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When you hear the name Job, immediately what comes to mind is incredible, unmitigated suffering. Name the suffering—misfortune in business, in family, in health—and Job had it.
The Book of Job is not so much a book about human suffering and misery. Rather, the Book of Job is about much more than human suffering. It is actually the story of the faith of a person who suffers and yet would not be daunted by his sufferings. So when you hear the word Job, do not simply say right away that it is a story of human misery. Rather, say that it is the story of strong faith in the face of human pain, and even death.
The most surprising thing about Job is that he was not a Jew, because Job was a Syrian. In other words, Job was a Gentile, considered good for nothing, too dirty, ignorant, a blasphemer. Here was an outcast, who was teaching the necessity of faith in human suffering.
This is the same message that is found in the Gospel. Ordinarily we say that the teachers are the experienced people, the professionals, the educated and learned among us. But in the Gospel, the Lord gives us another message. He says that the children, who are without any experience or education, are our teachers. These children, who have not yet gained full knowledge, who may not even know how to read and write, are our teachers. The children, who are ignorant and are considered useless in society, teach us a lesson. They show us the secrets of God’s Kingdom.
The message for today is that God teaches us through unexpected people. Job, a Gentile, a Syrian, teaches us the beauty of strong faith. The child—innocent, ignorant, useless, dependent, incapable, uneducated—reveals to us the secrets of God’s Kingdom. Whether you are one year old or 99 years old, you should never stop learning. And we can learn from everybody, not only from the powerful or the wise and the experienced but also from the fool, the ignorant, the poor and the ugly.
UNEXPECTED TEACHER
Job 1:1-3
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