Pastoring the dying and the mourning is challenging, sobering, and rewarding. People need hope, support, and love to get through these crises. The initial shock of a terminal illness or death cries out for pastoral help in working through grief biblically, making difficult decisions, planning funeral services, repairing brokenness, and addressing guilt. Furthermore, dying and mourning saints have a claim on our compassion for Christ’s sake (Matthew 25:40 see also John 11:33-36).ĭeath is so final, so irreversible, that the dying and the mourning need pastoral care perhaps more at this time than at any other in life. Caring for those who suffer promotes the unity of the body of Christ and fosters the communion of saints. Paul teaches us that when one member of Christ’s body suffers, “all the members suffer with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26). Likewise, caring for the dying and the mourning is the pastor’s loving duty. Several geese stayed with the injured bird in dutiful care for their wounded friend. Every morning, in recent weeks, my wife and I walked past an injured Canada goose, whose feathers stuck out in several directions.
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