O Comfort My People

READING 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Praised be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation! He comforts us in all our afflictions and thus enables us to comfort those who are in trouble, with the same consolation we have received from him.

I had the privilege of presiding at a wake service this afternoon. I always view these events as a privilege. This is the time when people are most vulnerable. Many are dealing with questions and issues they will never have the answer to. Why did this happen? How could this happen? How can I go on? What about this sad and empty feeling, how do I deal with it? Our faith gives us hope, but that hope cannot be realized if we are not comforted first, and so there is the privilege. It is our role, as followers of Christ, to be His compassion. To comfort his people as best we can. 

Most times I do not know the family or the deceased, especially now in a new parish. I really have no way of knowing how this death is affecting the people I am speaking to. So I make sure to offer the prayer service as if I was speaking to my own family. After all, they are my family in Christ. I make sure not to try to take the hurt, the loneliness, the sadness, the trouble away. Only God can do that. What I can offer is the hope that the prayer service and my words have offered some comfort in this trying time. Since all I can really do is comfort His people.