Suffering

Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.  So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”  He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” Luke 10:30-37

On the evening of March 14 I scanned the Facebook news feed and found tragedy. Tragedy mostly in catastrophic flooding, but also those who had lost loved ones, a little girl fighting cancer, adults fighting illnesses. It left me with a feeling of sadness and empathy as well as gratefulness that I was spared from these situations. In fact, the gratefulness with tinged with guilt, as so many in our state were suffering from the effects of severe weather…and not even a corner of my basement was wet. I thought: how can I help those who are suffering?

In our Lenten study earlier in the week “Crossbound”, we discussed suffering for others and doing what we can to help others, instead of focusing on ourselves. I shared with the group an article I had read that weekend, with one quote standing out: “Make a commitment to something greater than your own self-interests. If we all did that, we would make a huge difference in our country—and our world”.*

Sometimes it’s hard to see beyond our own worries. When we do step outside our own personal world and reach out to help others, God reminds us that it brings a sense of peace. It feels good to serve others, and we're obedient to His word as well. However, sometimes our own tragedies are overwhelming…in those instances, perhaps someone will reach out to us. And if not, God is there for us to call on.

Prayer: Lord, help us see those who are suffering in our midst. Give us courage to reach out in ways we can, and give us courage to reach out to you when we're feeling overwhelmed. Amen.

*Elizabeth McLellan, founder of Partners for World Health, in an interview in the April 2019 Oprah magazine.

Donna Gustafson