Healing and Violence

Wall hanging at Amani ya Juu - Nairobi, Kenya

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Matthew 5:9 King James Version

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  

Philippians 4:7 King James Version

We live in a violent world that is awaiting the Prince of Peace - Peace that comes from outside of our ideas, policies and medical care.  That is the good news of healing in a violent world!   

I once heard the definition of “hero” as that person who provides safe spaces.  He/she brings calm, perspective and action to the chaos that is a part of the violence that surrounds us.  We have seen that in tragedies and in places like Amani ya Juu.

There is another critical component of that Peace, Justice.   These two ideas, “Peace” and “Justice” are found in the Hebrew word “Shalom”.  The Prince of Peace is that wonderful gift, Shalom, to a world in chaos.

To build His Kingdom, we need to be those Jesus followers who build those safe  and just spaces.   We need to find and see again the healing found in the  “Shalom of this Season”.  

Marvin 

References

http://www.amaniafrica.org/
Post January 23, 2011, Peace from Above

A Royal Birth

Tenwek Hospital, Kenya

And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. 

Luke 9:2 King James Version

Once in royal Davids city,

Stood a lowly cattle shed,

Where a mother laid her Baby,

In a manger for His bed:

Mary was that mother mild,

Jesus Christ, her little Child.

“Once in Royal Davids City” - First verse, Christmas Carol

Lyrics C.F. Alexander  Music H.J. Gauntlett

There is nothing like a the excitement of a royal birth and how appropriate at this time of the year.   Let me share another recent great birth story.

It was the first part of this year(2012) while at Tenwek Hospital in Kenya that an abandoned term infant was brought to the nursery.   He was in a very tenuous state of health and named, Daniel, by the nurses who knew he would need to be strong to survive.  A few days later, it was discovered that he had been named Emmanuel by the police who had found him.   The resulting name was Emmanuel Daniel.  With a lot of love and care Emmanuel Daniel was nurtured back to health.   

This Christmas we celebrate the surprise and joy of a Royal Birth.  The surprise is that God appears to the poor disenfranchised world and provides a new definition of Royalty and Kingdom that is still in the making.  His Emmanuel’s birth is more like the reality of birth in the world in places like Kenya.   

May the blessings and surprise of this Royal Christmas birth be with you this year.

Marvin

References

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50136350n

http://www.tenwek.org

http://healingagents.blogspot.com/

Post December 12, 2011, Emmanuel

Post December 2, 2012, Awaiting “Good News”

Awaiting "Good News"

God, my shepherd!

    I don’t need a thing.

You have bedded me down in lush meadows,

    you find me quiet pools to drink from.

True to your word,

    you let me catch my breath

    and send me in the right direction.

Even when the way goes through

    Death Valley,

I’m not afraid

    when you walk at my side.

Your trusty shepherd’s crook

    makes me feel secure.

You serve me a six-course dinner

    right in front of my enemies.

You revive my drooping head;

    my cup brims with blessing.

Your beauty and love chase after me

    every day of my life.

I’m back home in the house of God

    for the rest of my life.

Psalm 23 (The Message)

At this time of Advent in the church calendar, we are awaiting the “good news”.  It is what we all want to receive.  Sometimes in our lives, hearing “good news” seems more important particularly when our lives are challenged  by suffering and loss.   

Professionally, I have been interested in how physicians communicated “bad news”.  It is a common problem for physicians.   We have largely seen this communication problem from the perspective of the “giver” of the bad news.

We also have the opportunity to be a vehicles for the “good news”.   I have seen it in the concern and radical love of those who provide the care that is more than their technical skills.  We can be part of that unexpected intrusion in our lives by a God who has promised to be with us even when we together with our patients face “bad news”.  What we know is that when God intervenes in our lives it is always “good news”... like that first Christmas when God surprises us with new life.

Thanks be to God for the “good news” of this season when we celebrate God’s greatest “Good News”, Emmanuel.

Marvin

References:

http://www.worldcat.org/title/when-the-bough-breaks-the-blalocks-story/oclc/28392673

Previous Blog Post, Emmanuel, 12/18/2011

Healing Communities - "For the Greater Glory of God"

"Running Water" in Nicaragua from “Called to Life”

The poor in spirit see and are glad

Oh, you God-seekers, take heart!

For God listens to the poor,

He doesn’t walk out on the wretched.

You heavens, praise him; praise him, earth;

Also ocean and all things that swim in it.

Psalm 69: 32-34 The Message

"Community" usually has a small definition.  Our circle of church family, friends and relatives were defined by a 25 mile radius.  We got our news locally as well as our care.   We still see the value of small and close communities, but are now blessed with global relationships and connections.

Here are some recent observations about our expanded healing communities:

1. The church and faith are global and the context of healing.
2. Those who suffer bring a powerful voice of comfort and courage.
3. Healing is learned best from those with longterm struggles.
4. Their struggles are our struggles and our struggles are their struggles.

So the good news for our struggles in “developed” countries, is that our healing can come from places that we never expected.  Their faith is a testimony to our God who is bigger than our expectations or struggles!

Marvin

References

http://calledtolife.net/what-if-this-is-how-you-got-your-water/

"For the Greater Glory of God" - "Ad maiorem Dei gloriam” - Motto at Georgetown University

Bono’s visit to Georgetown on 11/12/2012

     Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CQpII9d2IY

     Complete version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUZFgBqcYt8

HIPPA and Healing

"Mountain Home”  -  ETSU - October 21, 2012

Jesus said, “Go home to your own people. Tell them your story—what the Master did, how he had mercy on you.” The man went back and began to preach in the Ten Towns area about what Jesus had done for him. He was the talk of the town.  

Mark 5:18-20 The Message

We get some mixed messages when facing disease...”telling & sharing” or “privacy”.   In the United States, we have “legalized” our privacy...”HIPPA”.   In its simplest form, it is about the management of our health information.  The other reality is that our communities are keys to our healing and we can use computer communication to share information on sites like “CarePages”.   

Certainly, churches and church families regularly pray for and with patients who are part of their congregations.  I think we need to be clear about how our faith communities can be part of the healing response.  Susan Dunlap reveals the different styles and looks for the common themes.   Most important is God’s presence in the our lives.  Our faith stories are not just stories of our struggles, but testimonies of God’s healing.  These cyber-communities are our new reality of sharing and reporting God’s Grace!  

Marvin

References:

Rev. Will Willimon,  Jesus’ Health Care Plan

http://podbay.fm/show/261879191/e/1282858380?autostart=1

https://www.carepages.com/

Susan J. Dunlap Caring Cultures: How Congregations Respond to the Sick

Ziebland S.  Wyke S. Health and illness in a connected world: how might sharing experiences on the internet affect people's health?. Milbank Quarterly.  90(2):219-49, 2012 Jun

Rev. John Hage, A Love That Won’t Let You GO, 10/28/2012

http://mppc.net/410623.ihtml

God's Grace

"Hey, I'm Dan and I hear you guys need a ride,"

Dan Todd, Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer

It is not easy to write about “God’s Grace” in the face of disasters and loss.  It is certainly not the words that I hear on the news reports covering Hurricane Sandy.

Despite that reality, I have seen God’s grace in the concerns expressed and organized by and in caring communities.  It happens by preparation, rescue and recovery.  Those realities also occur in our personal lives when we are threatened by “storms” that we name as diseases that profoundly change our ordered and ordinary lives.  

So here is how I would describe God’s grace.  It is that “extraordinary” reality that we see when God intervenes.  It is not about the disaster or disease, it is about the responses we see in the community of faith and those organizations that are the healing agents.  Help us to see the reality of God’s healing and blessings in our communities and our lives even during life’s storms.

Marvin

References

See message by Rev. Ernie Thompson, “Hardships and Blessings”, 10/28/2012 at First Presbyterian Church Wilmington, NC

http://www.firstonthird.org/Sermons/SermonVideos/tabid/189/Default.aspx

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/10/29/173002/tall-ship-lost-1-dead-1-missing.html

Thoughts

“Si on soumet tout à la raison notre religion n'aura rien de mystérieux et de surnaturel. Si on choque les principes de la raison notre religion sera absurde et ridicule.” 

“If we submit everything to reason our religion will be left with nothing mysterious or supernatural. If we offend the principles of reason our religion will be absurd and ridiculous.” (Pensées #173-273)

“Le cœur a ses raisons, que la raison ne connaît point.”

“The heart has its reasons, of which reason itself knows nothing.”

(Pensées #277)  Blaise Pascal(1623-1662)

Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician and philosopher, addresses the assumptions of both his worlds...worlds that seem to exclude each other!   That was a long time ago!  So how are we to address this tension in our world?  Where is the credible and grande “middle” space?  

It is said that French is the language of “Love” or maybe the secret is how it creates that space in our lives.  What is that space like?   What words or behavior convey that sentiment?  There is no question that it is a critical element in our lives.   

I have been the recipient of a “Love”.  It was and is a gift.  It was not words per se, but the lives that have been shared because of a faith.  It was and is a deep connectedness and commitment found in the hearts of others.   Mystery and reason live together in a space created by that “Love”.  There is no conflict, just gratitude!

So in our world of facts and evidence, let us continue to make room for mystery and reason in a space made in and by that “Love”!

Marvin