Word to the Wise
Tuesday, September 27, 2022 - Tuesday in the 26th Week in Ordinary Time
[Job 3:1-3, 11-17, 20-23 and Luke 9:51-56]Job opened his mouth and cursed his day. Job spoke out and said: "Perish the day on which I was born, the night when they said, "The child is a boy!" Why did I not perish at birth, come forth from the womb and expire? [Job]
SEPTEMBER 27 ST. VINCENT DE PAUL
Job is in great pain. He has lost everything - family, possessions and health. He knows nothing of the "wager" between God and Satan. He only knows that he is suffering. WHY?????
Years ago, Rabbi Harold Kushner wrote a wonderful little book, WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE. I have recommended that book to friends of mine who have suffered great loss. It is a comforting work but ultimately we are facing the mystery of a universe in which not everything happens the way we want it to. Because we are human, we have the capacity to ask WHY? Is it all part of God's "plan" or "will" for us? Is it just bad "luck?" Neither of these responses is very helpful. God does not "will" suffering for anyone. God suffers with us when we suffer. Jesus' own suffering tells us that.
As we move through the Book of Job in the days ahead, we can listen to Job's friends trying to get him to admit to wrongdoing and "Curse God and die!" Job does not do that, and his family, possessions and health are restored. More to come! AMEN