What really counts is that in moments of pain and suffering someone stays with us. More important than any particular action or word of advice is the simple presence of someone who cares.
In a time so filled with methods and techniques designed to change people, to influence their behaviour, and to make them do new things and think new thoughts, we have lost the simple but difficult gift of being present to each other.
We have forgotten that it is often in "useless", unpretentious, humble presence to each other that we feel consolation and comfort. Simply being with someone is difficult because it asks of us that we share in the other's vulnerability ...
These reflections offer only a glimpse of what we mean when we say that God is a God-with-us, a God who came to share our lives in solidarity. It does not mean that God solves our problems, shows us the way out of our confusion, or offers answers for our many questions. He might do all that, but His solidarity consists of the fact that he is willing to enter with us into our problems, confusions and questions.
The mystery of God's love is not that he takes our pains away, but that He first wants to share them with us.
The truly good news is that God is not a distant God, a God to be feared and avoided, a God of revenge, but a God who is moved by our pains and participates in the fullness of the human struggle.
--Henri Nouwen excerpts from Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment