HOPE AND RESILIENCE - C: 27th Sun in OrdTime

First Reading: Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4 (2 October 2022)

“O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save?” (Hab 1:2).

This statement began the oracle of the prophet Habakkuk. Here, he describes the situation of the ordinary people who were suffering long enough to the point of giving up. They were growing impatient for the prolonged violence, oppression, destruction, and trouble around them (v. 3). Worse is that the impious and the wicked were the ones thriving, while those whom they did injustice on were devastated (v. 4). Habakkuk was concretely referring to the Chaldeans’ conquest, coming “to seize dwellings not their own” (v. 6). The Chaldeans were known in ancient history as the Babylonians who rose to power around 612 BCE. A few decades later in 586/7 BCE, they would finally bring the fall of Jerusalem, whose majority of citizens would subsequently be exiled in the faraway land of Babylon. In this sense, the doom that was prophesized by the prophet only worsened and was even realized in a very harsh manner.

Despite this fatalistic tone, Habakkuk nonetheless proclaims the strong sense of hope of those who believe in God, uttering, “O Lord, you have marked them for judgment; and you, O Rock, have established them for punishment” (v. 12). This remark only shows the desire of those who suffer to seek vengeance that they were hoping to arrive soon. This show of confidence was affirmed by God himself, telling Habakkuk:

“Write the vision; make it plain on tablets …. For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay” (2:2-3).

What we see here is a paradox in the attitude of Habakkuk in his text. On the one hand, he shows his desperation and impatience against God. In fact, he is the only prophet among the biblical prophets who repetitively voices out a direct complaint against God. He bluntly questions God, “Why do you make me see wrong-doing and look at trouble? (1:3). A few verses later, the prophet queries God again, “Why do you look on the treacherous, and are silent when the wicked swallow those more righteous than they?” (v. 13). On the other hand, he demonstrates his blind faith in God especially at the tail-end of his book where he confesses,

“Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines …. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a dear, and makes me tread upon the heights” (3:17-19).

This sincere display of emotional sentiments of Habakkuk reverberates the normal cycle of human behavior of despairing then hoping. Therefore, the act of blaming, complaining, and being angry at God should not be viewed too negatively since it is not the end of the road per se. People who lose their tact and manners may have been in very difficult situations that triggered them to experience fatalism that includes a temporary hatred of God. Thus, they should not be condemned outright since there is always a possibility of arriving to a higher level of faith in the form of true conversion. Complaining may just be the first phase of one’s spiritual journey, inferring that one should never lose hope but must be resilient always in life.

- Rex Fortes, CM