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The Gift of Silence
In the movie, Mass Appeal, a young priest is visiting with a young woman who has just delivered a still-born child. She is devastated with grief and comes to the church to seek the support of her priest who says to her, "It is God's will; besides, you are very young, you can have lots of babies."
Later the young priest is confronted by his assistant about his careless and inappropriate statement to which the priest says, "When you don't know what to say, you just say something stupid."
Although they may not fall into the "stupid category," these are some of the statements that I hear from time to time when a person dies:
Only the good die young.
God must have wanted another angel.
It is God's will.
Don't grieve, they are in a far better place.
God wanted her more than we did.
They needed a fourth for bridge in heaven.
Death is a great mystery... sometimes when you don't know what to say, silence is best. Our presence, rather than our words, is our greatest gift to those who are walking through the "valley of the shadow of death." May God embrace each of you who mourns.
In faith,
Pastor Tim
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