The Courage
to Hope Again
Job 42:10-17
Most of us know Job. Even if we have not read the Book of Job, we know the character of Job is one who endures great suffering…wait, let me restate that. We know that Job endures great, unjust suffering, unexplained suffering, seemingly unendurable suffering. Such suffering is the reason the name of Job is synonymous with hardship and heartache, trial and tribulation.
Even if we have not read the Book of Job, most of us are familiar with the broad outlines of the story: God boasts that there is no one as righteous and God-fearing as Job; Satan, the adversary, argues with God that Job is righteous only because he is so blessed with wealth, health and happiness; Satan asks of God – and receives permission – to take Job’s wealth away, then his health away, everything but his wife and his life.
What follows is 39 chapters of Hebrew poetry on the nature and causes of human suffering as Job’s three friends, and later a young man, debate with Job. Each of the three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, as well as the young man, Elihu, argue essentially that the universe abides by the rules of karma: if one is just, good things happen; if one is unjust, then suffering comes. Job in turn argues that there is nothing just about what has befallen him; he is righteous and has done nothing to deserve his suffering. Job rages against God but stops short of cursing God, and in his rage he challenges God to reveal himself to Job, come to Job face to face to explain why God has allowed such an injustice to occur.
In chapter 38 God finally does reveal himself to Job, but the face to face meeting with God is not what Job expected. God does not explain himself; he offers no justification for his actions, no explanation for the nature or causes of suffering, no excuse for allowing suffering to exist in his good creation. Instead, God reveals God’s majesty, God’s mystery and God’s might:
Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? (38:4)
Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion? (38:31)
Job is overwhelmed; it is the ultimate “shock and awe”:
I spoke once but have no answer – twice but I will say no more. (40:5)
My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. (42:5)
Finally, in the book’s epilogue, we read of Job’s restoration, how God restored to Job twice as much as Job had before. All his family and friends who had deserted him in his desperation came to comfort and console him. Tens of thousands of animals were his flock; ten children including seven strong sons and three daughters of whom it was said “Nowhere in all the land were there found woman as beautiful” (42:15). And Job lived a long life and “saw his children and their children to the fourth generation…he died, old and full of years” (42:16-17).
*****
The Book of Job is one of the oldest and most profound works of human literature. The character of Job is one of the most interesting and memorable characters in all of human literature. Now, before we discuss Job further, we must ask a sensitive question: Is Job true?
Is Job true? We can answer this question in several ways. For instance, there are those who insist that Job actually lived and the poetry of Job, the book, tells the tale of the great, cosmic contest between God and Satan to see if Satan can coerce Job into cursing God. Such folk insist that Job, the book, tells the tale of the tragic, human suffering of a righteous man of God. We might say that such folks answer the question, “Is Job true?” by saying, “Yes, Job is true in the sense that it is factual.”
I have a slightly different perspective. Oh, I believe Job is true, but I don’t insist that Job is factual. Rather, as a great work of literature and Scripture, the truth of Job is found in the way it speaks eloquently to the reality of human suffering, in the way it speaks frankly to the rage and anger one feels in the face of injustice, in the way it speaks honestly to the dissonance of so-called friends who cast aspersions upon us, in the way it allows all suffering to remain something of a mystery, for who among us is able to answer fully its probing questions.
Now some of you may be asking, “But Brad, don’t you believe the Bible?” Yes, I believe the Bible. But consider this: the prologue and epilogue appear to be later additions to the main section of the book. We know this because the style of Hebrew writing is so dramatically different. It is like this: if I wrote today a prologue and epilogue to be added to Shakespeare’s Hamlet, you would be able to tell which was written in English from four-hundred years ago and which was written in English from today. The ancient rabbis seemed to understand this distinction between something being factual versus something being true because they placed the Book of Job in the section of the Old Testament devoted to “Wisdom Literature.”
You may be wondering why any of this matters; that would be a good question. It matters because it helps us understand and interpret correctly the message God is speaking to us through his Word. Consider.
· If Job is merely factual, then we have to ask ourselves about the prologue and its picture of God as a cosmic gambler, playing a little game with Satan to see if Job will crack under pressure. But if Job is true we can understand the prologue to be the author’s human search for the cause of suffering and an expression of what suffering sometimes feels like; it feels as if the universe is beyond our control and that we are mere pawns on the great chess board of life. The first view understands God to be a sadist; the second view invites the reader to join in the conversation about the meaning of suffering, for your experience may resonate with Job.
· Or again: If Job is merely factual, we must ask ourselves what, precisely, is the message of the epilogue? If Job is factual, the message of the epilogue says, “Aww, don’t worry about losing a few kids. God will give you more if you just hang in there long enough. God’ll even make the girls right purty to make up for any heartache you may have felt losin’ the other ones.” Excuse me? Anyone who has suffered the loss of a child will tell you how offensive and insensitive such a statement is. However, if Job is true, the epilogue’s message is a provocative challenge to anyone who has suffered; it is a ray of hope for all who have lost someone they love.
In the epilogue those who have suffered loss are challenged to find the courage to hope again. Job’s restoration of cattle and camels, of friends and family are an expression of a true crisis of faith and identity: will Job be able to find the courage to trust again that God is good and benevolent? Will Job be able to find the courage to open his heart to love again? Will Job be able to find the courage to live, to truly live? This is really the only way the epilogue makes any sense.
Job found that courage. What about you?
*****
Walking the valley of the shadow of death is difficult work. It can be exhausting. It can be confusing. It can be frustrating. It can be lonely. It can be all these things and more, but what is perhaps most difficult of all is when those around us do not seem to understand the nature of our journey.
· Some people think there is a timetable for grieving, but the truth is that each person grieves in his or her own time.
· Some people think there is a statute of limitation on grieving, but the truth is there is no such statute, for grief leaks out in ways and at times not of our choosing and even when we think we have completed our journey through the valley of the shadow, we may discover we have more steps still to walk.
· Some people think that grief has to be expressed in certain, socially appropriate ways, but the truth is there is no one way to express our grief: for some it is anger, for some it is sadness, for some it is the freedom to talk, for some it is needing the freedom to remain silent, for most it is all of these things, each in their own time.
· Some people think they know what we are feeling, for they have made the journey themselves, but the truth is that each person’s experience is unique, personal and sacred, and we cannot know what they are feeling only share, through listening, in what they choose to express.
· Some people think they shouldn’t mention our loved one’s name for fear of bringing up sad feelings, but the truth is our loved ones are always a part of us and we want to hear them mentioned and remembered.
· Some people think that death is the end, but the truth is that the death of our loved one is, for them, the entrance into a new, spiritual and vital relationship with God and, for us, the beginning of a season of renewal and an opportunity for great transformation from the deepest depths to the highest heights.
When we understand the truth about grieving, we open for one another the opportunity to become like Job and see the ray of hope for our lives. Like Job, we always will have questions. Like Job, great suffering produces transformed character. Like Job, there is life after death. And when surrounded by friends and family who care for us in our grieving, we, like Job, find the courage to hope again.
A Prayer of Thanksgiving for Those We Love
Gracious God, you are the Alpha and the Omega,
the beginning and the end,
in you there is only life,
in you there is always love.
(Unison song)
In the Lord I’ll be ever thankful,
in the Lord I will rejoice.
Look to God, do not
be afraid;
Lift up your voices
the Lord is near;
Lift up your voices the Lord is near.
We thank you, O God of Life, for permission to talk about our loved ones,
For the freedom to remember them with family and friends,
For the freedom to remember them at times that seem both expected and odd.
(Unison song)
In the Lord I’ll be ever thankful,
in the Lord I will rejoice.
Look to God, do not
be afraid;
Lift up your voices
the Lord is near;
Lift up your voices the Lord is near.
We thank you, O God of Love, for the freedom to feel what we are really feeling,
For the freedom to feel angry or sad, disoriented or alone,
For the freedom, also, to feel happy, content and that life is good.
(Unison song)
In the Lord I’ll be ever thankful,
in the Lord I will rejoice.
Look to God, do not
be afraid;
Lift up your voices
the Lord is near;
Lift up your voices
the Lord is near.
We thank you, O God of Life, for the opportunity to bring our private grief into public mourning,
For the gift of being with spiritual family who accept us and invite our mourning,
For the gift of being surrounded by love that sets no timetable for our healing.
(Unison song)
In the Lord I’ll be ever thankful,
in the Lord I will rejoice.
Look to God, do not
be afraid;
Lift up your voices
the Lord is near;
Lift up your voices the Lord is near.
We thank you, O God of Love, that compassion is all around us.
That community with our beloved will be restored,
And that communion with you never ends.
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