Job Ends

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 -- Week of Proper 19
Hildegard, Abbess of Bingen and Mystic, 1179

Today's Reading for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 985)
Psalms 72 (morning) 119:73-96 (evening)
Job 42:1-17
Acts 16:16-24
John 12:20-26

Job ends. Somehow it seems like a fizzle instead of a satisfying denouement. Is Job simply cowed by the demonstration of God's power? Or has his brush with the ultimate reordered his reality so as to render all his former concerns moot?

Job's final words are elusive.

He first acknowledges God's power: "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted." Next Job acknowledges his finitude and the wonder of God. "Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know."

Finally Job articulates the effect of the mystery that he has encountered. "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."

Let's take this fascinating last word by looking at both phrases.

"I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you..." Job has had an experience of God. He no longer needs to speak in debate about God. The theories that have filled this book are commentary about God. Is God just, or not? What is God's role in the presence of injustice? Does God actively punish the righteous and reward the wicked? Lots of talking about God.

The primary experience of God is different. It is self-authenticating. Words are inadequate to explain. Somehow all of the theology and high thoughts are transcended by the awe of experience. Job no longer knows about God; Job knows God. He has received a vision that is so bright that it tends to darken and blur everything else.

"...therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes." The translation and meaning of this verse is ambiguous. The commentary helps. In the original language there is no object for the verb "despise". Does it mean that Job despises himself? That's the translation that the NRSV offers. Or is the object of Job's despising something outside himself? Does he despise and retract his previous words, his lawsuit challenging God? Or does he despise his "dust and ashes" -- his life and/or his failed lawsuit? The Bible that I read suggests the following as a preferred alternative: "I retract and give up my dust and ashes," that is, I give up my lawsuit (without necessarily admitting I was wrong).

Job dissolves in the presence of the mystery of God. He withdraws his suit. He has experienced something beyond his ordinary sense of right and wrong. All of that doesn't really matter anymore. God is all.

The event ends. God gives judgment. Job's friends have spoken wrongly. Their theological defense of God's justice which included their accusations toward Job are judged in the negative. They are told to make sacrifice and to ask Job to intercede for them.

God confirms Job. Job has spoken rightly and honestly. God honors his complaint. God restores Job's fortune and family. God hears and honors Job's intercession. We see Job's table where "they ate bread with him in his house" as the harmonious fulfillment of Job's restoration and reconciliation.

We are still left with the question, "Why?" The entire story has been the exercise of a heavenly wager between Satan and God.

Some of the early Christian teachers saw Job as a Christ-figure or as a prefigurement of the church. They saw in his uprightness and obedience a model of spiritual and moral life. Job's restoration is like Christ's resurrection and the eventual triumph of the saints.

But whenever I read this story, I am left pondering what has been lost. Does the restoration of a new family really make up for the family he has lost? Does it really make sense in the end? Is God and the universe truly just? The resignation that I experience at the end of Job doesn't bring me the same satisfaction that it seems to bring Job. Maybe the experience of God simply can't be translated. It can't be given from one person to another. We must have that experience for ourselves. It's not enough just to talk about God. It's not enough to know about God. Maybe we need more than to hear about Job's encounter with the numinous. We also must be able to say, "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you..." Then, all else may be relative to the ultimate for us, as well as for Job.

Lowell

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About Morning Reflections
Morning Reflections is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

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The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church
is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love.

Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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We aspire to...
worship weekly
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Lowell Grisham, Rector

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas