Daily Worship

Bless the Mourners

Norah Summers September 05, 2016 0 0

Isaiah 61:1-3

The Good News of Deliverance

61 The Sovereign Lord has filled me with his Spirit.
He has chosen me and sent me
To bring good news to the poor,
To heal the broken-hearted,
To announce release to captives
And freedom to those in prison.
2 He has sent me to proclaim
That the time has come
When the Lord will save his people
And defeat their enemies.
He has sent me to comfort all who mourn,
3 To give to those who mourn in Zion
Joy and gladness instead of grief,
A song of praise instead of sorrow.
They will be like trees
That the Lord himself has planted.
They will all do what is right,
And God will be praised for what he has done.

Death, loss, bereavement, come in many forms, 
and so do our reactions and ways of dealing with the pain.

Today, loving God, 
I bring you some stories.

It’s not that you need to be told, 
but that I need to be telling
these stories that are on my heart.

My newspaper had three stories on the same day.

A woman who had a painful experience of divorce found little help available. 
She set up a network where people could share and help each other.

A woman whose father had lost his sight when she was a child 
wrote movingly of her experience of his loss, 
and her later deeper understanding of its effect on him and on her.

A couple who had been victims of a financial scam 
spoke of the devastation of their lives, 
and wanted to prevent others from suffering this loss.

All these stories, Lord,
all speak of people 
turning their own experience of loss
into comfort for others.

Give us grace, Lord,
to accept the surprising ways 
in which you bless the mourners.