| Letters of Aquila and Priscilla |
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I have dealt with great things that (Job 42:3) |
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It happened very fast. We had three CLPs running. We were preparing for a teaching on Christian Personal Relationships, a YFC assembly, and a CFC Leaders Retreat. Then suddenly, everybody was gone! Almost every member of the CFC expatriate community fled Jakarta, together with thousands of other expatriates and Chinese Indonesians, in the wake of the violence and turmoil that rocked Indonesia. Accordingly, there was no CLP, no teaching, and no retreat. We were looking forward to a rich harvest and to creating a new chapter by the end of the year. But with the Indonesian economy in shambles and corporate bankruptcies prevalent, only a small fraction of the current number of expatriates is expected to return. Indeed many had already left Jakarta even before the riots and burning began. Many more will be leaving because of fear for the safety of their families, because of the economic and political uncertainties, and because there are simply no more jobs available. Jakarta will never be the same again. The large expatriate community we have been accustomed to for many years will be a thing of the past. It will take years before the Indonesian economy can fully recover and, accordingly, before the expatriates can be attracted to come back. The coming years will be full of uncertainties, difficulties and problems. The task of evangelization will be much more challenging. And there will be much more suffering. My brothers and sisters, I know that many have lost their jobs and suffered severe cuts in salary. Indeed the combination of the sharp depreciation of the rupiah and the high inflation rate has drastically reduced real income. Many may therefore be tempted to ask why God has allowed these things to happen. Were we not faithfully serving him in Couples for Christ and contributing generously with our finances? Why has God allowed our community to contract so abruptly, dispersing its members to their home countries or elsewhere? Who will be left to serve in the many activities planned for the rest of the year? How are we going to fund the evangelization in Indonesia with the expatriate members gone? Where are we going to get the leaders to shepherd the mostly Indonesian members who have just joined us, particularly in the SFC? How can we raise leaders when there is so much uncertainty in the whole expatriate community? Why is there so much suffering among and around us? Confronted with these difficult questions, we should reach out for the Book of Job and reflect deeply on its message. The Book of Job confronts the problem of suffering by directly acknowledging that the questions it raises are incomprehensible. The author of Job tells us that the pressure point in suffering is not so much in the pain but in not knowing whether or not there is any reason to have to suffer. He affirms that God indeed is good; but God’s goodness is beyond the range that human intellect can understand. He proposes that God acts for purposes that only God can comprehend. Writing around the fifth century BC, the poet who wrote Job saw how the severe tax that Persia had imposed on Israel drove the poor of Israel into penury. To be able to pay the tax, they had to sell their farms and homes to the aristocrats of Israel. The author saw how the “lawless and godless” flourished while the righteous and just suffered. Confronted with this problem, he composed a brilliant poem addressing the issue with all the wisdom available at his time. A prologue and an epilogue frame the poetic dialogue dealing with the profound theological meaning of the suffering of a just man. The prologue relates the tragedies that have afflicted Job in rapid succession. A good God has allowed a just person to suffer the loss of all that is most valued. Then in a series of poetic speeches, Job defends his integrity against the charges of his friends. He rejects the conventional wisdom of his time that suffering is the consequence of sin. Then God addresses Job “out of the storm” saying that suffering does not give humans the license to question God’s justice. The poem ends with Job giving his final response. The Book closes with an epilogue describing the restoration of Job. My brothers and sisters, like Job we are also confronted by unexpected suffering. We suffer disappointment when we do not realize our plans and expectations. We suffer anxiety in the face of so much uncertainty. Thus we ask ourselves these questions. Shall we now quit our jobs in Jakarta? But can we find a suitable job elsewhere? Shall we now transfer the children to other schools? Will we be able to serve elsewhere in the same way we are able to serve in Jakarta? Will we find our new community as close and as active as our present community? I know that for many, their service in the CFC community in Jakarta is a major factor in decision making. Many would prefer to stay, despite the uncertainties, because they enjoy serving in the community. Indeed many find fulfillment in their work of evangelization in Indonesia. But if we stay, will the children be safe? Will it not be better to leave now than to be forced to leave anyway later? This is the dilemma. And unable to resolve this, we suffer emotionally. We find in Job a mirror image. Like us, he suffers but does not understand why. Unlike his four friends who say that suffering can be understood, Job insists that it cannot be reduced to a rational analysis and argues that it is not caused by sin. The voice “out of the storm” does not inform Job about the wager with Satan but instead asks him to trust in God’s superior wisdom. We are also asked to respond in the same way: to trust that there is a wisdom hidden within our suffering. Like Job, we will suffer without knowing why. We will never be able to fully understand God’s ways. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts (Is 55:8-9). God acts for purposes that only he can comprehend. The meaning of our suffering remains within the realm of the unsearchable darkness. But for us Christians of today, unlike the just during the time of Job, we know that our suffering can have real meaning if we unite it with the suffering of Jesus. Suffering is normally associated with defeat. But Jesus has taught us that suffering leads to victory. Therefore, we comprehend our suffering as a means to participate in the Lord’s obedient self-offering to God. We understand that to become genuinely a branch in the vine that is Christ, we should expect to share the same experiences as the vine. This Christian truth is, of course, unknown to the author of the Book of Job. My brothers and sisters, in the midst of all the uncertainty, difficulty and suffering, I enjoin you to have the humility and patience of Job. Let us recite loudly and reflect profoundly on the poetic words of Job’s final response to the Lord: I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered. I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know. I had heard of you by word of mouth, but now my eye has seen you. Therefore I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes (Job 42:2-6). Let us unite our suffering with Jesus. Let us attach ourselves firmly to the Suffering Vine. And like Job, we will be rewarded in the end.
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