Theodicy
October 13, 2024
Theodicy
Text: Job 23:1-0,16-17
Introduction:
In college, I was drawn to Buddhism. The first noble truth—“There is suffering”—resonated. Christians, on the other hand, often seemed dismissive of suffering, clinging to rules. But how can we wear crosses around our necks while ignoring the suffering of the One who hung on the cross? Ignoring suffering means missing the divine presence in it.
The Book of Job brings suffering into stark focus. Job loses everything—his children, wealth, health, and reputation—yet he is blameless. This story challenges the retributive theology of Deuteronomy, which teaches that obedience leads to prosperity and sin leads to suffering. Job’s honesty in lament reflects a deep spiritual struggle. Maybe you’ve been there. Or maybe you are there right now.
- Job’s Honest Lament: The Silence of the Divine (1-4)
Today my complaint is bitter, my hand is heavy despite my groaning. Oh, that I knew where I might find God, that I might come even to God’s dwelling, I would lay my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments.
Job’s Bitterness
Job speaks from a place of deep anguish, struggling to understand God’s silence. In his pain, he longs to present his case before God. We, too, sometimes feel abandoned, asking, “Where is God in all this?” But God is not offended by our doubts or cries. Faith invites honesty, not pretense. Jesus, too, expressed feelings of abandonment on the cross, quoting Psalm 22: “My God, why have you forsaken me?”
Many of us were handed a version of faith that promised protection if we followed the rules. But Job reminds us that suffering is not about deserving it—it simply happens. The best thing Job’s friends did was sit with him in the ashes. The worst thing they did was try to explain his suffering away. Like Job’s friends, we don’t always know what to say when others are in pain. What matters most is that we show up. Sit in the ashes. Grieve together. There’s no contracting suffering from each other, but we help bear the weight.
- Mystery of the Divine Presence (Job 23:8-9)
If I go forward, God is not there; or backward I cannot perceive God; Hides on my left and nothing on my right. But God knows the way I take, when he has tested me, I shall come out like gold.
Recapturing the Tradition of the Lament
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- In the midst of suffering, we search for God or meaning in it.
- Psalm 13:1-2: “How Long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?”
- Jeremiah 29:13: “You will seek me and find me when you see me with all your heart.” Seeking is central to our spiritual journey. Yet in pain, we can freeze.
Illustration: Dale Earnhart: “God Needed a Driver.” Needed another angel. Need another whatever in heaven. If this is comforting, great. It is not for me. Unlike religious perspectives that seek to justify or explain suffering through a divine plan or purpose, existentialism largely rejects traditional theodicies. As does Job. For existentialists, suffering does not have a predetermined or higher purpose imposed by an external force. For Job, God and ha-satan have a bet. What’s the meaning of my suffering, oh God has a bet with heaven’s prosecuting attorney. Instead, meaning must be created by the individual, often in defiance of the suffering they endure.
Last winter, our beloved dog Rufus was diagnosed with Lyme Disease. Kicked ourselves for not preventing it or catching it sooner. He died in March. Our hearts grieved. There is gap in the air where he should be. God didn’t need more drool or fur in heaven. God isn’t punishing me or teaching us a lesson. A Lyme-disease tick bit Rufus and he couldn’t fight the infection. We loved him and let him go. We were reacquainted with grief. Grief is an old friend.
I learned quick that the world isn’t how it should be. At a friend’s dad’s funeral, “How do you do this?” I met my loss early in life, and I want to help others get through it. There is suffering, we’re all here to walk each other home. Grief is not an enemy. Death has already been conquered and I believe there’s life on the other side. There is love already around and through us. Takes a lot of prayer to get there. Prayer is rebellion at the tyranny of noise and distraction. When suffering hits: pray. When feeling overwhelmed: pray. When the headlines hit like a stack of bricks: pray. Will prayer solve what faces you? No. It will still be there when you’re done. But you’ll be in a new mindset to face it. To put words to it. With help of Spirit and community, make a way out of no way.
Convinced that old dogs lead us to new dog. In August, we got Gus a golden-doodle Irish setter mix. Looks like an old man but he’s an active 2-year-old. Hates non-carpeted floor like our greyhound Sonny. Protective and shaped like our Sylvania dog Bear. Flops and splays out like Rufus. When he drinks water, his beard drinks, so we get slimed just how Rufus used to drool on us. Love of former dogs incarnated in this dog.
For our departed loved ones, their spirit is with us. Love never ends. Their ways aren’t as clear as the Divine. Yet I’m convinced that if we keep close to their love and the best of the example, we will be led to where we need to be. Yes, it hurts when they’re gone. And we can cry out to God in our pain. But know this: when we wrestle with God, we are still in God’s hands. God is too close for us to see. Not abandoned, just looking passed to our loss as God has us in a tight hug.
III. Trust in Divine Love and Justice
God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me. If only I could vanish in darkness and thick darkness would cover my face.
- Job wants to run, it’s all too much. Nothing make sense and things are terrifying.
- Psalm 34:18 – “The Divine is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
- “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13. Learning to be content with whatever life throws at Paul: having little, having a lot/hungry, well-fed/free or in prison. Not about believing in yourself but facing all things in the ways of Christ.
- Point: In suffering, we are called to trust that Divine love surrounds us, even when we cannot sense it.
Illustration: Last year, I walked with a woman named Carrie who had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. She wrestled with why it happened, but eventually moved from asking “Why?” to asking, “Now what?” She spent her remaining time fully engaged with life—spending time with family, friends, and her community. Carrie knew she wouldn’t beat the cancer, but she still lived with courage and love. In her journey, I learned that life is found in the living, in showing up for one another.
The “now what” for Carrie was to fight. To do everything she could to extend her life. She traveled to Australia with her husband. Started a Sunday night weekly dinner with her family. Played more board games. Donated a ton to charity. Spent a lot of time with friends. She got to see her son get married in the living room of her house.
I learned from Carrie what really matters in life. Family. Friends. Leaving a meaningful impact on your community. She did what she loved. She would often ask me about a particular point of doctrine or bible quote. We’d talk about those and find that faith is in the living. Believing is in the living.
Carrie taught me that there are two outcomes to anything. We either succeed or learn. Carrie knew there was no beating stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Yet she was fearless in trying. She often would say, “You can’t scare me, there’s no stage 5.” She tilted her whole self at her health. Her mind, body, and spiritual health.
Conclusion:
We don’t always know why suffering happens. At a funeral, a priest once told me it’s because of the original sin in the garden. But I wasn’t there, and I refuse to carry that blame. Suffering simply is. But like Job, we can bring our doubts, frustrations, and confusion to God, trusting that love holds us—even when we can’t see it.
We are invited to live fully, to love deeply, and to show up for each other in the messiness of life. Keep the example of Christ in front of you. He brought healing. He pointed to the divine in his life. And when suffering came, he wept. He faced it. He hung from the cross. On Easter Sunday, he still bore the scars from his experience. And he returned our violence with love, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Thereby proving that love can never be defeated. Suffering may try to break us, but we will not be defeated. God’s love is stronger than anything. Trust it. Point to it. Have others point it to you when you can’t find it.
Abound in hope. Be strong in faith. And love recklessly. Amen.
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