During the first readings in the
two-year cycle that we use for daily mass, we hear from a lot of different
sources, both from the Old Testament and from different books of the New
Testament. This week, we have been hearing
from the book of Job. Job is often seen as a model of patience,
obedience, and faith, and although he embraces these qualities, Job’s situation
is a bit more complicated than the way we label him. What is interesting is that a lot
of the book of Job is a conversation that Job has with God – a very honest conversation. In our reading today, God actually
engages Job in conversation about the nature of the world, asking Job some very
pointed questions. This conversation comes about
because Job has told his friend that what has happened to him has its source in
God and not in nature. At the end of this exchange, Job
tells God that he has been frivolous in what he has been saying and will not
speak this way again. And it is interesting, because this
somewhat ties into our Gospel, today, about how we can reject the Gospel in our
lives in not only reject he who proclaims it, but in rejecting Christ himself. I think it is good to bring our
honest thoughts with God, to wrestle with his word and what it means to
us. That’s what Job did. And at times he had some very difficult
questions. At times he had doubts and
was not very patient. Being a disciple of Christ is not
easy. Above all, it demands honest and
loyalty and obedience.
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