Absence That Creates Presence

It is good to visit people who are sick, dying, shut in, handicapped, or lonely. But it is also important not to feel guilty when our visits have to be short or can only happen occasionally. Often we are so apologetic about our limitations that our apologies prevent us from really being with the other when we are there. A short time fully present to a sick person is much better than a long time with many explanations of why we are too busy to come more often.

If we are able to be fully present to our friends when we are with them, our absence too will bear many fruits. Our friends will say: "He visited me" or "She visited me," and discover in our absence the lasting grace of our presence.
-- Henri Nouwen

³⁴“Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, my Father has blessed you! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. ³⁵I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me into your home. ³⁶I needed clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you took care of me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
³⁷“Then the people who have God’s approval will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or see you thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you as a stranger and take you into our homes or see you in need of clothes and give you something to wear? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
⁴⁰“The king will answer them, ‘I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you did for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did for me.’
⁴¹“Then the king will say to those on his left, ‘Get away from me! God has cursed you! Go into everlasting fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels! ⁴²I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. ⁴³I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me into your homes. I needed clothes, and you didn’t give me anything to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t take care of me.’
⁴⁴“They, too, will ask, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or as a stranger or in need of clothes or sick or in prison and didn’t help you?’
⁴⁵“He will answer them, ‘I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you failed to do for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you failed to do for me.’
⁴⁶“These people will go away into eternal punishment, but those with God’s approval will go into eternal life.”
-- Matthew 25:34-46 (GWT)

Seeking God's Approval.
Grateful

"Do Not Sin Anymore..."

(1) After this, a Jewish festival took place, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. (2) By the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem there is a pool, called Bethesda in Hebrew, which has five colonnades. (3) Within these lay a multitude of the sick —- blind, lame, and paralyzed —- waiting for the moving of the water, (4) because an angel would go down into the pool from time to time and stir up the water. Then the first one who got in after the water was stirred up recovered from whatever ailment he had. (5) One man was there who had been sick for 38 years. (6) When Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had already been there a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to get well?" (7) "Sir," the sick man answered, "I don't have a man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I'm coming, someone goes down ahead of me." (8) "Get up," Jesus told him, "pick up your bedroll and walk!" (9) Instantly the man got well, picked up his bedroll, and started to walk. Now that day was the Sabbath, (10) so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "This is the Sabbath! It's illegal for you to pick up your bedroll." (11) He replied, "The man who made me well told me, 'Pick up your bedroll and walk.'" (12) "Who is this man who told you, 'Pick up your bedroll and walk?'" they asked. (13) But the man who was cured did not know who it was, because Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. (14) After this, Jesus found him in the temple complex and said to him, "See, you are well. Do not sin any more, so that something worse doesn't happen to you." (15) The man went and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
-- John 5:1-15 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

Holiness Unto The LORD!
Grateful