Series on Job: The Wager of Loss

The Via Positiva is a spiritual pathway of awe and delight in which we become aware of God’s presence in the goodness of ordinary life. God is one who is revealed, knowable, seeable, and describable. On the Via Positiva, words become containers for God. God is Mother. God is Father. God is a Shepherd. God is love. The incarnation of God in Jesus Christ is the ultimate Via Positiva—God made knowable, manifest in human form. 

This October, our collective gatherings have been expressions of the Via Positiva, full of celebrations of the ways God has been with us and for us. However, in November, we turn a corner. We are walking into the dark of winter where life dips below the surface of things. We are making our way towards the doorway of Advent where we will wait for a God whom we cannot see. A God who lies small, silent, unseen, hidden in the womb of Mary.

This month, another spiritual path opens before us—the Via Negativa. On this path, God is unknowable rather than knowable, hidden rather than manifest, absent rather than present. The Via Negativa emphasizes knowing God by recognizing what God is not, rather than what God is. Now, God is no longer Father or Mother, as God seems beyond the categories of words. Preconceived ideas of God no longer fit. God is shrouded in mystery. Words fall short. Prayer moves inward into silence or upward as lament.

The Via Negativa is a pathway that picks us as much as we pick it. You might find yourself on the Via Negativa in a season of suffering or profound loss. As we witness the suffering of the innocent, God’s shining manifestation becomes blurred, harder to see. You might also find yourself on the Via Negativa in a season of spiritual dryness. Prayers easily spoken while on the Via Positiva feel hollow. Comforting metaphors for God seem empty. Life doesn’t make sense. God doesn’t make sense. You are faced with the limits of your understanding. God is in the dark, but it takes time to adapt and sense the Presence you cannot see.

Both paths, the Via Positiva and the Via Negativa offer gifts. These paths are not competitors, and one is not preferable to the other. We move back and forth between them at different seasons of our lives, each enriching the depth of the other.

During November, we will be accompanied by Book of Job. The Book of Job follows the path of the Via Negativa as it wrestles with suffering, justice, faith, the nature of God, and the limits of human understanding.

My thoughts on the Job have been influenced by Gustavo Gutiérrez’ book:  On Job: God-Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent and my sermons will reflect his insights and find their grounding in his work. 

Some say that the book of Job is about God: “Does God allow good people to suffer?” Certainly this is a question that Job and his friends wrestle with together. But Gutiérrez points to the prologue and identifies a different fundamental question framing the book: 

“Can human beings have a disinterested faith in God—that is, can they believe in God without looking for rewards and fearing punishments? 

Even more specifically: Are human beings capable, in the midst of unjust suffering, of continuing to assert their faith in God and speak of God without expecting a return?”

The central question in Job is not about the nature of God, but about the nature of human beings. Are we able to maintain faithfulness to God when the sweetness of the Via Positivadries up, and we find ourselves on the Via Negativa?

How do we respond when the “God channel” goes dark and suffering eclipses God from our vision? What will we do when we are stripped of certitudes and well integrated theological answers? Is our love for God transactional? We worship God when God appears to make sense and gives us a good life. Will we still remain faithful to God, continuing to love and work for justice, even when God seems to give us nothing in return? The book of Job begins here, with this invitation to self-examination.

Deep peace and blessing,

—Anne

Rev. Anne Baxter Smith
Pastor, Southpoint Church

Sun Dec 1   Christie Goode
You Are A Blessing Luke 1:26-38, Isa 43:1-7

Sun Dec 8 Anne Baxter Smith
We Don’t Go Alone Ruth 1, Eccl 4:9-12

Sun Dec 15 Anne Baxter Smith
Do the Good That’s Yours To Do

Sun Dec 22 Anne Baxter Smith
Hope is Worth the Risk Matthew 1:18-25/Luke 1:46-55

Tue Dec 24 Anne Baxter Smith
Christmas Eve Service, 4:00 pm
Love Knows Your Name Matthew 1:18-25/Luke 1:46-55

Sun Dec 29 ALL OUT
10:00-11:30 Annual Skating Party!
No service in the Sunnyside building

New to Southpoint?

At Southpoint, it all begins with God’s love. Just as a plant grows, it receives sunshine, so we grow as we receive God’s love. At Southpoint, we are growing in our capacity to love God, ourselves, one another, and Creation.

We seek to be a community of grace that is intentional yet organic, spacious yet authentic, grace-filled yet accountable. * We are fully welcoming. *

We encourage relationships rather than run programs, yet we recognize the importance of intentionality and structure as we nurture life together.

As a community, we seek to put our love in action. We value helping out on Sunday mornings, sharing food, and showing up in hard times. We keep our church life simple so folk have time to build relationships with family, friends, and neighbours. We encourage folk to serve in tangible ways within the wider community. We rent space rather than own a building, allowing us to do more with less, supporting missions at home and abroad.

Curious to know more?

These six slides express what motivates our ministry (best viewed on a monitor). Here’s the bio of our Pastor, Rev. Anne Baxter Smith.

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