THE BOOK OF JOB AND THE SUFFERING OF THE INNOCENT

V SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Job 7:1-4,6-7

Suffering, mainly the suffering of the just and the innocent, brings a lot of questions that simply have no straightforward answer. We may try to give all kinds of explanations, but the mystery remains and the questions come back daunting us. We understand quite easily the suffering of the guilty ones, and we are even ready to inflict suffering on them, thinking to be a fair punishment for their deeds. But why does an innocent child suffer? If there is a God, who is fair and just, how can he allow such suffering?

The question about the suffering of the just and the innocent is a very old question that has always tormented humankind. And it is so an important question that, in the Scriptures, the book of Job was written about it.

The traditional theology, found in many books of the Old Testament, and which is still being followed by many Pentecostals - taught that faithfulness to God is rewarded by him with all kinds of blessings, bringing extraordinary wealth and good life. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were clear examples of that, in such a way that the People of Israel addressed God as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Poverty, suffering and sickness were seen as punishments from God, brought about by a sinful behaviour.

The book of Job is a protest against that theology, which in the case of Job’s own experience, appears not to be true. For him, the mystery of human life and of man’s relationship with God is much more complex, and there are no clear answers for all our questions. From his experience - the experience of a life ridden with suffering - human life was hopeless:

“Swifter than a weaver’s shuttle 

my days have passed,

and vanished, leaving no hope behind.

Remember that my life is but a breath,

and that my eyes will never again see joy.” 

(Job 7:6-7)

Unable to understand his suffering, Job cursed his own life, because it was a life of endless pain, and he could not find the reason for such predicament. He has been faithful to God, keeping his commandments, but God seems to have abandoned him, leaving him to his own fate.

However, it is interesting to see that Job, in spite of questioning God, did not turn against God and, in the end, he entrusted himself to God. And Job is like a prophecy of Jesus Christ, the innocent one who was punished for our sins. In the anguish of the Cross, Jesus cried out with the psalm 22:

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 

(Ps 22:1)

I remember that one day, visiting the sick in the hospital, I found a lady in big pain, with a skeletal face and a very swollen tummy, suffering from cancer of the liver. On the bedside table, there was a Bible. I took it, asking if I could read something for her, and then what she would like me to read. From the book of Job, was the answer. The questions of Job were her own questions, questions that leave us hanging on the point of despair; but giving voice to her pain, like Jesus, she was able to throw herself in the hands of God. 

We cannot explain suffering, but looking to Jesus, who shared our pain, we learn that God is on our side, to welcome us, as we pass through darkness into the everlasting light.