Suffering is something
we all share in common. There is not one
soul among us who has not endured pain to one extent or another, but there are
many souls among us who have suffered - at least in their own minds -
unjustly. To be sure, bad things happen
to good people every day, but the superstitious elements of religion have
reduced these sufferings to either 1) "God has turned His back on
me", or 2) "Satan is trying to get me". Whether either statement can be true in Job's context or in our own, I suppose,
is a matter of perspective; but we cannot ignore this profound reality: life
happens, and it is not always pretty. I
believe this to be the essential component of Job.
It is arguable whether Job is to be understood as a literal
account or a story of metaphor with much broader implication and meaning (I
pick metaphor). In this it is also
arguable as to the true nature and character of "Satan" as the "evil
one" who intends to undermine divine sovereignty - or - a legitimate
member of the "Judgment Day" divine court as the "accuser"
or "prosecutor" whose charge is to challenge the human facade of
faith. Either role can challenge the
devoted believer because it is hard to imagine the "evil one" with
unfettered access to the heavenly court (1:6) as much as it is difficult to
envision a benevolent and merciful God who would subject His faithful to such a
test only to prove a point or settle a bet.
To answer questions
about Job's challenge is to dig deeper into a study that will challenge the
believer to perhaps question the basis for faith. "Satan" suggests to YHWH that Job's
faith has been essentially "bought" with divine favor and that if
this facade as the basis for his faith were to be challenged and the divine
favor withdrawn, Job's faith would fall away at the first sign of trouble
(1:11). It is here where we are
challenged to examine ourselves and our own relationship to YHWH just as we often
evaluate our human relationships, the compelling component of this evaluation
being whether we would participate in any relationship without a certain promise
or a reasonable expectation of reward.
This is, I think, the
essential element of Eliphaz' discourse to Job.
Job clearly wants answers to his suffering just as anyone would if one
were to go from "abundance" to "nothing" virtually
overnight with no clear cause. What
would be troubling, however, is what may finally come from such answers. Would we discover that absent divine
blessing, we may find no practical use for YHWH if we discovered we had an
abundance of hope for good things but no faith to endure the bad? If the mask of contentedness were to be
pulled away, might we discover that our faith can be reduced to the promise of
reward or the threat of punishment which, of course, would be completely about
self and "stuff"? That is, we
are eager to "receive" but not so willing to "give". That is no relationship at all.
Our Christian theology
informs us of eternal life in Christ, but our practical experience proves to us
that it is a long time between "now" and "eternity". That is, we have to endure life now with its
ups and downs, with its blessings and curses, with perhaps more broken hearts than
dreams fulfilled. There is good and bad,
but it would be disturbing to most of us if we were to discover that the
adversity we face in this life was not so much a "natural order"
(stuff happens) as it is a "bet" between YHWH and "Satan" as
merely a test of the authenticity of our faith. Such a portrait of a cruel God would not be
enticing to those who are still searching for meaning to their existence in the
midst of needless suffering or self-imposed "pity parties".
"Satan"
suggests Job's faith is connected directly to his wealth, but we are also told
Job was devout in his religious practices and faithful in his burnt offerings
for sins that "might" have been committed by his children (1:5). His gratitude for all he has seems clear to
us as it is equally clear Job was willing to go to great lengths (and
substantial expense) to offer sacrifices to YHWH faithfully.
After such fidelity,
then, it is understandable that Job was not as willing to be instructed as he had
been willing to instruct others in their misery and pain (4:3). Others may have brought their misery upon
themselves, but we are not given that kind of information. We see by what is written that Job was
virtually flawless in the practice of his religion and in his relationships
with others. What may come from his
faith, however, remains to be seen in his conversation with Eliphaz that is equal
parts accusatory and comforting.
What the faithful
reader is confronted with is the certain reality that life is just ...
life. Jesus teaches that it rains on the
just AND on the unjust. Life
happens. Yet even if we do not figure
out all the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, we can be confident through
genuine faith that the Lord has His own purposes. We are often "reproved" perhaps so
that we do not become so full of ourselves in our own sense of pious
"awesomeness" that we compromise our humility and ultimately endanger
our immortal souls as the Pharisee in Jesus' parable of Luke 18:9-14 ("Lord, I'm glad I'm not a sinner like that tax
collector!").
Such necessary reproval
may be better understood in the context of Jesus' parable of the vinedresser (John 15:1-8); when one is
"pruned" (enduring "pain" as in being "cut"), it
is for the purpose of producing even more fruit than before. That is, when we have done well and faithfully,
our Lord will enable us to do even better in the perfection of our faith and the
honest practice of genuine religion.
Honest evaluation of our
relationship with the Lord is as much a part of sanctifying grace (i.e.,
"going on to perfection", Hebrews
6:1-3) for the soul as is the food and water we consume to nourish our
bodies, maintain our health, and grow stronger.
The Church provides all the tools necessary for this growth, but we have
to make an effort to use these tools. Indeed
how much good can it do for us to join a gym but never use the equipment? Is it of any practical use that we can
proclaim our "membership" if we do not actively participate in that
"relationship"? Or will others
simply laugh at us as the "hypocrites" we ultimately prove ourselves
to be?
It is not always easy
to endure such "growing pains", but there is divine purpose (beyond
self-indulgence) in our common calling as ministers of the Gospel irrespective
of material wealth and worldly comfort.
For it is as St. Peter shares: "Since Christ suffered in the flesh,
arm yourselves also with the same intention (for whoever has suffered in the
flesh has finished with sin), so as to live for the rest of your earthly life
no longer by human desire but by the will of God" (1 Peter 4:1-2 NRSV).
Life is ... just ... life. For our Lord.
In our Lord. And through our Lord
who "[may] wound but will bind. Who
[may] strike but will heal". As
faith endures. Amen.
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