don't mix.  Usually the hospital is a place to which a person is brought after becoming the victim of a gun shot.  I don't know that I have ever before heard of a patient being shot and killed while in the hospital.  It happened here...on Saturday.  And the scary thing is that the victim--therefore, also the assailant--was related by marriage to the sister of one of our church members.  My church member is absolutely horrified by what happened.  We have lots of questions but few answers.

What happened and why?  A woman who had been left by other family to care for her terminally ill mother seemed unable to cope with the situation any longer and "snapped," as we say.  Inability to cope, overload of stress, and a general feeling of hopelessness can do bad things to people.  I am not condoning this, but we have to know and understand what happened so that we can begin to figure out what to do.  People need to be able to cope, to get hold of stress, and overcome that feeling of helplessness.  Where are they likely to get that?

I so much want to say, "at church," for that should be the right answer.  Why isn't it?  Does church only add to our stress and our inability to cope?  Is there no awareness of the message of hope which Jesus brought?  Do we emphasize too little the social dimensions of being a Christian and our responsibility to care for one another?  No one is an island unto himself or herself.  We all need each other, and we need the Lord.  Do we live that way?  Or do we attempt to give the impression that we can "take it" or "manage by ourselves?"   The world doesn't want people who are  forever leaning on  others, but the church is definitely "there for" people who need to lean momentarily or for a short period of time.

Jesus said, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.  And ye shall find rest unto your souls, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."  Perhaps we should emphasize this aspect of our faith more.  We should give more to each other who are inside the church, for we have needs just as well as anyone else.

I think an appropriate response here might be for those of us who are in the church to examine ourselves and ask ourselves what we can do to help ease the stress and the load which others are carrying.  But first, we need to know that they are carrying the load.  How can we do that unless we truly know one another?  We need to make friends of our brother and sister Christians in the church.