Someone Loved is Gone 2-4-2012

The air of sorrowful anticipation was extremely thick as a team of broken hearts assembled. Almost every chair circling the perimeter of their conference room and around their large conference table was occupied; except for one ... one "out-of-place" empty, wooden, kitchen chair. Empty and so awkward amidst the plush conference room chairs. Before the meeting was through, other chairs in the tear stained room would become empty as brokenhearted members would follow their personal paths of grief; but that chair would ever be etched into my memory of broken dreams. I began by not liking “that empty chair”, but each day to follow, that empty chair would speak a message of brokenness deeper and deeper into my soul. That empty chair would challenge me to live more aware of others and to love them more deeply. That awkwardly empty chair would whisper to my soul the significance of others in the eyes of their Creator and Savior: Jesus Christ and cause me to openly appreciate them.

Bear with me as I draw some parallels from the tremors caused in my heart to the testimony and comfort of God's Word found in Mark 14:3-9...

"And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? She hath wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always. She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her."

• Jesus was in Bethany (the House of Misery, the house of a Leper) – "A man of sorrows, acquainted with grief" Isaiah 53:3 … He positions Himself (in our deepest darkest irrational moments) to love us.
• The woman knew she could break and pour out precious ointment ... “on Him”.
Dreadfully inconsiderate criticism would be murmured and she would be verbally beaten. - If you don't understand someone's brokenness, "shut up", and quietly break with them.
• Jesus defends the brokenhearted - “Let her alone!” she has broken “on Me”.
• "She hath done what she could" ... it made no sense to the onlookers, but it made sense to Jesus. Oh if only we could leave it there; if only we could trust him with the deepest, darkest secret wounds, fears, and pain we carry. No strength left, the fight was over...rest in Him.
• Jesus takes ownership of our brokenness ... somehow He mystically mingles our suffering with His own. That is why we can cast all our “cares” on him, because He truly cares for us.

The disconnected cried, "Who was this waste of ointment for?" and continued the suffering.
Jesus said "It was poured out on Me" ... to mingle with His suffering.
The Broken will cry "pour it with me" ... that we may trust you, Jesus, with our suffering too.

I will be OK with the empty chair, Jesus, as long as I remember that You were there. Though the chair will bring tears to my eyes, I will trust that you will hold my tears as precious until with you I reside.

HLFA,

Jeff