Pastoral Thought--February 24

Who do you talk to, or who do you approach, when there is a tremendous pain in your life? 

This is both a theological and sociological question to consider. Likewise, it is also a hard question to answer concisely because there is no formula that we can rely upon in those moments fully. Sometimes the person (or persons) who we trust the most are unable to be present with us in a meaningful way in our time of need. It is not that they do not love us or support us, but somehow we feel that they do not understand—or worse—that they cannot understand us. 

So we remain silent. . . distant. . . alone. . . and we suffer. . . And yet what I believe we need the most in those moments is community and not isolation.

When we consider that question, I wonder if God intended it to be this way? I wonder if when God placed humanity in the Garden of Eden that we were intended to be alone when we suffer? Of course I am being a bit sarcastic. But do we not practice this posture often? We think that "No one understands my tremendous pain.” Therefore that pain is not shared and we remain isolated. The pain has nowhere to go but deeper into our hearts and poisoning our souls all the more. We isolate. We retreat from community. And again, this is not how God created us to live and work together. 

I once read the following story that I want to share with you: 

There was once a local church where God was active and at work. The church prospered. Membership grew and the leaders felt blessed by the scope of ministry. As the cliche goes, all was well from 10,000 feet, but something was wrong in the church that no one knew. 

Each week the person responsible for counting the money at the church was skimming off the top. They pocketed $20 here and $10 there because their family was struggling financially. One of the members of the family lost their job so providing food was becoming harder and harder each month. In desperation this individual turned to the church and saw an opportunity. Who would ever notice a few dollars each week missing when there were thousands in each week’s collection plate? . . . (Now I am not condoning this behavior, stay with the story). 

The individual responsible kept a close record of their actions and planned to repay the church when they got back on their feet. One day a job would come and they could repay the money they took a little faster than when they took it. But that day did not come. . . weeks became months. . . months turned into years. The book where this person kept their records grew and grew and so did their anxiety. 

Finally in a moment of desperation they took a little more money. Crossing state lines they went to a casino. The plan was to parlay the money they took into a series of "fast win.” They could pay the money back quicker if they won thousands of dollars playing cards and the slot machines. But casinos are successful for a reason—you don’t often win large sums of money there. 

This person lost more money. . . a lot more money. 

Week after week they took more money from their church and week after week they lost all of it. Of course there were 'little wins’ here and there. But not enough to fix the problem or stem the tide. Week after week the hole became bigger. Hundred of dollars that they were skimmed became thousands. . . then it became tens of thousands. . . ultimately it turned into hundreds of thousands. This was a problem of desperation and the story does not have a happy ending.  

But let’s suspend judgment for a moment about this person. I don’t want to comment on them personally. Instead their question makes we wonder: What would have happened if this person went to their local community, to their friends, their church they day that times became too hard and they were honest? What would have happened if they just asked for help and trusted the people who they love to help them? 

I have been desperate before as I know that you have as well. We have all been there. What keeps us from turning to each other, being honest, and caring? 

Who do we turn to in our time of tremendous pain? It could be the Body of Christ. . . 

Blessings 

Rev. Derek