November 15, 2009

The notions of why good people suffer and where the presence of God is during suffering are not new. Ancient texts from Mesopotamia explored these questions even before the Bible was written. There is only one reference from ancient Egyptian writings, perhaps due to the fact that they believed in the afterlife and the divinity of the pharaohs, which allowed for things to be resolved at another time (from Answers.com). The closest pre-curser to Job was the text "The Babylonian Theodicy." In this, an unnamed sufferer and his friend speak alternately in a cycle of 27 speeches. The sufferer protests his misery, the injustice of the world and the unfairness of the gods. His friend defends the rationality of the universe and urges his friend to seek the mercy of the gods (Intro to Job in the New Oxford Annotated Bible). The difference between this literary text and the Book of Job is that the divine never appears and there is no resolution at the end.

In the early books of the Hebrew Bible the prevailing viewpoint is that the righteous are rewarded and the evil suffer. One was urged to remain faithful and obedient to God and all would be well. The Deuteronomic writers who wrote the history in the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua and Kings all believed in this reward/punishment scheme. When Israel was defeated by the Assyrians and the Babylonians it was due to their failure to worship and be faithful to Yahweh. Yet people began to notice that this wasn't always an easy equation. They saw that good people suffered and evil people prevailed. They began to question this notion of reward/punishment and it began to show up in their writings as well. The biblical books of Job and Ecclesiastes take on the notion of divine justice and divine inaction, but it also shows up in the writings of the prophets. Some of the answers brought a modicum of relief to the questions: answers like human beings are innately sinful so they have no claim on the acts of God; the presence of God is supreme good, not health, prosperity or happiness for the individual; or injustice will be resolved in the afterlife. The New Testament notion of the resurrection gave hope to people who suffered in this life, although there were still murmurings about why people have to suffer so much here on earth (Answers.com about Theodicy).

So, even though Job is a unique book in the Bible, the format and the questions it is asking were not new. Throughout history people want to know why good people suffer and where is God during this suffering? Job seems to be based on a folk-tale that circulated in the 4^th or 5^th century before Christ. This tale was used as a basis to explore these questions of suffering and divine justice. The Oxford Annotated Bible says that it is also about the theological question: will mortals be religious apart from rewards and punishment? It sees this as the central question of Job, rather than where is God during suffering. Unlike the earlier Babylonian Theodicy, Job includes a response from God and a resolution of his life with the restoration of riches. Job is overwhelmed by the majesty and mystery of the divine and submits himself to God's power. Job understands in this encounter that there are many things beyond his comprehension and Job understands the depth and mystery of God for the first time in his life.

The reason that the book of Job is so troubling is that there are no easy answers to the questions it raises. Yes, God does answer Job? yet only with questions. Yes, Job's fortunes are restored but there is no explanation or acknowledgment of the previous loss. Modern writers have expanded on this and offered various solutions to this question. They include understanding that

� the world was created with free choice and the presence of evil;

� understanding that when you are in the midst of something, it often doesn't make sense until much later;

� the notion of eternity where things are resolved in longer increments of time rather than in our limited notion of time;

� the idea that suffering is a real part of this world and our job is to decide how we will respond to suffering rather than avoiding it.

� even the notion that sometimes with our choices we choose to bring on our own suffering. There are things we can do to minimize our suffering.

Of course it would be wonderful if there was no sickness, no despair, no hunger or suffering. Imagine a world where everyone was well-fed, had resources, did not have to experience war or violence, everyone had their heart's desire, lived a full long life and then died peacefully at the age of 100! There wouldn't be the conflict and the despair that we experience in life. Yet, that is fantasy. That is not life as anyone has known it during recorded history. Even Jesus tried to bring peace and wholeness to life and ended up suffering and dying at the hands of others. What are we to make of this? As followers of Jesus we are called to emulate his life - to do what is right regardless of the outcome and to reach out and help others in any way that we can. Will this make everything perfect? No. Will it soothe and comfort and bring dignity to people? Yes.

Like Job I think we are to acknowledge that God's ways are not our ways and that our understanding is limited. Secondly, instead of acting like his friends and punishing or questioning people who are suffering, why don't we minister to them instead? Isn't our role to comfort rather than to add to their despair? Finally, what about this question of reward/punishment? Is that the only reason we are faithful to God - when we have things? Are we that shallow in our faith? I certainly hope not.

While the question of suffering is not an easy one, it is one that has always been with us. When someone we love suffers, we suffer along with them. We need to discern what we can and cannot do during suffering and we need to continuously ask for God's help when things are difficult. Mostly, we need to not turn away from suffering and immerse ourselves in toys and games and ignore the needs around us. We are better than this. We are designed to respond to need. Thanks be to God for this knowledge and our response to the magnificent, complicated, mysterious world that God has created and that we live in. Amen.