Job and the Mystery of Suffering, Spiritual Reflections, by Richard Rohr

This book is a spiritual commentary on the many themes to be found in the story of Job as is grapples with the question of why there is suffering in the world, even for people who live a good and upright life.  Rohr says that in its essemce , it is a call to let go of old certitudes and goals and to place faith and trust in God alone.  He adds that instead of showing the patience of Job, the story portrays the “impatience of Job,” and the patience of God.

Besides being a study of the mystery of evil, Rohr regards it as “the anatomy of a conversion,” and he says it speaks most strongly to those whole world has fallen apart.  Based on an ancient legend of a man named Job,  a pious person of faith, the anonymous author expands it and creates a profound theology of the problem of evil.

As the story begins, we see Job richly blessed by God, with ten children and many possessions.  Then Satan appears, and when asked by Yahweh if he has noticed that God-fearing man, Job, he replies that Job would end up cursing God if all his possessions were taken away.  But even after Job lost everything, including his children, and his body was covered with painful ulcers, he did not curse God. But he did become very angry, at his wife, at his “friends”, and even at Yahweh. He maintained his innocence and complained bitterly at the unjust treatment he was getting. 

After a long and colorful conversation between Yahweh and Job, God finally restores to Job twice as much as he had before, plus ten beautiful children and 140 more years of life.  The Book of Job in the Old Testament, all 24 chapters of it, is well worth reading again, and even more so, the reflections on the mystery of suffering that Richard Rohr so masterly weaves into the story and relates to our everyday life.