From the Daily Lectionary Friday/Saturday, August 28/29, Proper 16
Job 9:1; 10:1-9, 16-22 (The New Jerusalem Bible translation)
Job spoke next. He said:
“Since I have lost all taste for life, I shall give free rein to my complaining;
I shall let my embittered soul speak out.
I shall say to God, ‘Do not condemn me, tell me what your case is against me.
Is it right for you to attack me, in contempt for what you yourself have made,
thus abetting the schemes of the wicked?
Are your eyes mere human eyes, do you see as human beings see?
Are you mortal like human beings? Do your years pass as human days pass?
You, who enquire into my faults and investigate my sins,
you know very well that I am innocent, and that no one can rescue me from your grasp.
Your hands having shaped and created me,
now you change your mind and mean to destroy me!
Having made me, remember, as though of clay,
now mean to turn me back to dust!
Proud as a lion, you hunt me down, multiplying your exploits at my expense,
attacking me again and again, your fury against me ever increasing,
your troops assailing me, wave after wave.
Why did you bring me out of the womb?
I should have perished then, unseen by any eye, a being that had never been,
to be carried from womb to grave.
The days of my life are few enough: turn your eyes away, leave me a little joy,
before I go to the place of no return, to the land of darkness and shadow dark as death,
where dimness and disorder hold sway, and light itself is like dead of night.”
The Daily Office lectionary is now taking us through the book of Job, which is part of the Wisdom literature and the first of the five “poetical” books of the Hebrew Bible, the others being Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. There have been enough books and commentaries written on Job to fill up a large library. Why try to add to that body of work? Job is one of my favorites and I couldn’t resist putting my two cents in!
Job is an old book, probably written between the 7th and 4th centuries BCE, and the author is unknown. It is a story told not only in Israel but also among other peoples within the Near East millennia ago. It is an important piece of theological writing in the Hebrew Bible and a major and classic work of world literature. It is a book with many possible interpretations, and one of the most difficult and challenging books in the entire Bible, in part because the author seems to be arguing against the idea of theodicy, or divine justice. The theme of the book has to do with the problem of suffering, more specifically the injustice of undeserved suffering. Job is an innocent and blameless man who suffers greatly at the hands of Yahweh (God), wants to know why, and ultimately does not receive an answer.
The story is basically this: Yahweh is talking with Satan, who is a member of the heavenly council and functions as a kind of roving attorney, moving between heaven and earth. He is an adversary of Job and other humans although not an adversary of God. (Note: this is not the “devil” of later Jewish and Christian literature.) Yahweh says to Satan: “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.” Remember that Job was an extremely wealthy man, had seven sons and three daughters, and “was the greatest of all the people of the east” (Job 1:3). Satan, delving into the theological question of whether a man worships God because of the rewards he receives or rather simply because of faith in God’s goodness without the promise of wealth and prosperity, responds “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Yahweh then allows Satan to bring great suffering upon Job, to test his faith and love of God. Job ultimately loses everything, including the death of all of his children, and ultimately his own health. At first Job patiently endures the suffering without complaint, but as he is stricken with severe physical illness he becomes angry and rebellious. He is outraged at a God who could permit such suffering, and boldly accuses Yahweh of injustice. The verses above are part of this angry response to God. Most of the book is a dialogue between Job and his friends and between Job and God. In the end God does not give a direct answer to Job’s question about why he has suffered. Rather than responding to Job’s plea for justice or at least an explanation of the divine purpose, God gives two lengthy and poetically beautiful speeches about the wonders of creation, with a listing of many concerns that are beyond the reach of humanity, for instance “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” (Job 38:4). Job realizes his smallness, that he does not and cannot understand the mysteries of the universe or the ways of God, and that there is no assurance that God will provide the kind of justice he had hoped for. He has learned that the universe does not revolve around man, and that the justice of God cannot be measured by human standards. He submits to this knowledge, and in the end Job does receive the wealth he once had, in addition to another family.
The book is provocative in that it explores several fundamentally important religious issues: why do we reverence God, the meaning of suffering, the nature of God and God’s relationship to humanity, the place of justice in the world, and even where does one go to find truth. The book can be frustrating because it provides no simple answers to these questions, which are foundational issues within the fields of theology and ethics. Hopefully they inspire us to think about our lives, our personal experiences, our stories, and how and where we see God in them. We have all suffered, some more than others, and in the words of my friend Paul Sheldon, “If you haven’t seen suffering yet, just wait. It’s comin’!” Why is that? I wish I had an answer, but I, like the author of Job, do not. God didn’t provide it to Job and hasn’t provided it to us. It just seems to be part of the created order, and I don’t have to understand it in order to seek unity with and have reverence for God. There is a lot about God that is mysterious, and falling back into and yielding to that mystery can bring humility and an even greater appreciation for the wonder and wonderfulness of creation.
There is one thing I do understand about suffering, though, on a more practical and not so theological level. That is that we can certainly be the cause of suffering for one another. For me I think the best way to avoid this is to stay sensitive to the effect our actions have or might have for another. We address this often in our reflections and sermons at All Saints, particularly in light of the many social issues now confronting us. I still think it gets down to Jesus’ commandment to love your neighbor, in recognition that we are all parts of the one body of Christ. To see one another in this non-dual way, as members of the one community of creation, is surely a way to avoid causing one another to suffer. It seems simple doesn’t it?
Rev. Bob Donnell
August 28, 2020
Collect for Social Service (BCP, p. 260)
Heavenly Father, whose blessed Son came not to be served but to serve: Bless all who, following in his steps, give themselves to the service of others; that with wisdom, patience, and courage, they may minister in his Name to the suffering, the friendless, and the needy; for the love of him who laid down his life for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
