The Awe of Healing

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.                                      Proverbs 1:7 (King James Version)

Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.                                                         Psalms 33:8 (King James Version)

We are witnesses to some wonderful evidence of God’s healing work.  Most of the time we see this evidence as being “overwhelmed” in the context of fear.  It is not the rush of endorphins but a serenely peaceful state that moves us to quietness and stillness....Holy moments of reverence.

These experiences for me have been in the sacramental experiences of birth and death  when I have seen God’s healing work.   Certainly these healing moments occur in other settings, but what seems unusual is how often we don’t have time to sit still, experience and learn.  

A recently overheard “morning intern report” was how the “night team got slammed”!  It is certainly true that there are volume and acuity stresses in this clinical education environment.   What seemed to be missing was that sense of awe as participants and witnesses. 

There are some wonderful exceptions.  The ”Eulogy for their son, Anthony John Verrino”  (2007) is an example of one of those moments of wisdom and reverence shared by his parents.  And in the recent movie, The Tree of Life, we are faced with the complexities and beauty of a healing story.  We need the poets and sages like Thomas Lynch and Terrence Malick to lead us to those places of the awe and healing.   

Marvin