Word to the Wise
Wednesday, October 1, 2008 - St. Therese of the Child Jesus OCD - doctor of the church
[Job 9:1-12, 14-16 and Luke 9:57-62]I know well that it is so; but how can a man be justified before God? Should one wish to contend with him, he could not answer him once in a thousand times. God is wise in heart and mighty in strength; who has withstood him and remained unscathed?
The dialogue between Job and his friends raises the question of how an individual can confront God with a terrible situation and be justified in thinking that God is responsible? Job, like anyone who finds their suffering meaningless is frustrated because God is the only one whom Job can confront about his suffering and the very idea seems absurd. How can there be a fair "hearing" if God is judge and prosecutor as well? My own response to that is represented in a painting that hangs on the wall in my residence here in Kentucky. It shows a boy about to throw a rock into the sky in the hopes of hitting God! The painting was done by an artist in Memphis who heard me mention the image in a sermon. Job believes he cannot "contend" with God. The boy in the painting was not so inhibited. It is difficult to accept a "God on the sidelines" when suffering is occurring. We expect intervention because we would like to think WE would intervene if we could do something about it! How can God "let" such things happen? It seems to me that the initial story about Satan trying to prove to God that Job will forsake faith if he suffers enough offers a hint. God holds Job in respect and speaks highly of him. Ultimately, though Job cannot understand his sufferings, the integrity of the relationship with God prevails and reward comes. Job's life makes no sense to him without God - for good or for bad! To abandon God in the midst of the suffering is to accord total meaninglessness to the suffering. Survivors of the holocaust and concentration camps have spoken to this time and time again. Even in the "dark night of the soul" God is present. Ultimately that is our greatest hope and sometimes our only consolation. AMEN
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