Comfort in Numbers

Scripture

2 Corinthians 1:3-7 

 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, ⁴ who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. ⁵ For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. ⁶ If we are being afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation; if we are being consoled, it is for your consolation, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we are also suffering. ⁷ Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our consolation. (NRSV)

Devotion

Earlier this week, someone asked me about what I was doing on Sept. 11, 2001.  I immediately flashed back to being a college freshman.  My first class of the day was just about to start, and classmates and I were idly chatting about the unconfirmed reports of a small crashing into the World Trade Center that some of us had heard on the radio.  Then another student dashed in to say that a jet had just hit the second tower.  We were stunned...but not too stunned for someone to wheel in a TV on a cart. The first images to hit the screen were horrifying.  We were hundreds of miles away from New York, but it felt like we were all in danger.  And as a freshmen living far from home for the first time in my life, many of us didn't know what to do or where to go.

That is when our professor walked in.  Dr. E steadily informed us that he was canceling class so we could go wherever we felt we needed to be..and that he would remain in the classroom with any of us who wanted to be together.  Then he pulled up a chair and sat down. A few commuters left; those of us who lived on campus stayed.  Dr. E stayed with us as towers fell and our world changed forever.  I don't remember him speaking.  His silent presence said enough. 

 I will always be thankful that Dr. E decided to stay with a group of scared college students until our allotted time in the classroom ended.  By being willing to suffer alongside us for those 75 minutes, he brought us comfort and consolation.  He couldn't fix anything or remove all the fear and anguish from our hearts, but his presence did make our shared affliction a little easier to bear.  And I believe that it is God who gave him the strength and inner consolation,to do that quiet yet meaningful work.

This is part of what Paul is getting at in 2 Corinthians: that God not only comforts us but also helps us comfort one another.  That through the power of Holy Spirit, shared pain becomes more bearable.  We don't have to worry about doing the right things or saying the right words.  We simply have to be there for one another. To sit down and stay as the world burns.  If we do our best to be fully present someone (in mind, in body, and in Spirit), then God will work through us to do the rest.

What would it look like if we all did our part to truly be there for one another in times of distress...and if we let others be truly there for us?   How would the world be different?  Things still wouldn't be perfect by any means, but I bet that we would all feel a little less alone and that our woes would feel a lot more manageable

When I think back to September 11, 2001, most of my memories are wrapped in a haze of shock, fear, and anguish.  The moments that stand out vividly are glimpses of my professor's face as he sat with us, the warmth of arms wrapping around me as a couple custodians hugged students in my dorm, and sound of people praying together in the Campus Christian Center that evening.  Of all the things that happened that day, I am glad that those of are the moments I've clung to the most tightly.  For though our joint suffering was great, what I remember most is how God was there to help people console one another.  And if we all could do just a little more of that, then I believe that God will work through us to heal the world.  

 

Prayer

God, you are our Creator, Comforter, and Sustainer.  Help us to be truly present with one another, so that through our joint efforts, you may ease all our afflictions and bring us consolation in our times of distress.  Amen.