Father Dominic Emmanuel

My last column (The power of faith, October 11) dealt with the all-important theme of faith, which is crucial to all believers of all faiths. Among the many giants in the Bible who proved their faith in the face of adversities, the two characters that shine out most are Abraham and Job.
Abraham, as such, is evenly honoured by Jews, Muslims and the Ba’hais. The Christians proclaim him in their prayers as “Our Father in Faith”. The Bible tells us that God, in order to test Abraham’s faith and obedience, asked him to offer his only son Isaac, born to him in old age and whom he loved dearly, in sacrifice. Without blinking an eye or questioning God, Abraham travelled to Mount Moriah for three days with two servants and his son to sacrifice him as a burnt offering. But no sooner had he prepared the altar and was about to strike his son with a knife, an angel of God prevented him and complimented him for his faith and obedience to God. In return, Abraham was promised vast land and for his descendants to number like stars in the sky. The whole story of Abraham is found in the Book of Genesis, chapter 22.
Although Abraham is proclaimed as the Father of Faith and held in great esteem by people of four faiths, the character most quoted from the Bible to encourage the faithful to remain steadfast in their faith is that of Job. His is a heart-rending story.
The Book of Job is an excellent treatise on faith and the role that human suffering plays on faith. The book has 42 chapters and one must really read the whole book to feel the impact of the drama where not only is Job put on trial but it appears that God Himself is charged by Satan. In short, the story can be summarised as God allowing the Satan to test Job who comes out with flying colours.
Job is a holy man and is blessed by God in every way. Satan, however, claims that Job feared God and worshipped Him only because of what he could get out of God in return and that if he faced hard times he would soon start cursing God.
God accepts the challenge from Satan and allows him to test Job by doing whatever he wished with him, except taking his life. Within no time, all hell breaks loose on Job. All his possessions, including his house, are taken away, and his children are killed, reducing him to absolutely nothing. In the face of such shocking tragedy, Job’s response is, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised. (Job 1:21)”.
To make things worse for him his three friends come to condole with him. For seven days they sit in silence observing his misery. Job finally breaks the silence where he shows signs of breaking down. He begins to curse the day he was born but soon, attributing everything to God, concludes, “In his hand is every living soul, and the spirit of all human flesh” (Job 12:10). His friends continue to argue with him, especially pointing out to his physical state — puss oozes out from the cracks in his skin, leaving him in utter pain.
Being a man of deep faith, despite all that is being said to him by his so-called friends about God’s curse falling on him, Job does not falter. He tells his friends, “As for me, I would speak to the Almighty, and argue my case with God; that is my desire”. And argue he does. But God remains silent. The end is dramatic. Job has the final victory, but not his friends. He comes out unscathed. He is rewarded not only with things and children he had lost, but with much more.
The story of Job has many lessons. It demonstrates that God is worthy of love apart from the blessings He provides. It also explains that God may allow suffering as a means to purify and strengthen someone in godliness and that however much a person may try s/he is unable to view life from God’s vast perspective. And finally, the story addresses mankind’s wrestling with affliction which defies human explanation.
Both Abraham and Job are supreme examples of unwavering faith in the face of the worst kind of pain, rejection and deprivation. Regardless of the historicity of the details of both narrations, Abraham and Job edify us to remain resolute in our faith even if the faith is only the size of a mustard seed.

This is the final part of the two-part series.

— Father Dominic Emmanuel, a founder-member of Parliament of Religions, is currently the director of communication of the Delhi Catholic Church. He was awarded the National Communal Harmony Award 2008 by the Government of India. He can be contacted at frdominic@gmail.com