The Shack by William Paul Young
Week 16: Chapter 16 — A Morning of Sorrows
Read Chapter 16 of The Shack.
Previewing Week 16 of The Shack
Read 3 of 7 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 20-week guide when you’re ready.
Mack is taken to the place where Missy's remains lie, and his grief is fully honored — this chapter is about lament, burial, and the God who does not hurry us past our sorrow.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Papa leads Mack to a cave where Missy's body has been laid — a holy, prepared place. What does it mean that God has been with Missy's remains, tending that place, throughout the years of Mack's not-knowing? How does this image speak to grief that has no resolution in the present life?
2.Mack weeps fully in this scene — and Young shows Papa weeping with him. God is not composed and distant in the face of Mack's grief but fully present and moved. How does the image of a weeping God (echoing John 11 at Lazarus's tomb) shape your understanding of how God relates to your pain?
3.Young does not give Missy back to Mack in this scene — he does not undo the tragedy. What would be lost from the story's message if God simply reversed the loss? Why does Young resist the easy resolution?