“Everything Happens for a Reason”

It is said at funerals, in hospital hallways and in sympathy cards. Everything happens for a reason. God has a plan. He needed another angel. People say it out of love, wanting to give meaning to something senseless. Sometimes it helps. Often it lands like one more weight on someone already carrying too much.

If you have said these words, you meant them kindly, and so did most people who said them to you. Let's look together at what Jesus said when people brought him news of a disaster. His answer may surprise you. You don't need anyone's permission to grieve without an explanation, inside a church or outside one.

Measured against the center