When Words Fall Short: Job’s Encounter with the Almighty
October 4, 2024 - Friday, Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi
Job 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5
Throughout the Book of Job, the main character yearns for an encounter with God, hoping to present his case before the Lord. Finally, he gets his wish, but the encounter is not what he expected. The Lord speaks from the storm and reveals His power through creation. He asks Job, "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?" (Job 38:4). In this moment, Job is shown his place: he is a mere human being, one of the many creatures created by God.
What God can do, neither Job nor we can do. We cannot create anything from nothing, we cannot overcome the chaos that existed at the beginning of creation, we were not born before the light, and the number of our years is not great. Paradoxically, God's two speeches do not directly address Job's problem of suffering, but they overwhelm him with their content. These utterances of the Lord transform Job. The problem of his suffering becomes somehow less significant when he encounters God and witnesses His creative power.
The Lord does not answer the perennial question of why bad things happen to good people, but He shifts our perspective. We are challenged to place our sufferings within the broader context of God and the entire universe. Suddenly, the story is no longer about Job and his suffering but about the Lord of the universe. In the New Testament, the perspective on human suffering shifts as well. Saint Paul once wrote, "The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Rom. 8:18).
Job is so overwhelmed by the power of God's speech and the rhetorical questions that God poses that he is unable to provide any answers. "Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth" (Job 40:4). He further acknowledges that all he has said so far pales in comparison with God's speech: "I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further" (Job 40:5). This statement reminds me of Saint Thomas Aquinas, one of the greatest theologians of Christianity, who, after a personal encounter with God, stopped writing. The man who wrote volumes about God ceased writing after encountering the One he had written about. Saint Thomas is believed to have confessed, "I can write no more. I have seen things that make my writings like straw" (see Alban Butler’s "Lives of the Saints").
There is a famous saying by Lao Zi: "He who knows does not speak. He who speaks does not know." All those who claim to know something about God often talk a lot. Socrates once observed that there were more doctors in Greece than any other profession because everyone—from sellers to buyers in the market—offered advice on how to cure his toothache. Similarly, I could argue that there are more theologians in the world than any other professionals because everyone has something to say about God—whether He exists or not, who He is, and who He is not. However, those who have had a personal experience of God in their lives are often at a loss for words.
Job said, "I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further" (Job 40:5), and Saint Thomas Aquinas confessed, "I can write no more. I have seen things that make my writings like straw." What does our constant talking and writing about God and various theological issues reveal about us? Do we really know the One we talk so much about?