Sharing grief
| "What things?" he asked. "About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see." (Luke24:19-24) |
Their answer is quite beautiful – it portrays a willingness to open up, to share not only the facts of what had happened, but the pain and the heartache they were feeling. They can answer like this because of the way Jesus has journeyed with them. He has been unhurried, He has given them space to talk (even though they were rude by ignoring Him), He has asked searching questions and judging from the depth and honesty of their answer I think it is fair to say that they found Him to be a good listener.
We've all read the beautiful story of the grumpy old man who lost his wife. Children were scared of him because he was always yelling at them for making a noise or getting too close to his roses. After the funeral a little boy sees the old man sitting on his garden bench looking quite lost and so he takes the risk of climbing over the fence and sitting next to the old chap and holding his hand. The old man bursts into tears and they sit like this for a long time and the boy gets up and climbs over the fence to return home. The old man gets up and it is obvious that a great weight is off his shoulders. The boy's mom asks "What did you say to him?" The boy replies: "Nothing – I just helped him to cry."
This is what Jesus does for this couple – it is a beautiful thing.
How well do we listen to others? Do we do it in a way that makes them feel safe enough to trust us with their deepest pain?
Do we trust God with our pain?
