Catholic Commentary on Job 6

"Now be so kind as to look at me. Would I lie to your face?" (Job 6:28)

Job: My Complaint Is Just

Job defends his lament: if only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery placed on the scales, it would surely outweigh the sand of the seas. The arrows of the Almighty are in me; his terror is marshalled against me. He turns to the friends: a despairing man should have the devotion of his friends even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. You have seen something dreadful and are afraid. Did I ask you for a gift? Teach me and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong. Honest words are painful, but your argument proves nothing. Now be so kind as to look at me. Would I lie to your face?

The Catechism identifies Job's appeal to be looked at honestly as the cry of the suffering person for genuine pastoral presence: not the averted gaze of the embarrassed friend but the direct attention of the one willing to be fully present to the other's pain (CCC 1500).

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, look at me. Job's request is the most basic request of the suffering person: genuine attention, not therapeutic deflection. The person who avoids looking directly at suffering because it is uncomfortable has failed the fundamental pastoral test. Look. Be so kind as to look.

Prayer

Lord God, teach your Church to look at suffering directly - at the face, at the wound - without flinching or deflecting. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

6
Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just
1 Then Job replied:
 
2 “If only my grief could be weighed
and placed with my calamity on the scales.
3 For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas-
no wonder my words have been rash.
4 For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me;
my spirit drinks in their poison;
the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
5 Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass,
or an ox low over its fodder?
6 Is tasteless food eaten without salt,
or is there flavor in the white of an egg * 6:6 Or in the sap of the mallow plant?
7 My soul refuses to touch them;
they are loathsome food to me.
 
8 If only my request were granted
and God would fulfill my hope:
9 that God would be willing to crush me,
to unleash His hand and cut me off!
10 It still brings me comfort,
and joy through unrelenting pain,
that I have not denied
the words of the Holy One.
 
11 What strength do I have, that I should still hope?
What is my future, that I should be patient?
12 Is my strength like that of stone,
or my flesh made of bronze?
13 Is there any help within me
now that success is driven from me?
 
14 A despairing man should have the kindness of his friend,
even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
15 But my brothers are as faithless as wadis,
as seasonal streams that overflow,
16 darkened because of the ice
and the inflow of melting snow,
17 but ceasing in the dry season
and vanishing from their channels in the heat.
 
18 Caravans turn aside from their routes;
they go into the wasteland and perish.
19 The caravans of Tema look for water;
the travelers of Sheba hope to find it.
20 They are confounded because they had hoped;
their arrival brings disappointment.
21 For now you are of no help;
you see terror, and you are afraid.
22 Have I ever said, ‘Give me something;
offer me a bribe from your wealth;
23 deliver me from the hand of the enemy;
redeem me from the grasp of the ruthless’?
 
24 Teach me, and I will be silent.
Help me understand how I have erred.
25 How painful are honest words!
But what does your argument prove?
26 Do you intend to correct my words,
and treat as wind my cry of despair?
27 You would even cast lots for an orphan
and barter away your friend.
 
28 But now, please look at me.
Would I lie to your face?
29 Reconsider; do not be unjust.
Reconsider, for my righteousness is at stake.
30 Is there iniquity on my tongue?
Can my mouth not discern malice?

*6:6 6:6 Or in the sap of the mallow plant

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