A dialogue begins in chapter 2 of Job, and in it, he now curses the day of his birth, but not God. As Job was there in misery and desolation, his family and all his property wiped out, his body covered with ulcers as he sat in an ashpit, he is scolded by his wife who urges him to curse the God who brought them to this state. He replies in a phrase which underlies the whole book: “Shall we receive good from God and not receive evil?” (Job 2:10)
Subsequently, Job is joined by three friends who come to console him: Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. They are appalled by his appearance. For seven days and seven nights they all sat together in total silence. Then Job broke the silence and uttered the words we have in today’s reading (Job 3:1-3,11-17,20-23). He curses the day he was born and the night he was conceived: “Let the day perish in which I was born, and the night that said, ‘A man-child is conceived’”.
The birth of a boy would normally be good news; it would mean the continuation of the family line. But Job is now alone—his whole family has been wiped out. There is nothing to live for.
There now comes a series of rhetorical questions:
- If he was to be born, why did he not die soon after birth?
- Why was there a mother there to hold and suckle him?
- Otherwise, he would now be with the dead: “I would be asleep; then I would be at rest with kings and counselors of the earth who rebuild ruins for themselves,
or with princes who have gold, who fill their houses with silver.
He would be in the company of kings and princes in their magnificent tombs, crammed with all kinds of treasure, just like the kings of Ur or the Egyptian pharaohs.
- Or at least why did he not enter the world: “…like a stillborn child, like an infant that never sees the light…”
- Why was he not where: “…the wicked cease from troubling, and where the weary are at rest.”
In this, he is speaking of Sheol—a word of unknown origin, indicating the deepest parts of the earth. It is the place where the dead, both virtuous and wicked alike, are leading a colorless existence where there is no praise of God. The belief in rewards and punishments after death, and of bodily resurrection, only came very late in the Old Testament period (see 2 Maccabees 12:38-45).
- Why allow a man to grow up and suffer like this? Those: “…who long for death, but it does not come,
who dig for it more than for hidden treasures;
who rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they find the grave? Why is light given to one who cannot see the way,
whom God has fenced in?”
Job can see no future for himself. A life like this is not worth living. He longs for the liberation of death and curses the day of his birth.
We may have somewhat similar experiences, and we know of others who have gone through terrible inner and outer pain. Suffering people may wonder where a loving God can fit into such a situation. Today, there are strong initiatives on the part of some to arrange an early termination of such an existence. Not a few take the way of suicide while others resort to “euthanasia”, or to abortion. These are very sensitive issues which need to be dealt with through compassion and understanding.
Although Job regrets now that he was born, he never contemplates suicide. Later, when his fortunes change again for the better, his words in today’s reading will be set aside.
We too, must always live in hope. Some of our pains and sufferings are of a temporary nature and will go away. Others, such as terminal illness, or the loss of a loved one, we know cannot be taken away. Yet, here too, as experience has shown many times, total acceptance and inner peace is possible. And so many good things can come from pain. In pain, one may experience the deep sympathy and compassion of people who might otherwise ignore us. Our own pain can help us to understand much better the pain of others and bring a healing compassion to their situation. A world totally free of pain could become a place of total selfishness and self-indulgence.
We come today to a distinct turning point in Luke’s Gospel. It is marked by the opening words of today’s passage (Luke 9:51-56): “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” The ‘taking up’ or the ‘assumption’ of Jesus refers to his passion and death leading to resurrection and ascension. It corresponds to the ‘glory’ that John speaks of and for whom the crucifixion is a ‘lifting up’ into ‘glory’.
We have now come to the end of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee and are moving on to a new section—the journey to Jerusalem, which ends at chapter 19:27 where we find Jesus in Jerusalem. The opening corresponds to Mark 10:1 where Jesus is seen entering Judea to preach there and which John more specifically describes as a journey to Jerusalem during the time of the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:1-10)
But Luke diverges from Mark’s story with very different material. He now follows Matthew’s source as well as using material of his own. The section consists almost entirely of teachings of Jesus to his disciples. It is all loosely organized within the framework of Jesus’ making his way to Jerusalem. The section we are entering is a time of preparation for the disciples for their future role as Messengers of the Kingdom.
Jerusalem is the place where it is all going to happen—the ‘exodus’ of Jesus, including his suffering, death, resurrection; and ascension—leading to the passing on of his mission to his disciples with the coming down of the Spirit of the Father and Jesus on the disciples. And it will be from Jerusalem that the new Church will be established and from Jerusalem it will spread gradually throughout the whole Mediterranean area until it reaches the empire’s capital in Rome, and from there to the ends of the earth.
As he set out, Jesus sent some messengers ahead to announce his coming. To go directly from Galilee to Judea, where the city of Jerusalem was situated, they would have had to pass through Samaria. Samaritans were particularly hostile to Jews, especially when they were on their way to a Jewish festival in Jerusalem (as Jesus and his disciples seem to be doing). It would take at least three days to cross Samaria and the Samaritans were refusing the disciples overnight shelter. Jewish pilgrims and travelers typically avoided any potential confrontation by going down the east bank of the Jordan River. There is an irony here that, when the first Christians were persecuted in Jerusalem, they took refuge in Samaria, which became one of the first places to accept the Gospel. It is very likely that the evangelist is aware of the irony when telling this story.
Faced with this hostility, the brothers James and John, whom we described in yesterday’s Gospel as hotheads (Sons of Thunder), suggested that fire from heaven be called down to burn them up. Their threat is reminiscent of the fire that Elijah brought down on the emissaries of an idolatrous king (1 Kings 18:38). They were indignant that their Master, the Messiah, should be treated in this way. There is a parallel here between Jesus’ negative reception in his hometown of Galilee and his rejection by the people of Samaria.
But Jesus distances himself from those disciples and gives them a scolding. This was not Jesus’ way. Instead, they went off to another village where they hoped to find a better welcome. As we see in other parts of the Gospel, Jesus does not normally go out of his way to court trouble. On the other hand, he will not hesitate to speak his mind or do what he believes is right, even if certain kinds of people take offence at it.
It is never Jesus’ way to destroy his enemies. We will see that clearly after he reaches Jerusalem where far worse things are done to him. Jesus’ purpose always is to change people who are against him, to defuse their hostility and help them to see things in a better way. It is something we could try to do more often. It is not at all the “softy’s” approach. On the contrary, it requires great inner strength and security.
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!