The year was 1989 and Anthrax was on tour in the U.K. promoting the release of their album, Among the Living. I was only 4 years old and on Friday nights, my parents would head out leaving my brother, Meme (19) and I alone to claim the living room as our personal stage.

Meme had purchased the exclusive Among the Living VHS package and our night consisted of him turning into Charlie Benante (drummer) and me becoming Scott Ian (rhythm guitarist). Together we would head-bang until the lights of our parents 1993 Dodge Caravan would flash through the front windows of our house.

Meme and I have always been close. But in recent years, after finishing college and maturing a bit, I like to believe I have finally caught up.

A Funeral and Need

Our Tia Maria passed away over a year ago and it was quite difficult for our family. It felt all of the sudden and as a way of coping with her loss, I think everyone made great effort through hospitality and finances in effort to comfort one another.

Meme and my parents had gone to Mexico and the funeral to be of help and extend care for our family. After the funeral, Meme was showing me pictures of our cousins, catching me up on their lives, and relaying messages of how much they missed us.

As Meme was telling me some of the running jokes and serious moments, he began crying. It wasn't necessarily the death of our Tia, though tragic, but the emotional absence in our Tio Rolando, Tia's husband, and I believe what tore my brother up the most was knowing he couldn't physically help him; his heart was broken.

The Gospel in Comfort

I could have shared a bible verse dealing with comfort or offered an analogy on defining that Tio was simply in shock. But that wasn't the point.

My big brother needed me. He needed me to cry with him because his heart was hurting and the only extension of the gospel that I could offer was to mourn and grieve with him.

The point of the gospel is not only to proclaim that because of Jesus we are forgiven, but also that through Jesus we are given comfort because He can relate (John 11).