These days the first thing that comes to many of our minds is simply to remind ourselves to be careful, the light is at the end of the tunnel, but we are still in difficult moments.
I will share with you that it is difficult for me to remember a time so stressful and difficult. The grief and pain of losing loved ones and the darkness that comes with feelings of depression and abandonment are not easy. Sometimes, the temptation is to pretend that it will all go away and it will seem like waking from a nightmare. But, it is not so. These are real world-wide realities that make all of us shudder. What do you tell someone who has lost a number of family members? What do you tell someone who is elderly and has not had any of the children or grandchildren come to visit, or even called? What do you tell someone who is ready to give up
on life?
Maybe in “ordinary” circumstances, I would offer a touch on the shoulder, or hold the person’s hand. But we have to keep social distance with good reason. Under present circumstances, I hope that I might be able to reach out through zoom or hope that people might see in my eyes my willingness to share the burden of darkness. My sense is that this is part of who we are as Church, a people willing to share the burden.
Moments after, with all due respect and not denying the pain and the suffering, maybe a kind word that might speak to the heart. A bit of encouragement that will stir hope and that sense, in the midst of tears and weariness, that the Lord does continue to be present – Today, at this very moment.
In a way, it may be very much as in the scripture where the pain and anguish of Mary did not allow her to recognize her resurrected Lord until He pronounced her name. Or that image that comes from the prophets, of standing at the entrance of the cave and recognizing the Presence of God in the gentle breeze. So much of this is important for each one of us.
Even as the depth of our pain is a measure of our love, it is also a sign of our Lord who makes our pain his, because such is his love for us. And His love reaches into our hearts, calls us by name, calls us his own again. He truly carries our burdens.
The Lord’s presence will be made known, as we allow others to shoulder the burden with us and when we, weak as we are, shoulder the burden of others as well.
The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want, in green pastures he makes me lie down; to still waters he leads me; he restores my soul. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear not, for you are with me; your rod and your staff comfort me.