing with the community to try and help that community overcome their own tests and challenges.
The testifying of the Good News of God being made manifest in the person of Jesus and the presence of the Christ is a strength and support to these folks! They are learning that to be a Christian does not mean everything will always be perfect – but that being a Christian means never facing life’s testing alone. It’s a powerful assurance.
So, we are invited now, based on the word of God that the scriptures have given us this week, to consider how WE respond to the uncertainties and complexities of life, when we feel that OUR faith is being tested.
Because: I’m confident to say: We have all felt tested.
We have felt the weight and the impact of life’s challenges: in ways that are unique to us, in ways that we have shared with our families and friends, with our society.
An illness – of ourselves or a loved one – is a test.
A tragic loss – is a test.
COVID is a test. Navigating through rapidly changing protocols – that’s a test.
Preaching on this Gospel – is a test!
Seeking new ways to live the Good News of God – is a test.
We are tested.
We have been tested.
We will continue to BE tested.
Whether we like it or not, this is the reality of our life.
BUT: We have our faith. And our faith is one of the things that sustains us through these times of test. Our faith grants us the proficiency to continue on our faith journey. Because we know:
God is with us in the test.
God is with us in the journey.
God provides helpers to us – and provides us as helpers to others.
God is with us as we are tested – and God delights in our ongoing efforts towards proficiency.
And some good things to remember about the test:
God does not send trick questions, or pass/fail exams, or expect things that are impossible from us (like testing a fish to climb a tree – that just is highly unlikely to ever happen).
God does not delight in our being tested unfairly. There is no torment that God wants for us; but God sees us grow through the circumstances we endure. It can be helpful to recognise that when we say things like “God doesn’t send us more than we can handle” that maybe God didn’t send us that test in the first place.
God does not want us to trip up each other with tests – that’s not helpful, and can injure another’s faith.
Instead, God gives us the opportunity to testify: to love, to grace and forgiveness, to God’s glory in the world.
And God waits for us at the end of the tests of life: drying our tears, comforting our dis-ease, relieve our pain, and welcoming us home.
For after the test of life, we come to God the same way the children came to Jesus: unimpeded and beautifully received; and we too will be taken into the arms of Jesus, whose hand will be laid upon us, and we will be blessed.
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