Thursday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time
(Job 19:21-27; Luke 10:1-12)
The passage from Job reminds hearers of George Handel’s
magnificent oratorio “Messiah.” In one of its best-known parts the soprano
sings “I know my ‘Redeemer’ liveth.” She
is, of course, referring to Jesus Christ.
This is God’s meaning in the long view of things. However, the human author of the book of Job
probably had another in mind when he writes not “redeemer” but “vindicator.”
Biblical scholars have differing opinions regarding who the vindicator is.
The best interpretation seems that the vindicator is God
Himself. Although God has allowed Job to
be tempted by Satan in atrocious ways, in the end He restores Job’s losses and
blesses him. As God explains when He
allows Job an audience, His ways cannot be deciphered by humans. God remains to this day an incomprehensible
mystery.
Job prefigures Jesus and the rest of us. Like Job, Jesus will endure horrific
suffering wondering why his Father has not shown him mercy. At times we feel the same bewilderment, as
when our child dies or when we experience the devastation of a war which we in
no way support. As Job, we should
maintain our trust that God will come to vindicate our suffering.
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