Lenten Suffering

So I find myself at the ER with some friends tonight. It seems like an almost fitting end to a bizarre day.

This morning I spent some time with another friend whose mom had been in a pretty serious car accident. She lives in another town, so for a few hours he didn't know what was happening. This afternoon I visited three people from our congregation who have recently experienced time in the hospital, or were still there. Now I am sitting in the waiting room while my other friends are in the back with their baby.

As I sit here and look around at all the other sick people in here waiting to be seen, I am reminded of a principle of ministry I learned a long time ago - sometimes the greatest thing we can do is simply be with people. We can offer them our prayers, and maybe some words of encouragement, but what we really offer them is our friendship and the Presence of Christ among us.

And there is the beauty of Lent. We use this season to remember that Christ came to our world to become one of us and to identify with our suffering, our pain, our anguish. His willingness to come and experience life like us, in turn allows Him the privilege of entering into our suffering with us. He meets us in the midst of our suffering and offers us the ministry of His Presence.

Lenten Blessings