One part of our church vision here at St Mark’s is for every person to be mature in Christ. This includes practically caring for each other in times of sickness. We have had a lot of people seriously ill in the last 6 months, so I wanted to share with you some ways you can help. The first thing is to pray. James tells us that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Pray on your own, pray over the phone, pray in person with your sick brother or sister. Pray, pray pray!
The second thing is to not leave pastoral care to the professionals. Some churches see pastoral care as the minister’s special role, which is not right or possible– it is the role of all of us (Rom 12:12). God has given his Spirit to all of us for the building up of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:7). When Timothy had meningitis I walked out of the hospital and bumped into a doctor I knew from St Matthias. When he asked why I was at the hospital I became a blubbering mess. He prayed with me then and there and he was like an angel from God– I felt so much better after praying and talking with him. He was not a minister!
A Bible verse I always remember when someone is sick is Romans 12:15- “rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with those who mourn”. We are brothers and sisters, we are part of the same body. When one part hurts, so should the rest of the body, and as a spin off- this can be a great comfort. Take time to listen and learn (you can never understand what someone else is going through, but you can learn). Learn to cry, and signify through words or gesture, that you are with them- a hand on the shoulder, a prayer, a meal dropped over, an email with something you learnt from the sermon they missed etc. These are all great ways to help.
Love can be expressed through words ( whether a card, an SMS to say “I’m praying for you”, or even an email). It can be expressed by time spent– sitting down and having a cup of tea. It can be expressed through gifts, acts of service or touch. As we seek to be mature in Christ, let’s take the opportunities around us to care for those who are sick.

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