In order for a 2,000 year-old story to speak to us today, we have to look for consistencies, points of connection. The first and 21st century have a few things in
common: Chaotic times characterized by political and religious turmoil, a
widening gap between the wealthy and the poor, war, negative stigmatization of certain
diseases, illnesses, or social behaviors, suffering caused by poverty---all
things we see addressed by Jesus in the gospels. All things that continue to plague the
world. Knowing that there are similarities begs the question,
has anything changed? Sure, there has
been a lot of progress. But that
progress has not always reduced suffering, sometimes causing greater suffering
in the world. In 2 millenia, what
difference has Christian faith made?
What has Jesus accomplished? We
have to admit that sometimes it seems like God is asleep at the wheel, that God
does not care about the circumstances of life that threaten to overwhelm us, to
drown us, to destroy us. Sometimes God’s
invisible presence is not enough, God’s silence is inadequate, God’s ambivalence
toward evil and suffering is downright disturbing. There are days when we feel like life is out
of control and no one is steering. When
people of faith are engulfed in fear, we turn from God in search of safer
waters. We isolate. We shop. We eat. We self-medicate. We seek entertainment to distract. Rarely, do we pause and reflect on the state of anxiety or fear in which we find ourselves. We are avoiders.
At the end of the book of Job, the man whose life was
characterized by meaningless suffering endures a verbal assault from God the
creator, who has heard Job’s cries, his laments, his quest for meaning. This book is about a man who cannot avoid His sufferings, but seeks to address the cause of them with His God and a few friends. In the end, God tells Job that there is an
important distinction to be drawn between Job’s mortality and God’s immortal
presence. Job is a creature, subject to
all of the qualities of creaturehood—good and bad. God is not subject to the powers of
mortality, the fear and anxiety that accompany vulnerability and the fragility
of life. And yet, God is not unmoved by
our suffering. The bible consistently tells us that God is a deliverer, a
healer, a redeemer, and help in time of trouble. The bible claims that God is personally
invested in peace. And yet we remain
vulnerable and afraid.
