What Not to Say to Someone in the Hospital
Ministering to the Sick Ministering to the ill allows us to love our neighbours during their moments of deep suffering and, in so doing, to reflect God’s mercy ( Mark 12:31 ; James 5:13–15 ). Despite all its modern trappings, hospital ministry hearkens back to Jesus’s walks among wayward multitudes, when his touch and prayers healed lifelong afflictions ( Matthew 8:2–3 , 14–15 ; 9:20–25 ; 14:35–36 ; Luke 4:40 ; 6:18–19 ). When practised with grace, such visits offer beautiful opportunities for Christian discipleship. Unfortunately, too often awkwardness subverts our efforts to help the sick. To see someone we love struggling shakes our composure. Medical gadgetry seems foreign, and glimpses of mortality unnerve us. In our unease, and in desperation to fix the situation, we may fill the silence with advice or platitudes that discourage those whom we seek to uplift. As both a physician and a friend, I’ve failed miserably in this arena, often saying the wrong thing and witnessing the