Simply Be Present

We find the shortest verse in the Bible in John 11, “Jesus wept.”

Break Open by Rev. Lisle Gwynn Garrity, A Sanctified Art

When faced with the death of his friend, Jesus wept. Author Debi Thomas writes, “Through his tears, Jesus calls all of us into the holy vocation of empathy, co-suffering, and lamentation.”

It’s the very thing Job’s friends do.

The character of Job has faced a series of tremendous losses: his livestock are stolen; the people working for him are murdered; his children died after wind destroyed their house; his skin is plagued.

Not surprisingly, Job is deeply grieved.

His friends hear all that had happened, and they immediately make their way to Job.

When they arrive, Job is in such bad shape that they don’t even recognize him. Before they’ve even reached Job, they do the only thing that makes sense for them to do. They join Job in his grief.

They raise their voices and weep aloud.

They tear their robes and throw dust in the air upon their heads.

Then, they sit on the ground with Job for seven days. And no one speaks a word.

It’s the practice of sitting shiva. In Jewish tradition, a funeral is typically three days after death and it marks the beginning of a 7-day mourning period, where the grieving person stays home, often seated on a low stool, a physical reminder that they are feeling low, and friends and family come to visit.

For seven days, friends simply sit with the one grieving, sharing their loss and honoring the memory of the deceased.

In the following chapters, his friends will spend hours and days trying to explain his suffering, offering their own ideas about who God is and why Job must be enduring such suffering.

But before they fail miserably, they do the right thing. They show up. They sit on the ground next to Job. They don’t say a word, because they can see and feel the great depth of his suffering.

Even if it is just for a moment, they are willing to look Job’s suffering square in the face and simply be present.

It’s sacred. It’s incarnational.

It’s what God does. God says unambiguously, “I am with.” Behold, my dwelling is among you. I have moved into the neighborhood. I will be with you always. My name is Emmanuel, God with us.

Grace and peace, Kimmy