Observe the Lenten Season with us (Feb. 22 – Mar. 22)

A INVITATION TO LENT

In our tradition, the rhythm of daily life is reflected in our liturgical life. Highs and lows, pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow all find their way in Anglican worship and ongoing formation. Lent takes us from the glory of Chrismas, through the wilderness of temptation and the passion to the glory of the Cross and beyond.

At the conclusion of our Lenten study last year, a request was made for a deeper engagement with the Book of Job. This ancient and unsettling text gives voice to faithful people who suffer, question, protest, and yet remain in relationship with God. Job refuses easy answers. Instead, it invites honest prayer, courageous lament, and trust that endures even when explanations fail.

During Lent, we will have the opportunity to reflect on the Book of Job during sermons on Sundays and small group conversations on Wednesdays.

The theme: “Faithfulness in the Midst of Suffering”.

The sermon’s topics:

Lent 1 (Sunday, Feb. 22) “Blameless and Broken” – Job 1–2 (The Rev. Canon Dr. Stephen Fields)

Lent 2 (Sunday, Mar. 1) “When Friends Fail and God Is Silent” -Job 3–14 (The Rev. Canon Kristen Pitts)

Lent 3 (Sunday, Mar. 8) “The Fear of the Lord: Holding on in the Dark” – Job 15–28 (The Rev. Canon Beth Benson)

Lent 4 (Sunday, Mar. 15) “Out of the Whirlwind” – Job 38–41 (The Rev. Matthew Waterman)

Lent 5 (Sunday, Mar. 22) “Seeing God Anew” -Job 42 – (The Rev. Canon Dr. Stephen Fields)

All are invited to listen, wrestle, and pray together, trusting that God meets us even in the darkest questions.

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Online small group discussions on Zoom:

To register for online small group discussions on Wednesdays at 7:00pm, please send an email to info@stjamescathedral.ca or call (416)364-7865 Ext. 221. The Zoom link will be provided on registration.

Questions for small group discussions:

Lent 1 (Feb. 22) “Blameless and Broken” – Job 1–2

1. Job is a good and faithful person, yet he suffers deeply. How does this challenge the idea that “good things happen to good people”?

2. Job grieves, questions God, and expresses his pain openly, yet Scripture says he does not sin. What does this teach us about being honest with God?

3. Do we love God for who God is, or mainly for what God gives. How would you describe the difference?

4. The Saints of the faith stayed faithful even when life was painful or God felt distant. What helps people hold on to faith in hard times?

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Lent 2 (Mar. 1) “When Friends Fail and God Is Silent” -Job 3–14

1. Job curses the day of his birth and questions the purpose of his life. What does Job’s lament reveal about the place of honesty, pain, and protest in faith?

2. Job’s friends believe suffering must be the result of sin or wrongdoing. Where do we still see this kind of thinking today?

3. Job’s friends were most helpful when they sat in silence. Why is presence sometimes better than words?

4. What does this part of Job’s story teach us about how to be faithful friends to those who are suffering?

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Lent 3 (Mar. 8) “The Fear of the Lord: Holding on in the Dark” – Job 15–28

1. Job says, “I know that my Redeemer lives,” even while he is still suffering. What do you think it means to have faith without clarity?

2. Job protests, questions, and laments, yet still holds on to God. What does this tell us about being honest with God in prayer?

3. Wisdom is not knowing why but knowing whom we trust. How does this change the way we think about wisdom and faith?

4. Christ does not explain suffering away but enters it. How does that shape the way we see God when we are hurting?

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Lent 4 (Mar. 15) “Out of the Whirlwind” – Job 38–41

1. God responds to Job with questions rather than explanations. Why do you think God chooses this way of speaking?

2. After hearing God speak from the whirlwind, Job becomes silent and humble. What do you think caused this change in him?

3. What does God’s speech teach us about the difference between God’s perspective and our own?

4. God never explains Job’s suffering, yet Job learns to trust God more deeply. What might it mean for us to trust God even when we don’t get answers?

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Lent 5 (Mar. 22) “Seeing God Anew” -Job 42

1. Job says, “I had heard of you… but now my eye sees you.” What do you think it means to move from knowing about God to truly encountering God?

2. Job repents not of sin, but of a limited view of God. What are some ways we might unintentionally “shrink” God?

3. God rebukes Job’s friends for speaking wrongly about Him, even though they were trying to defend God. What does this teach us about talking to or about God in times of suffering?

4. Job’s restoration is described as grace, not reward. How does that change the way we think about God’s blessing and presence in our lives?