Circumstance and constant connection

The drama of the Book of Job sets the stage for contemplation of how our relationship with God may change with circumstances.

Our rainy day relationship

The Book of Job does not definitively answer the problem of the suffering of the innocent, but challenges readers to come to their own understanding

In the Gospel from Luke, Jesus brings a child into the group of disciples to teach about avoiding rivalry and intolerance.

* [9:46–50] These two incidents focus on attitudes that are opposed to Christian discipleship: rivalry and intolerance of outsiders.

Mariana Miller finds in the Book of Job a perfect example of indifference as expressed by Ignatius of Loyola  “I ought not to seek health rather than sickness, wealth rather than poverty, honor rather than dishonor, a long life rather than a short one, and so on”.

A lot had been given to Job: he had a great family with many healthy children, he had wealth and prosperity and he, himself was healthy and strong to keep working and enlarging his estate. And he used it all as a means to grow in his relationship with God, he was grateful and faithful, and praised God for it. He grew closer to God. One day he lost it all: his children, his employees, his cattle, his crops, and his wealth. Still, Job never ceased to “praise, reverence and serve the Lord our God…” (cf. Spiritual Exercises #23)

Mike Hayes, co-founder of BustedHalo, reflects that Ignatian indifference means that our dependence needs to rely on God. Do we believe that God cares for us, in some way, in even the most dire situations? If so, then it doesn’t matter what might befall us.

A great example comes from when you need to make a choice about your next move in life and you narrow things down to two choices. Being indifferent means that whether you choose one or the other, you trust that God will go with you, leading you into the unfamiliar and new.

A post by Franciscan Media on Thérèse of Lisieux, a Carmelite nun called the “Little Flower,” comments that preoccupation with self separates modern men and women from God, from their fellow human beings, and ultimately from themselves. We must re-learn to forget ourselves, to contemplate a God who draws us out of ourselves, and to serve others as the ultimate expression of selfhood. These are the insights of Saint Thérèse.

Thérèse has much to teach our age of the image, the appearance, the “self.” We have become a dangerously self-conscious people, painfully aware of the need to be fulfilled, yet knowing we are not. Thérèse, like so many saints, sought to serve others, to do something outside herself, to forget herself in quiet acts of love. She is one of the great examples of the gospel paradox that we gain our life by losing it, and that the seed that falls to the ground must die in order to live.

The meditation of Don Schwager invites us to learn from the child among the disciples of Jesus arguing about who is the greatest among them.

What can a little child possibly teach us about greatness? Children in the ancient world had no rights, position, or privileges of their own. They were socially at the "bottom of the rung" and at the service of their parents, much like the household staff and domestic servants. What is the significance of Jesus' gesture? Jesus elevated a little child in the presence of his disciples by placing the child in a privileged position of honor at his right side. It is customary, even today, to seat the guest of honor at the right side of the host. Who is the greatest in God's kingdom? The one who is humble and lowly of heart - who instead of asserting their rights willingly empty themselves of pride and self-seeking glory by taking the lowly position of a servant or child.

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 9:46-50 urges us to adopt crouching low in humility. It gives us a strategic advantage. The disciples hadn’t learned that yet. Still thinking that higher was better, they argued over who was the greatest among them. But Jesus rewrote the rules when he equated receiving a lowly child with receiving him.

“Going low” is powerful for this simple reason: it’s the place where we’ll find Jesus. It’s the place where we’ll find the One who “emptied himself” to walk among us and who “humbled himself” by accepting death on a cross (Philippians 2:7, 8). It’s the place where we’ll find the One who came to care for “the poor,” the “captives,” and “the oppressed” (Luke 4:18). It’s the place where we’ll find the One who came “to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). The more often we lay down our ego and our agenda, the more often we will find God’s grace and the ability to love the people around us.

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the fictional theodicy in the Book of Job to contemplate why a good God permits the manifestation of evil. The tension is with wisdom sayings that the righteous receive reward from God in this life. Friar Jude invites us to consider that children can’t pay us back so we avoid doing good to receive in return.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, uses a text from Job 11:7-9 to introduce that the Bible, in its entirety, finds a balance between knowing and not-knowing, between using particular and carefully chosen words and having humility about words, even though the ensuing traditions have not often found that same balance.

I understand the individual ego’s and the institution’s structural need for clarity, some basic order, and identity, especially to get us started when we are young. Religion then needs a key to unlock itself from itself—but from the inside, which many call the mystical or contemplative tradition. Most successful reforms come from using one’s own internal resources to self-correct. The words “mystery,” “mystical,” and “mutter” all come from the Indo-European root word muein, which means to “hush or close the lips.” We must start with humble, patient, wordless unknowing, sincere curiosity, or what many call “beginner’s mind.” Only then are we truly teachable. Otherwise, we only hear whatever confirms our present understanding.

Our expectations about our relationship with God may bring us to question circumstances that invite surrender and humility.

References

(n.d.). Job — introduction - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved October 1, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/job/0
(n.d.). Luke chapter 9 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved October 1, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/lk/9:66
n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved October 1, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
(2013, May 2). What does St. Ignatius mean when he calls us to indifference .... Retrieved October 1, 2018, from https://bustedhalo.com/questionbox/what-does-st-ignatius-mean-when-he-calls-us-to-indifference
(n.d.). Saint of the Day – Franciscan Media. Retrieved October 1, 2018, from https://www.franciscanmedia.org/source/saint-of-the-day/
(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 1, 2018, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
(n.d.). 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Mass Readings and Catholic Daily .... Retrieved October 1, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/
(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archives - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved October 1, 2018, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/