Suffering Love

Here’s what I know.

Jesus wept.  The shortest verse in the Bible.  Perhaps the most profound.  He was standing at the tomb of Lazarus overcome with grief.   Jesus understands.

God watched His own son die on the cross.  God knows suffering.

In the valley of the shadow of death, He is present.   You cannot see Him.  But He shows up in the faces of people crying alongside you and sharing your burden.  The tight hugs where bodies shake and don’t want to let go.

God is our shepherd.  The only constant.  Especially in the valley.  Especially when we can’t speak through our sobbing.

The Bible says to cast your burden on the Lord.  We are casting now.  He holds our tears.

Oh Lord,

We feel ripped apart.  The pain is too much.  Take this burden and carry it for us.  May we know you are the Good Shepherd today and always.  May your rod and staff comfort us.  We are but sheep.

My mother in law provided this excerpt from one of her books on grief (to be properly cited later) —

“Upon joining the crowd on the bench of mourning, they hear the sobs and see the tears of God.  By these they are consoled.  Love in our world is suffering love.  Some do not suffer much, though, for they do not love much.  Suffering is for the loving.. If I hadn’t loved him, there wouldn’t be this agony.

This said Jesus is the command of the Holy One.  “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  In commanding us to love, God invites us to suffer.”