Job 9: 1-12, 14-16
Then Job answered: “Indeed I know that this is so; but how can a mortal be just before God? If one wished to contend with him, one could not answer him once in a thousand. He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength—who has resisted him, and succeeded?— he who removes mountains, and they do not know it, when he overturns them in his anger; who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble; who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the stars; who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the Sea; who made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the chambers of the south; who does great things beyond understanding, and marvelous things without number.
Look, he passes by me, and I do not see him; he moves on, but I do not perceive him. He snatches away; who can stop him? Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
How then can I answer him, choosing my words with him? Though I am innocent, I cannot answer him; I must appeal for mercy to my accuser. If I summoned him and he answered me, I do not believe that he would listen to my voice.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
A God Who Listens
Job isn’t such an easy book. It’s long, it’s heavy, and to be honest, sometimes Job’s expression of undeserved and inexplicable suffering hits a little close to home!
What fascinates me about the book of Job, however, is the difference between Job’s “friends” and God in their unique responses to Job’s long plaints. For about 30 chapters, Job speaks out and his friends quickly reply, often telling him how to think, how he’s wrong, or what he should do instead.
But God, God waits. God listens. God lets Job talk, talk it all out. Then, at the end of the book, having given Job his space, he speaks. God knows Job needs to talk it out, like David in the psalms. Sometimes we want answers, but sometimes we just want someone to listen. Let’s not forget this when we pray – try unpacking tough stuff with God who listens.
—Fr. Garrett Gundlach, SJ, is a Jesuit priest of the Midwest Province studying Arabic and interfaith dialogue at the University of Saint Joseph in Beirut, Lebanon.
Prayer
God,
Sometimes I get upset when I pray to you because I don’t get a response
Sometimes I get upset when I pray to you because I do get a response,
But it’s not the one I want,
But most of the time I don’t pray to you because I’m upset
About something else
And I don’t know how or where to start.
Just open my mouth, O Lord,
And let me speak – show me it’s okay to just let it flow,
To pour it all out like Job, like David,
Like me when I talk to my therapist-
let me feel your gentle, listening presence,
the subtle warmth of someone sitting close
the slight cues of nods and mmhmm’s
the patience and acceptance of someone who listens
Without butting in to fix, to correct, or to solve.
Help me to speak with you clearly and openly,
Even and especially when I’m angry, broken or frustrated-
Thank you, Lord, for your listening-
Help me to speak. Amen.
—Fr. Garrett Gundlach, SJ