“But where can wisdom be found?
Where does understanding dwell?” – Job 28:12
Job is Everyone.
So the Rabbi’s say.
Job is everyone who has ever suffered.
Job is everyone who has ever questioned the reason for their pain.
Job is you.
Job is me.
Job is the “Why?” in so many headlines.
The world isn’t always fair.
The wicked aren’t always punished.
The righteous aren’t always rewarded.
Good people suffer.
Job never really receives an answer to his suffering.
He receives no satisfying explanation,
not from his friends,
not even in the Divine speech he hears
direct from the Divine Consciousness,
entering the opening carved by his loss and pain.
Yet Job changes. He rises on his feet again.
He begins life anew.
The jagged edges of his suffering are not forgotten
neither are they explained away.
But Job is wiser now
somehow in the whirlwind, in the storm
he found the spaces
where Love is,
where Love Always Is.
Job never receives the explanation he longs for. Gently hold in prayer the places in your life where unanswered questions still ache?
Somehow, Job encounters Love without receiving answers. Where have you sensed love or presence even in pain?
Here is a simple body prayer. We’ll call it ” Love is Here.” It is a suggestion. You are free to change the actions and give them whatever interpretation feels meaningful to you as you reflect on Job and suffering:
Stand or sit comfortably with your feet grounded. Feel yourself supported on Earth.
Raise your hands slightly, palms open upward.
Name silently questions or sorrows you carry in your life or in the life of the world.
Slowly turn your palms outward and release your arms down to your sides. Pause. Feel this moment and let it be what it needs to be for you. Place your hands over your heart. Breathe slowly and pray: “Love is here.”
What a comforting, meaningful, poetic reflection on Job! A helpful introduction to reading the book or a wonderful summary to think upon after reading the book. Thanks!