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As I considered a topic to write about in this Christmas season, I decided to write about Christmas and Grief. The topic is fresh as I just returned from Canada, where I attended the funeral of my aunt. As I reflected on our church life, I realized that many of us have faced the issue of grief this year.
In 2005 our church buried a long time member, we shared in the grief of a young widow, and stood with another member who buried his father. I was also called upon to do the funeral service of a former child of our church who died tragically in a car crash in his early 20s. Grief has touched many of us in significant ways this past year.
Although Christmas is a season of joy, celebration, and good will, it is also a time when feelings of loss are intensified. We remember the loved one who is absent at our table.
One of the greatest benefits of being a follower of Jesus Christ is strength in time of grief. II Cor. 1:3,4 says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."
The principle is that the source of comfort is God himself. God comforts us in difficult times and in seasons of grief. Without faith in God, one wonders how some people survive the losses of their life. There is no greater help in time of trouble than knowing that the God who made the universe and is all powerful, is also
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the God who loves us and comforts us.
A secondary principle in the II Corinthians passage is that God comforts us so that we can comfort others. In addition to knowing God's comfort when grieving, we also need a human shoulder to cry on. This is where the church has an important ministry. As we experience restoration from our sorrows, we can be used of God to minister to others who are grieving.
An example to me was my grandmother. My grandfather died the year I graduated from college. My grandmother lived about 14 years after his death. After feeding and caring for my grandfather (and 9 children) for over 50 years, my grandmother's life as a widow included a full social calendar. She regularly had family over for dinner, she was active in church, and she did it all with joy.
I was told that my grandmother had a real ministry to other widows in the later years of her life. God had comforted her, and she passed on that comfort to others in their season of grief.
As we approach Christmas 2005, my prayer is that we would be a church which lives out the community life that God intended for us to have. Some of us will have a challenging Christmas season due to the loss of loved ones or distance from those we love. May God minister to us this Christmas as we celebrate the baby Jesus who was named "'Immanuel' - which means 'God with us'" (Matt 1:23)
-Pastor Rick
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