Good morning…
Fires and floods. Earthquakes and wars. Disease, division, and death around the globe. Closer to home, our nearby neighbors face poverty, hunger, and homelessness. In our own families, we struggle with divorce, depression, and debilitating addiction.
In recent days, it feels like hard things are happening everywhere. What do we do with all this pain?
Henri Nouwen has a suggestion.
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Fellowship Of The Broken by Henri Nouwen, from Life of the Beloved
Let us not underestimate how hard it is to be compassionate. Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to the place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, and broken. But this is not our spontaneous response to suffering. What we desire most is to do away with suffering by fleeing from it or finding a quick cure for it. As busy, active, relevant [people], we want to earn our bread by making a real contribution. This means first and foremost doing something to show that our presence makes a difference. And so we ignore our greatest gift, which is our ability to enter into solidarity with those who suffer. . .
Those who can sit with their fellow man, not knowing what to say but knowing that they should be there, can bring new life into a dying heart. Those who are not afraid to hold a hand in gratitude, to shed tears of grief, and to let a sigh of distress arise straight from the heart can break through paralyzing boundaries and witness the birth of a new fellowship, the fellowship of the broken.
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From miles away, might we step into solidarity with those who suffer, holding a hand through the mysterious power of prayer? In our homes and neighborhoods, we can sit with loved ones, not knowing what to say but knowing that we can go to places of weakness, vulnerability, and loneliness. Tears of grief and words of gratitude quietly rise up from our hurting hearts. As we break through paralyzing boundaries that keep us safely separated, we witness the birth of a new fellowship, the fellowship of the broken.
When someone is hurting or brokenhearted, the Eternal moves in close and revives him in his pain (Psalm 34:18, VOICE).
Sometimes the Eternal uses us to move in close, to sit awhile, to revive the broken in their suffering.
…Sue…
