The book of Job is not an easy or feel-good read. The subject matter is fairly heavy – about loss, grieving, suffering and God’s justice. But it’s also about the value of community, about faith and about wisdom. It may actually be a good book for our current times as we struggle with some of these same issues in the midst of our extended and worsening Covid lockdown.
While me may at times ponder the themes of suffering and loss and the presence/absence of God in a general or abstract way, we experience suffering and loss in specific and personal ways – the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job or a dream, the mental suffering caused by lockdowns or the physical suffering caused by sickness. Each person’s experience of suffering is unique. Just as it is for Job.
As Job suffers loss after loss, he maintains his faith in God, who is seen to bring blessing but who may also allow trouble to afflict us. As Job struggles on with a painful disease, three friends come to see him. They too are affected and distressed by Job’s suffering and sit with him, silently, for several days. We might learn from this initial approach taken by the three friends that our presence at such a time is probably more important than any words we may speak. Our presence, our empathy and perhaps gentle touch are appropriate responses – rather than our judgments or solutions to the person’s problems. May we carry this wisdom with us when we encounter people who are suffering.