It seemed like an ordinary Sunday. I’d been out to visit a friend and returned home to find Jef in the front yard, picking grapes and figs. He came into the house a few minutes later just as the phone rang. After he took the call, that Sunday became stamped on our memories forever.
His mother was on the phone, calling to say that Lisa, his sister, had just died. It had all been horribly sudden: a heart attack at age 53 while she was sitting on the couch in the family home. The shock was overwhelming, and after the call we just sat there, stunned.
Word got out quickly at our church, and before long our neighbors took action. Tricia and Cathy e-mailed to say they would make a meal for us one night to show their sympathy. We’ve helped make mercy meals for others when they were ailing or grieving, but it’s been years since we’ve been on the receiving end.
A day or so after the funeral, we looked out the window at the appointed time and saw the procession heading for our door. There were Tricia and her teenage son, Trey, plus Cathy’s teenage daughter, Hannah. They were toting bowls and trays, and a little vase filled with white roses.
The little crew embraced us with tears in their eyes as they unpacked the goodies. The feast was plentiful -- savory soup, homemade bread and brownies, baked apples, corn fresh from the cob, and even a bottle of red wine.
“Comfort food,” Tricia explained, and then she told us about the hidden ingredient in the meal. She had prayed for us and for the repose of Lisa’s soul as she had stirred the soup and sliced the apples.
After they left, we said the blessing and dug into the feast. It was all delicious, but it was the prayers that really nourished us as they began mending the deep wounds in our hearts.
Of course, we still have a ways to go. After all, there is no instant cure for grief, no overnight remedy when someone you love is taken suddenly by death.
Still, when tragedies strike, what keeps us going as Christians is the knowledge that we are not alone. Some folks convey their love and sympathy with a note in the mail or a hug at church. Others show up at the door with delectable desserts and simmering soups.
In the Old Testament, the psalmist assures us that God’s mercy endures forever. And those who are grieving taste the Lord’s mercy through the efforts of friends who do the simplest things. Bake the brownies, season the soup -- and say the prayers.
Lorraine Murray’s latest book is “Death of a Liturgist,” her second mystery set at a fictional church in Decatur. It can be ordered at local bookstores. Her e-mail address is lorrainevmurray@yahoo.com.
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