The Dark Side of the Holidays

Soon afterward he went to a city called Na'in, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large crowd from the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." And he came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all; and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us!" and "God has visited his people!" And this report concerning him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country. [Luke 7:11-17]

Sometimes in the midst of the holiday season when we are among our family and friends we forget that there is tragedy around us. I learned today that a very dear friend and brother in the Lord, Jim Mabery, was killed in a car accident in Tennessee. His wife, Charlotte, is in critical condition in a hospital. Jim was one of those mentors in my early years. He was an evangalist, preacher, teacher, missionary and spiritual father to many of us. He will be missed.

I was touched by an 84 year old widow the other day. She lost her husband a few years ago. They had no children. The sense of loneliness and despair in her life was so great. I tried to share some blessings with her. It reminded me how when Jesus walked on this earth that he was one who had "compassion" for those who suffered loss. I doubt that Jesus had planned to raise someone from the dead that day when he traveled to Nain. I suspect that the miracle of resurrection, which pointed to his ministry as a prophet, was borne of his compassion for this widow whom he bumped into that day. When the rabbi "touched the bier" he was making himself "unclean". God does not mind getting his hands dirty when it comes to helping those who are in need. I love this story because it takes into account the dark side of the human soul. It says that even in the midst of the greatest loss, God is there.

I have to remind myself that during this season of catchy tunes and easy answers that there are those around us who are suffering. Our mission in life is to minister to those who are in need. I am not sure that our church life prepares us very well for the dark nights. Sometimes we have to discover for ourselves that we worship Him not because of our circumstances, but in spite of them. There was a sixteenth century Spanish monk known as St. John of the Cross. He was persecuted and thrown into prison because of his faith. He wrote a classic book known as The Dark Night of the Soul. In it he writes:
"O you souls who wish to go on with so much safety and consolation, if you knew how pleasing to God is suffering, and how much it helps in acquiring other good things, you would never seek consolation in anything; but you would rather look upon it as a great happiness to bear the Cross of the Lord."

His point is that faith becomes strongest when we are without consolation and we walk into the darkness with complete abandon. Faith is not really faith if we always heard the voice of God cheering us on and telling us what to do at every step. This is what made Abram so special in God's sight. God asked him to do something. Pick up everything you own, leave your family and go into a foreign country that God would show him. God's call to Abram is really the same call each of us hears today. When you answer that call, God will bless you. He will change you, give you a new name [Abraham] and bless you because of your faith.

I pray that each of us will increase our faith by reaching out to those who are in need during this holiday season.