There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die: and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.
– “The Way It Is” by William Stafford
Dear People of St. David’s,
When I was an undergraduate, I had the opportunity to take a class entitled “The Problem of God,” taught by one of my favorite Jesuit professors, Fr. John Breslin. One of the themes explored the struggle with God’s silence in the face of human suffering. Even in scripture, Job, because of his suffering, becomes aware of the plight of the poor and the needy, questioning why “the throat of the wounded cries for help; yet God pays no attention to their prayer.” (Job 24:13)
It is a question we continue to grapple with. How do we sit in a dark room yet still hold onto the knowledge that the sun shines outside? Sometimes we lose sight of God’s presence in our lives, even though we know God is there…making us question if God is silent.
But I don’t think God is silent.
I think about when I first came to the U.S. for college and all rock and roll music sounded the same to me. Brian, my husband, patiently shared his favorite music over the years. As I listened and learned over time, I was able to distinguish the styles, the voices, and learn the lyrics. I still forget some of the names, but I can hear the differences in the music.
Or when my husband, Brian, couldn’t distinguish between a shrub or a tree much less one tree from another. Over time, because of my love of the vast biological world, he started to notice their variations, the cycles of their lives, looking forward to walks around the garden to take in the amazing array they have to offer. He still forgets their names, but he can distinguish many of the trees and shrubs.
Sometimes we don’t distinguish the presence of God. In fact, we can’t comprehend the vastness of God. In our conceit that God is silent to us, we forget the work we must do to hear God. To decipher what God is communicating. To hold in our minds that we are precious and insignificant at the same time, just as Job does. That communal sin creates chaos yet even amid that chaos God is faithfully working.
God roars all around us, in and through everything. As we continually beat ourselves against the rocks, cycling in and out of thriving and destruction over the centuries, God is speaking to us, communicating even in the very fabric of time and space.
The Book of Job “offers us a radically different model of God, creation, and human existence.” (Carol A. Newsom, “Women’s Bible Commentary.”) Challenging us to find ways to discern God’s way of being in our lives.
We seek out ways to distinguish God’s presence. We pray, we meditate, we read scripture, we sing, make music, and dwell with each other and all of creation. Through our own work of discernment, we learn to hear God’s voice. We still forget to listen along the way, but we begin to distinguish God’s presence.
Grace and Peace,
Tanya+
The Rev. Tanya Regli
Associate Rector
Editor’s Note: We’ll be discussing the Book of Job in the Cross Connections podcast this coming July. Watch for it, or follow us and join our email list for more.
Posted May 29, 2025.