Darkness, Despair, and the Open Kingdom

Job 23.1-9, 16-17, Psalm 22.1-15, Hebrews 4.12-16, Mark 10.17-31

As his life was ebbing away on the cross, Jesus quoted Psalm 22: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me. Today, those words are a response to Job’s suffering. Among his own words are those in verse 17 of today’s first reading: ‘If only I could vanish in darkness, and thick darkness would cover my face!’ people suffering from depression could well identify with those words.

To his mounting despair, Job finds God ‘unavailable for comment’. Again, in his own words,  "If I go forward, he is not there; or backward, I cannot perceive him; on the left he hides, and I cannot behold him; I turn to the right, but I cannot see him.’ What an interesting contrast with Psalm 139, with its celebration of God’s universal presence. What would Job have said, if somebody had quoted Psalm 139 to him? I don’t know, but I can’t imagine that he would instantly have felt better.

In the readings from Hebrews and Mark, we find that the word of God is (as Hebrews says) a two-edged sword: it can comfort or it can scare, or both. Where the Psalmist talks about the inescapable presence of God, Hebrews talks about the penetrating spotlight that God’s word can shine on us. The rich young man who asked Jesus for directions to God’s kingdom seems to have felt that deeply.

Yet Jesus looked at him with love, and didn’t declare the kingdom closed to such as him, any more than it is closed to those who have difficulties other than great wealth. We can take comfort and build hope on two sayings today. One is that we have a great high priest who can sympathise with us. The other is that, in his presence, we can practice his love.

Relationships, God, and the World

Job 1.1, 2.1-10, Psalm 26, Hebrews 1.1-4, 2.5-12, Mark 10.2-16

Job stands for unquestioning faithfulness, persisting in his integrity even when the evidence suggests that it is worth nothing. His wife stands for normal humanity, desiring at least the satisfaction of telling God what you think of ‘him’ before succumbing to the inevitable. When Job scolds her for speaking as a foolish woman would it is not clear whether the implied contrast is with a wise woman or with a foolish man How would a foolish man speak? She had an answer to that, but seems to have been too tactful to mention it.

The problem, for Job’s wife, is that of an unrewarded faith. For Job, on the other hand, faith is not a transaction but a relationship. We don’t get into relationships for what we get out of them, but because they are good in themselves. That said, there are break points beyond which a good relationship can be said to have died.

Job, to his wife’s incomprehension, is not yet at such a point. He regards every turn of his fortunes as a gift of one sort or another, and simply receives what he is given. There’s something child-like about this faith, with its uncomplicated ability to receive, and it may provide a clue towards the understanding of today’s gospel. Jesus tells the disciples that the kingdom of God belongs to ‘such as these’ children, and it’s possible that their simple acceptance of life is the reason.

Another reason could be the obvious fact that the future is theirs in the same way that the present is ours. Everything we have is the gift, not only of God, but of previous generations: we are the stewards of the world, not its owners. For this reason, if for no other, we need to treat the world with reverence, gratitude, and generosity.