Healing Ebola

So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.

Numbers 21:9 (NIV)

“ Then to love the sick, each and all of them, more than if my own body were at stake.”

Paracelsus (1493–1541)

Just listen to the first person report of the care being provided!  Can you believe the courage it takes!   Physicians and nurses tell stories that help us to hear and see the reality of our fears and those of our patients.  We have the wonderful opportunity to be part of those stories.

We need to continue to look carefully for cures and methods of prevention for all those at risk.  But just as important, we need to pray for courage and relief from the fear that would paralyze all our efforts.   Thanks be to God for the healing agents who have given their lives caring for the most vulnerable.

Marvin

References:

The Oath of Paraselsus Retrieved from http://weeksmd.com/2009/08/the-oath-of-paracelsus/

StoryCorps report that aired on NPR on October 10, 2014  Retrieved from

http://www.npr.org/2014/10/10/354888965/when-holding-an-orphaned-baby-can-mean-contracting-ebola

Hage, M. L. (2012). God’s Grace. Retrieved from http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2012/10/gods-grace.html

Hage, M. L. (2011). Good Courage and Healing. Retrieved from http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2011/05/good-courage-and-healing.html

Humor and Healing

A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.

Proverbs 17:22 The Message (MSG)

It was an unplanned event, but we did get to attend the local university’s performance of Moliere’s The Doctor In Spite of Himself.  This performance was a 21st century adaptation of a 17th century farce on the foibles of medicine.  It is hard to fine any humor in medicine, so this was a welcomed critique.  One of Moliere’s famous quotes is:  “As the purpose of comedy is to correct the vices of men, I see no reason why anyone should be exempt.”

I was reminded of the medical student shows “roasting” their professors and the first modern exploration of the healing power of laughter, Norman Cousin’s The Anatomy of an Illness. (1979)  This remarkable work taught us the value of comedy in medicine.  Later we were entertained by the true story of Dr. Patch Adams (1998) and his practice of healing humor.  But for Moliere, the purpose of the comedy was critique and a mirror on the deceit and pretention of the medical profession.

So let us continue to laugh at ourselves and find again the joy of medicine…it is a biblical prescription!

Marvin

References:

Retrieved from http://www.online-literature.com/moliere/

Willms, J. L. (1999). A Doctor in Spite of Himself. Retrieved from http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/Annotation?action=view&annid=1503

Cousins, N. (1983). Anatomy of an Illness. Bantam Doubleday Dell.

M.D, P. A. (1998). Gesundheit!: Bringing Good Health to You, the Medical System, and Society through Physician Service, Complementary Therapies, Humor, and Joy (Revised ed.). Healing Arts Press.

Healing Q&A

Therefore 

if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, 

if any comfort from his love, 

if any common sharing in the Spirit, 

if any tenderness and compassion, 

then make my joy complete

 by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.

Philippians 2:1-2 (NIV)

If you have had a recent interaction with the healthcare system, you may have experienced an encounter where you respond by filling out a survey, providing a list of medications and/or helping someone “filling in” a computer screen.  One question you may have to respond to is “Do you have any health beliefs that may interfere with your health care?”  

I need to confess that I have been part of this reality that can ask the wrong question as well as hide physicians (and others) behind the technology.   What if the technology helped us ask “better questions” or helped us “listen better” to the answers? 

We know that the patient’s story and it’s telling is a primary care response.  What we also know is that our faith communities help us all to tell our stories and can be a community that listens.  It is a place where we can ask the healing questions and provide that primary care that is too easily lost in our anonymous and lonely planet.

What if the questions were, “Is your faith important for us to understand during your treatment?” or “Will your faith community be part of your care?”.   What if the answer was that your church is a critical part of your care and your healing faith?

Marvin

References:

Hage, M. L., & Brouwer, D. (2013). Becoming a (Healing) Agent of Jesus. Retrieved from http://www.dougsblog.org/2013/01/

Shuman, J., & Volck, B. M. D. (2006). Reclaiming the Body: Christians and the Faithful Use of Modern Medicine (The Christian Practice of Everyday Life) (1 ed.). Brazos Press

Koenig HG. The spiritual history. Southern Medical Journal.  99(10):1159-60, 2006 Oct

Mueller PS.  Plevak DJ.  Rummans TA. Religious involvement, spirituality, and medicine: implications for clinical practice. [Review] [147 refs] Mayo Clinic Proceedings.  76(12):1225-35, 2001 Dec.

The Arc of Healing

“A New Day Promise” at Lake Michigan

I have set my rainbow in the clouds, 

and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.  

Genesis 9:13 New International Version (NIV)

“It is a strange glory, the glory of this God.” — 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, London Sermon, 1933

It is easy to get caught up in the 24 hour news cycle and recycle that leads us to a belief in the triumph of destruction and suffering in the world!  Can we still believe in the Genesis promise that destruction will not win and that wholeness will prevail?

When I hear the word “healing”, I usually find a deeper and more complex story.  It takes time to listen and understand the nuances.  Many times it is story of forgiveness.  Sometimes it is a story of resistance in the face of evil. 

I recently finished the book by Charles Marsh, Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  It is not just a story his life, but a record of complex events that made his life a testimony to a “strange glory”.  What was central is a deep belief that recognizes the sovereignty of God even in the most difficult times!  What is divine is how his testimony continues to bring healing and  gives us courage to live faithfully in a broken world. 

We can sing along with John McCutcheon “Alleluia, The Great Storm is Over” and claim the promises of a faithful God.

Marvin

References

Marsh, Charles (2014-04-29). Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (p. 2). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

Hage, M. L. (2013). Resistance/Resilience. Retrieved from 

http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2013/08/resistanceresilience.html

http://www.folkmusic.com/lyrics/great-storm-over

Heaven and Healing

“They don’t believe me, do they?  

Colton in “Heaven is for Real”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. 

He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.   John 11:25 (NKJV)

Popular reports of “near death experiences” describe a kind of bliss that reports a profound healing that is named heaven.  How can we understand this depth of of this healing?  

Sometimes words and images fail us and we find an answer in music.  For me, those answers are in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Requiem and in Jonathan Elias’s Prayer Cycle.  When listening to these works, I feel a kind of peace that is mysterious and deep.  There is a reality that is not found in images and words.  It is an awesome experience.

But is that enough, when we are faced with death where the pain is so deep and the circumstances so tragic?  This is where reality challenges our faith.  What sustains me is a community of faith that will sing and recite what we believe together.  It is for me where life is sustained and healing and heaven are found.

Marvin

References

Heaven is for Real: The Motion Picture http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/heavenisforreal/

Andrew Lloyd Webber: Requiem

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/lloyd-webber-requiem/id389885292

Jonathan Elias: Prayer Cycle

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-prayer-cycle/id158477839

Hage, M. L. (2011). The Mystery of Healing. Retrieved from http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2011/04/mystery-of-healing.html

Hage, M. L. (2012). The Awe of Healing. Retrieved from http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2012/01/awe-of-healing.html

The Limits of Healing?

“Tell us please, what treatment in an emergency is administered by ear?"....I met his gaze and I did not blink. "Words of comfort," I said to my father.” 

― Abraham Verghese, Cutting for Stone

Gracious words are a honeycomb,

    sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.  

Proverbs 16:24 (NIV)

In the world of healthcare, we continue to struggle within the limits of science and the reality of disease and suffering.  We all know about death and taxes!

What got me thinking about this dilemma was a recent professional conversation regarding a possible repeat cardiac surgery in a drug addicted patient.  It brought to mind a previous patient’s report from over 20 years ago by Lewis Grizzard in two books, They Tore Out My Heart and Stomped That Sucker Flat  and I Took a Lickin’ and Kept on Ticking (And Now I Believe in Miracles).  The dilemma was the same, but what Lewis Grizzard taught me and what he learned was that although death and suffering are certain, there are other dimensions to our lives that transcend those realities.

Lewis Grizzard died after his fourth heart surgery(1994), but his life and reports still bring healing words to those who suffer and are with them.  The healing continues and I have every reason to believe that will continue.  These are holy words of comfort and healing.

Marvin

References

“Hope” Sculture by Robert Indiana as reported Chicago Tribune November 2, 2011.

Verghese, A. (2010). Cutting for Stone (1st ed.). Vintage Books.

Grizzard, L. (2010). They Tore Out My Heart and Stomped That Sucker Flat. NewSouth Books. Originally published in 1986

Grizzard, Lewis (2011-12-04). I Took a Lickin' and Kept on Ticking (And Now I Believe in Miracles). Green E-Books. Kindle Edition.  Originally published in 1993

Hage, M. L. (2012). Healing Words. Retrieved from http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2012/09/healing-words.html

The Big Why

It was while reading Phillip Yancey’s Where is God When it Hurts?, that my daughter (age 5) quickly said “right here” when asked the difficult question as posed by the title.  Now, Phillip Yancey has another book, The Question That Never Goes Away,  This last book, provides first hand reporting of the mega-disasters of our time as well as his own confrontation with pain and mortality.  

The faithful answers to suffering and evil continue to challenge and paradoxically propel faith into action.  We are called not just to tell the stories, but to be present with those who suffer.  For Christians, we are also called to work for justice and peace.  We believe that God’s love will overcome evil and suffering.  

After a lifetime of experience that includes more than usual amount of suffering. my answer, like my daughters, is still “right here”.  It is not a naive response.  Like Yancey’s recent report, it is a response tested in the reality of a broken world.   It is a question that will continue to test all of us.  May we continue to see the presence of God in our lives and be that presence to those who suffer.  

Marvin

References

Yancey, P. (1977). Where is God When It Hurts? Zondervan Publishing

Yancey, P. (2014). The Question That Never Goes Away. Zondervan.

Hage, M. L. (2011). Mega-disasters. Retrieved from http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2011/03/mega-disasters.html

Hage, M. L. (2012). God’s Grace. Retrieved from http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2012/10/gods-grace.html