Job and our Christian response to suffering - a small reflection

    Job spoke up: "Is not our life on earth a drudgery?" (Job 7:1). The Book of Job stands alone among the books of the Hebrew Scriptures, a part of the biblical poetry and wisdom literature of the the era, around 1500 B.C.E. The author remains unknown; but, its subject is immortal, namely that of human suffering, especially the innocent. Why does a loving God allow the existence of human monsters like Hitler, Stalin, Mao Tse Tung, Islamic terrorists and the like who have tortured and killed millions of people. Job's story sounds like that of a man unable to explain the sudden reversal of his fortunes. He was a very rich and respectable man who had 7 sons, 3 daughters and a huge estate: 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 500 oxen, 500 donkeys and more. Suddenly he lost everything and got terribly sick with a skin disease. And, yet he refused to curse God for his misery. His comforters suggest that he must have sinned; must have done something wrong since God would never punish an innocent person, a widely-held belief in ancient times! Although we read God intervenes and restores his fortune, He does not directly answer Job's troubling question and much of the same issue remains unsettled today. 
   As Christians and people of faith, we look to Christ, his teaching, his suffering and death, his resurrection and new life for enlightenment and inspiration. Unfortunately we do not have all the right answers. We learn we should embrace each other with Christ-like love and compassion (very much like you, my esteemed readers), brighten each other's days with the beauty of our smiles and adopt a willingness to walk in each other's shoes. The best way, we have learnt from St. Paul, is to bear each other's burdens. The Gospel's lesson can be summed up in one sentence: "Whoever wants to be my disciple; must take up his cross and follow in my footsteps!"
   May these words find you open to question, to reflect and to learn from those who have suffered and pondered this perennial question of suffering.