JOB

JOB




i’ve never liked
the ending
of the book of job

oh the words are majestic
you can really chew the scenery
when reciting them

but it’s as if god
is caught short
without an answer

so he blusters
making himself big
he thunders
at job
who cows
frightened
and unanswered

but before that scene
his friends COUNSEL him
that his sins are the cause
of his suffering

a common thought at that time
where gods were appeased by sacrifice
that god would reward
now
here
because at death
what awaited you was a land of shade

in that light
his friend eliphaz
said
if you repent your sin
to which job said
i have not

forging on
eliphaz said
if you repent your sin
then

You will make a covenant with the stones in the fields. They won't keep your crops from growing. Even wild animals will be at peace with you

but this contradicts god
when he chased man from the garden
saying

The very ground is cursed because of you; getting food from the ground Will be as painful as having babies is for your wife

but christ came
to heal a wounded creation
gave us his indwelling spirit
to do what is right
to reward us with a good conscience
not NECESSARILY a good life

the words
But the downtrodden are saved by God, saved from the murderous plots
saved from the iron fist

we know are often not true

the mother shot
because she wouldn’t let her son go
in the lineup at AUSCHWITZ

the workman
seeing his pension
stolen
by greedy profiteers

the nun
trying for a living wage
for farm workers
killed by rich landowners

BONHOEFFER
jailed and hung
for wanting justice

children that die before their parents

they were not saved from the iron fist
and they lived well

IN ORIENTAL CULTURE
THERE IS A PRINCIPLE CALLED
Bodhisattva

one who postpones salvation
to help others

is this not
the omega point
toward which we’re growing

having tried all other roads
to find that love is the answer
that salvation is meager
when done alone
without a neighbor
is this not pie in the sky

did not christ die to save a world
was his death in vain
or only for a few

is he not the yeast
that permeates the world
to make it better
and does he not need our hands
to make it happen

i still don’t like god’s answer to job
or that sin brings on misfortune
like a quid pro quo transaction

but maybe
when i think
how i’ve fumbled my life away
that the god who loves me
know what’s best for me

and when things don’t go well
he blusters
to hide his crying


frank a vollmer