1 Chronicles 7:20-29: a reflection

20The sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, 21Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, Ezer, and Elead, whom the men of Gath who were born in the land killed, because they came down to take away their livestock. 22Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him. 23He went in to his wife, and she conceived and bore a son, and he named him Beriah, because there was trouble with his house. 24His daughter was Sheerah, who built Beth Horon the lower and the upper, and Uzzen Sheerah. 25Rephah was his son, Resheph his son, Telah his son, Tahan his son, 26Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, 27Nun his son, and Joshua his son. 28Their possessions and settlements were Bethel and its towns, and eastward Naaran, and westward Gezer with its towns; Shechem also and its towns, to Azzah and its towns; 29and by the borders of the children of Manasseh, Beth Shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns, and Dor and its towns. The children of Joseph the son of Israel lived in these.

Amid the genealogy of Ephraim comes a poignant human story. Some of Ephraim's sons are killed in a raid, and their father Ephraim mourns many days. But he is not left alone in his grief: his brothers came to comfort him. And in time, after his grief, new life comes: he goes to his wife, and she conceives and bears a son. Grief, comfort, and then, in time, new life; the arc of sorrow does not end in sorrow, but moves through comfort toward new life.

Notice the movement of the story. First, real grief: Ephraim mourned many days over his sons, a genuine, deep sorrow. Then, comfort: his brothers came to be with him in his grief, not leaving him alone. And finally, new life: in time, after the mourning, a son was born. The passage does not skip the grief, nor does it leave Ephraim in it forever; it moves through sorrow, comfort, and toward new life.

That arc offers hope to those who grieve. Grief is real and deep, and God does not ask us to pretend otherwise; Ephraim mourned many days. But grief is not meant to be borne alone, comfort comes through others who come to be with us; and grief, in God's mercy, is not the end, in time, new life and hope can come. If you are grieving, do not despise your grief or bear it alone. Let others comfort you, as Ephraim's brothers comforted him. And hold onto the hope that grief is not the final word; God can bring, in his time, comfort and new life beyond the sorrow. The arc of sorrow, in God's mercy, moves through comfort toward new life.

Lord, when Ephraim mourned his sons for many days, his brothers came to comfort him, and in time, after his grief, new life came in a son born to him. Give me hope in that arc. Grief is real and deep, and you do not ask me to pretend otherwise. But help me not to bear my grief alone; let others comfort me, as Ephraim's brothers comforted him, and make me a comfort to others in theirs. And hold before me the hope that grief is not the final word, that you can bring, in your time, comfort and new life beyond the sorrow. When I grieve, help me not to despise my grief or carry it alone, but to receive comfort and to trust that you move the arc of sorrow, in your mercy, through comfort toward new life. Bring new life beyond my grief, Lord.