9/26/22: Is it for Nothing that Job is God-Fearing?

Monday, 26th Week in Ordinary Time

The first reading at Mass, five out of the six days this week, is taken from the Book of Job. We should not pass over this lightly. We often speak of people having the patience of the book's protagonist. But this is a very troubling story, and we should not avoid being troubled. It cuts to the heart of the problem of evil, and why God permits it. 

That God permits evil is an uncomfortable thought. It goes counter to our idea of what a loving God is. That we are subject to temptation and that bad things happen to good people is a mystery connected to original sin, human freedom and the providence of God. 

(Old Man Screaming Clouds Digression: I hate when people identify themselves as a “good person.” No, I’m not a misanthrope. I don’t think they’re bad. People are essentially good, even the “bad” ones. It’s that the term is meaningless. It too often is an excuse used to avoid looking deeper. “Im a good person: I don’t kill. I don’t torture cats. I only cheat a little on my taxes. I recycle. I’m polite to strangers and don’t cut lines. I vote the right way.” God does not call us to be good people. That’s the baseline. God calls us to be holy. Sometimes that means that we are annoying, contrarian and insistent, as well as gracious, kind and compassionate.)

The Lord allows us to be subjected to all sorts of trials because it perfects us. We are in the midst of a great drama. Jesus is the leading man; we are supporting actors, and He is a very generous lead. He doesn’t steal all the best scenes for himself. We depend on Him, but he allows us to shine. In our triumph over sin, temptation and hardship, Gods greatness is shown forth, because it is His grace that made it possible. 

The drama is real. The stakes are real. The war is won, Christ is the victor. In spite of this the insurrection continues. The battle isn't over humanity in general - Jesus redeemed humanity on the Cross. The fight now focuses on individual souls. The accuser and his minions want to convince us the fight isn't real, or that we aren't worthy of the victory, or that the victory will come easily. Stay comfortable, they say: you're a good person. Why struggle? Isn't being good as the secular culture defines it good enough?

The Saints knew better. They weren't content with being "good people." This is why we venerate them. They are signs of how God's grace can transform human weakness into power. There isn't a Saint in Heaven who wouldn't say that it was all grace, or like Don Bosco say that they could have done much more, if only they had had more faith. Each, in their own way faced a cross. They took hold of it, and carried it until the end. Some may have tried to avoid it before taking it up. Some embraced it readily. All of them persevered until the end. May Jesus be praised!