ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
August 10, 2025
Have you ever noticed that grief is complicated? And it is made more complicated when people approach grief as if it were similar to getting over a cold. Frustration emerges when it appears to be taking too long, as if two days’ rest and some Vitamin C should kick it. Now we are all wired a little differently, and the journey of grief will look different from one person to another. Yet all human beings need to grieve in times of loss, and depending on the loss, it could take a long time, with lots of ups and downs. Part of the challenge is our society’s expectation around grief. It’s often unspoken, but a few weeks after a death, as the world seems to be moving on, there’s an underlying thought that people are thinking, “Get over it!” We wish that a couple of quiet weeks would be all it takes to return to that mythical place we call normal. However, the problem lies in our general discomfort with grief, particularly when it comes to other people’s grief. Our society has become less empathetic, uninterested in making space for other people’s vulnerability. Compassion, friendship, and choosing to walk alongside another human being can be exhausting, yet it also changes both individual lives and communities. There are many things wrong with our current society, but one of them is our shortsighted and callous approach to other people’s pain. To say, “Get over it,” has never helped one person get over it, but it makes clear that we don’t want to hear about it. So in response, people bury their grief and pretend it’s not there. And then we wonder why there are so many unhealthy people who have no capacity for resilience. They’re just broken people living in a society that wants to see only a facade of happiness.
Because our lives are built on love, a gift that comes from you, Generous God, we desire to be people who create circles of friendship and support where those who are grieving feel as if they are heard and understood with compassion. Help us in this important and necessary work. Amen.
