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Job 1: 6-22
One day, when the angels of God came to present themselves before the LORD,
Satan also came among them.
And the LORD said to Satan, “Whence do you come?”
Then Satan answered the LORD and said,
“From roaming the earth and patrolling it.”
And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job,
and that there is no one on earth like him,
blameless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil?”
But Satan answered the LORD and said,
“Is it for nothing that Job is God-fearing?
Have you not surrounded him and his family
and all that he has with your protection?
You have blessed the work of his hands,
and his livestock are spread over the land.
But now put forth your hand and touch anything that he has,
and surely he will blaspheme you to your face.”
And the LORD said to Satan,
“Behold, all that he has is in your power;
only do not lay a hand upon his person.”
So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
And so one day, while his sons and his daughters
were eating and drinking wine
in the house of their eldest brother,
a messenger came to Job and said,
“The oxen were ploughing and the asses grazing beside them,
and the Sabeans carried them off in a raid.
They put the herdsmen to the sword,
and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
While he was yet speaking, another came and said,
“Lightning has fallen from heaven
and struck the sheep and their shepherds and consumed them;
and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
While he was yet speaking, another messenger came and said,
“The Chaldeans formed three columns,
seized the camels, carried them off,
and put those tending them to the sword,
and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
While he was yet speaking, another came and said,
“Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine
in the house of their eldest brother,
when suddenly a great wind came across the desert
and smote the four corners of the house.
It fell upon the young people and they are dead;
and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
Then Job began to tear his cloak and cut off his hair.
He cast himself prostrate upon the ground, and said,
“Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb,
and naked shall I go back again.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
blessed be the name of the LORD!”
In all this Job did not sin,
nor did he say anything disrespectful of God.
The Word of the Lord.
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Hurricane season has begun. Floridians are bracing for impact as the second major storm makes its way up the Atlantic.
Meanwhile, millions in the Philippines are staring at scenes of widespread devastation after another storm unleashed havoc upon their islands.
Watching the scenes on the news reminds me of Job, whom we listened to in our first reading.
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We’ll be reading from the Book of Job all week.
He’s described as a righteous man who lives in abundance. But by the end of the first chapter, Job loses everything – his family, his fortune, his home.
In spite of the unimaginable loss, he utters the most difficult words spoken in times of distress, “The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Job exudes a type of spiritual wisdom – and trust – that we can all learn from.
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He recognizes that all of his blessings ultimately come from God, so he praises the Lord while his life is going well. Doing so mysteriously gives him the strength to trust God, even when those blessings are taken away.
If the Lord provided once before, the logic goes, then God will provide again. This is the childlike type of faith that Jesus blesses in the Gospels.
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Hopefully none of us have known the type of loss that Job did. But when our faith is tested, when someone or something we love is taken from us, do we still turn to the Lord?
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The same God who, in the end, restores Job to good fortune will bless anyone who trusts Him in their hour of need.
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Image credits: (1) FOX 29 (2) Elihu, Job. Catholic Answers (3) Pinterest