Rejoice and Mourn

We recently went through Romans 12 for our Daily Devotions, which has become a chapter that I’ve been reflecting on for the past couple of months. One verse became a deeper reality today: “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15 NIV).

At 6:45 AM this morning, I got a call from a dear brother whom I’ve known for 10 years, and I immediately felt something was wrong. Any phone call that early in the morning is an urgent call for help and I braced myself for what I would hear. He told me his brother was shot 6 times and that they were in the hospital. All I could say was, “Oh my God, oh my God…” After a prayer over the phone, we rounded up some close friends and made the drive down to the Bay Area to be with him and his family during this time that seemed like a terrible nightmare. We couldn’t do much there in the sterile hallways of the ICU, except to pray and wait. And when the final tragic news came, we mourned with those who mourned…

Across the Bay, this day was also a day of rejoicing with a wedding celebration and all the festivities that many were rejoicing over. Pastor Ed Kang, immediately after officiating the wedding, drove over to the hospital to be with the bereaving family. The full spectrum of emotions and expressions of love within one short day: Rejoicing with those who rejoice, mourning with those who mourn. Such is the calling of a pastor on a Saturday in this broken and frail world where we are called to love with the love of Christ…