(Please read this Scripture passage first, before the homily.)
We have grappled with hard questions, such as, why bad things happen to good people and why we have suffering in the world. We have debated the issues, much as lawyers would debate in the courtroom. Have we put Job on trial or have we put God on trial?
In tomorrow’s reading, Job will capitulate totally and God will restore Job’s fortunes abundantly. What about today’s? God speaks first and tries to blow Job out of the water, so to speak. God asks Job, rhetorically and not without irony or superiority, how Job could even have dared question God. God had seen the gates of light and the gates of darkness, the break of dawn and the onset of night, but Job knows none of this. To these claims of God, Job can only apologize for his arrogance and accept God’s testimony of God’s own majesty.
People of the jury, should you find Job guilty of heinous crime or innocent of all charges? Do you accept the plea of no contest after you have heard the contested charges and rebuttals? As you prepare to give your verdict, remember that in one sense, you are Job and in another you are like God.
You are like God. You have learned answers for many questions. You have spoken in defense of God. You have an active faith in God.
At the same time, you have suffered and wrestled with suffering. You see this on the international level and in our national politics. You have seen this even in your own lives. You know the heartbreak of suffering, of the loss of loved one by death, or the loss of personal health. You have questioned God. You have a tested faith in God.
The verdict you render in this case is the verdict we must live in our life. This has not been an idle exercise. This has involved us to the core or our existence. We have grappled with God and we have wrestled with human misery and pain. We have a power from God to help alleviate the misery and pain because we have a human power that enables us to identify with those who suffer.
The sufferings of people with the coronavirus, of those seeking asylum from us, of those living in fear of deportation, of native indigenous peoples, of all minority groups struggling to support their families: these are all sufferings of Job calling out to us. The God in us challenges us to recognize the wrongs and alleviate the sufferings.
The trial of Job against God challenges us to identify with those who suffer like Job. The verdict we render here is the response we make to the suffering we and others endure.