Sympathetic Relationships
Dear friends,
It gives me much pleasure to tell you that this has been a great week for healings. I suppose I should say this every week, because this is what the church is all about -- healing. Many years ago when I was a theological student I took a required course called Clinical Pastoral Education. This was a mind blowing and faith stretching semester in a general hospital as a chaplain. Each day we visited patients on the wards and wrote up our reflections on the visits. Of course, the names were changed to protect patient privacy.
One day I rode up on the elevator with a doctor who, after staring at my name tag, said these chilling words: "You know, Chaplain, when a patient dies, I lose and you win." Rather startled, I said "Pardon me?" The doctor responded, "You know what I mean, you usher him victoriously into the next life, and I have to send a bill!" Thankfully, I have known a good many doctors since that visit who hold healthier views on life and death than that bitter fellow.
While there is always a certain amount of sadness at a so called funeral service, we must always remember that the Book of Common Worship does not use the term "funeral," but rather "A Service of Witness to the Resurrection." Although we put our arms around one another and shed many tears, when all is said and done we Christians are victorious at the grave. We know that all too well as we have been celebrating Easter over the past six Sundays.
Having said this, I want to share with you three stories of crisis and the healing. Of course, there are many more such stories otherwise I could not have begun this message by saying "This has been a great week for healings." I share them for your amazement, your encouragement, and to challenge any of my readers that might be tempted to lose faith and hope in God.
The first story comes from the Mars Hill church. A little over two weeks ago Jonathan Hendrix was in a terrible automobile accident. For nearly 2 weeks Jonathan was in a coma, and it looked like there was little hope that he would emerge from it. With great thanksgiving I am happy to report that Jonathan has come out of the coma, "can sit up, and move both his arms and legs. Additionally, he blinks, looks around, can speak a few words very softly and recognizes his family." I am especially happy that Jonathan has been moved to the Shepherd Center. Speaking as a Shepherd alumnus, I know that he will receive great care and will make good progress. Apparently, Jonathan has progressed well beyond his doctors' expectations. He has a long way to go, but as I have said, "This has been a great week for healings."
Next, on a more personal note, my brother John had open-heart surgery in Bridgeport, Connecticut last Thursday. He and I had talked on the phone several times before the surgery and I assured him that bypass surgery these days was no big deal. Of course, I thought to myself that is easy for me to say, since it is not my chest that was to be cut open. He was to have four bypasses. Again, I expected that he would be in and out of the hospital without incident.
As we all know, life is full of surprises. First, the surgeons were only able to do three of the four bypasses because somewhere in the last few years my brother apparently had a "silent heart attack" that rendered one of the bypasses unnecessary. Second, apparently John's body went the extra mile on his behalf and grew (if this is the right word) a new artery -- a spontaneous bypass, if you please. I had no idea that such things might happen but I suppose that we Choomack's always give a little extra in stressful situations. Finally, if this were not enough excitement, he experienced cardiac arrest and resuscitation in the recovery room. After all this, I am happy to report that I talked with him last evening -- at home! Good news, indeed.
The last story is about my continuing progress in physical therapy. As I have mentioned before, I am going to therapy here in Cartersville three times a week for at least an hour and a half each day. I begin with 10 minutes on a stationary bicycle, one that works the arms as well. From here I move to a variety of kicking exercises in which tight rubber bands are attached to my ankles. Next, I do 30 stepping exercises on a box with both my legs. When I am finished here I walk across the large therapy room to a raised mat for a challenging variety of strengthening exercises for my arms and legs. This comprises the first hour of therapy.
After this, my physical therapist leads me through between 30 and 45 minutes of very challenging exercises for strength and balance on my feet. We begin with a particularly arduous set of exercises in which I stand on one leg and lift the other leg off the floor while resting my hands on top of my therapist's hands. My goal is to maintain balance while standing on one leg -- her goal is for our hands not to touch. What is most fascinating about this exercise is the way the whole body tries to help the weaker member.
For example, my left leg is the stronger, and because it is I can stand on it fairly effectively. My right leg, however, is another story altogether. When I stand on my right leg, and my therapist lets go of my right hand, my whole body wants to twist toward the left. What is supposed to be happening is that my body should almost automatically find its "center" over my right side to support me on that one leg. Not only is this not happening, every muscle in my body is trying to make it happen. Sometimes, my left leg floats up into an almost "ballet-like" position. This is truly amazing, because on the best of days I can't dance!
The human body is a marvelous thing to behold. On the best of days it is hard to imagine how it all works so smoothly and wonderfully. In a crisis, on the other hand, it amazes me even more how one part stimulates another part until healing is the result. In many ways we are all walking miracles. For many of us it is a miracle that we are alive, and for others it is a miracle that we are able to walk around with relative ease.
So, I have to ask you: "what made Jonathan wake up after two weeks in a coma?" Here is another good question: "how did my brother's body spontaneously create a heart bypass without benefit of surgeon?" Finally, "how do all my muscles and nerves know how to come to the aid of a weaker right leg?" These are great questions indeed, and I am sure that I don't know the answer, except that God made our bodies for rich and far-reaching internal inter-relationships. It is "constitutional" that our bodies should behave this way. There is not much we can do to stimulate it -- it just happens because it is the nature of the human body.
And so, we enjoy once again the richness of St. Paul's image of the Church as Christ's body in the world. Listen to 1 Corinthians 12: 25-26 as paraphrased by JB Phillips.
But God has harmonized the whole body by giving importance of function to the parts which lack apparent importance that the body should work together as a whole with all the members in sympathetic relationship with one another. So it happens that if one member suffers all the other members suffer with it, and if one member is honored all the members share a common joy.
The human body works because its members live and operate in sympathetic relationship with one another. Please do not confuse "sympathetic relationship" with pity. This is definitely not a call to feel sorry for our church family in need. Rather, it is not a call to do anything -- it is descriptive not prescriptive. The passage does not say that church members should be in sympathetic relationship with one another, it says that church members are in sympathetic relationship with one another.
For Jonathan, John, Jim, and millions of unnamed sufferers throughout the world, human bodies are constantly renewing themselves in all kinds of situations. We simply have to do that, because we are human bodies. On the other hand, the Church exists in sympathetic relationship only when there is a real church. For us Reformed types, a real church is one that recognizes one Sovereign God, salvation by grace through faith, a life of gratitude and obedience, a life careful about sin and one which is obedient to God in all things. If we call our members to worship, nurture, fellowship and service in this context, we might be amazed at how many more healings there might be in our midst.
I must say one last word lest you get the impression that I am missing the truth that there is chronic pain, paralysis, suffering, and death all around us. Of course, I have no more answer to this than I do about why the healings I have mentioned here have taken place. I do know that in the Body of Christ, our sympathetic relationships enable us to stand with and for all who suffer. Let us never forget that "standing with and for" is a healing gesture in itself. It works!
Rejoice! God's healing is hard-wired into us.
Jim
It gives me much pleasure to tell you that this has been a great week for healings. I suppose I should say this every week, because this is what the church is all about -- healing. Many years ago when I was a theological student I took a required course called Clinical Pastoral Education. This was a mind blowing and faith stretching semester in a general hospital as a chaplain. Each day we visited patients on the wards and wrote up our reflections on the visits. Of course, the names were changed to protect patient privacy.
One day I rode up on the elevator with a doctor who, after staring at my name tag, said these chilling words: "You know, Chaplain, when a patient dies, I lose and you win." Rather startled, I said "Pardon me?" The doctor responded, "You know what I mean, you usher him victoriously into the next life, and I have to send a bill!" Thankfully, I have known a good many doctors since that visit who hold healthier views on life and death than that bitter fellow.
While there is always a certain amount of sadness at a so called funeral service, we must always remember that the Book of Common Worship does not use the term "funeral," but rather "A Service of Witness to the Resurrection." Although we put our arms around one another and shed many tears, when all is said and done we Christians are victorious at the grave. We know that all too well as we have been celebrating Easter over the past six Sundays.
Having said this, I want to share with you three stories of crisis and the healing. Of course, there are many more such stories otherwise I could not have begun this message by saying "This has been a great week for healings." I share them for your amazement, your encouragement, and to challenge any of my readers that might be tempted to lose faith and hope in God.
The first story comes from the Mars Hill church. A little over two weeks ago Jonathan Hendrix was in a terrible automobile accident. For nearly 2 weeks Jonathan was in a coma, and it looked like there was little hope that he would emerge from it. With great thanksgiving I am happy to report that Jonathan has come out of the coma, "can sit up, and move both his arms and legs. Additionally, he blinks, looks around, can speak a few words very softly and recognizes his family." I am especially happy that Jonathan has been moved to the Shepherd Center. Speaking as a Shepherd alumnus, I know that he will receive great care and will make good progress. Apparently, Jonathan has progressed well beyond his doctors' expectations. He has a long way to go, but as I have said, "This has been a great week for healings."
Next, on a more personal note, my brother John had open-heart surgery in Bridgeport, Connecticut last Thursday. He and I had talked on the phone several times before the surgery and I assured him that bypass surgery these days was no big deal. Of course, I thought to myself that is easy for me to say, since it is not my chest that was to be cut open. He was to have four bypasses. Again, I expected that he would be in and out of the hospital without incident.
As we all know, life is full of surprises. First, the surgeons were only able to do three of the four bypasses because somewhere in the last few years my brother apparently had a "silent heart attack" that rendered one of the bypasses unnecessary. Second, apparently John's body went the extra mile on his behalf and grew (if this is the right word) a new artery -- a spontaneous bypass, if you please. I had no idea that such things might happen but I suppose that we Choomack's always give a little extra in stressful situations. Finally, if this were not enough excitement, he experienced cardiac arrest and resuscitation in the recovery room. After all this, I am happy to report that I talked with him last evening -- at home! Good news, indeed.
The last story is about my continuing progress in physical therapy. As I have mentioned before, I am going to therapy here in Cartersville three times a week for at least an hour and a half each day. I begin with 10 minutes on a stationary bicycle, one that works the arms as well. From here I move to a variety of kicking exercises in which tight rubber bands are attached to my ankles. Next, I do 30 stepping exercises on a box with both my legs. When I am finished here I walk across the large therapy room to a raised mat for a challenging variety of strengthening exercises for my arms and legs. This comprises the first hour of therapy.
After this, my physical therapist leads me through between 30 and 45 minutes of very challenging exercises for strength and balance on my feet. We begin with a particularly arduous set of exercises in which I stand on one leg and lift the other leg off the floor while resting my hands on top of my therapist's hands. My goal is to maintain balance while standing on one leg -- her goal is for our hands not to touch. What is most fascinating about this exercise is the way the whole body tries to help the weaker member.
For example, my left leg is the stronger, and because it is I can stand on it fairly effectively. My right leg, however, is another story altogether. When I stand on my right leg, and my therapist lets go of my right hand, my whole body wants to twist toward the left. What is supposed to be happening is that my body should almost automatically find its "center" over my right side to support me on that one leg. Not only is this not happening, every muscle in my body is trying to make it happen. Sometimes, my left leg floats up into an almost "ballet-like" position. This is truly amazing, because on the best of days I can't dance!
The human body is a marvelous thing to behold. On the best of days it is hard to imagine how it all works so smoothly and wonderfully. In a crisis, on the other hand, it amazes me even more how one part stimulates another part until healing is the result. In many ways we are all walking miracles. For many of us it is a miracle that we are alive, and for others it is a miracle that we are able to walk around with relative ease.
So, I have to ask you: "what made Jonathan wake up after two weeks in a coma?" Here is another good question: "how did my brother's body spontaneously create a heart bypass without benefit of surgeon?" Finally, "how do all my muscles and nerves know how to come to the aid of a weaker right leg?" These are great questions indeed, and I am sure that I don't know the answer, except that God made our bodies for rich and far-reaching internal inter-relationships. It is "constitutional" that our bodies should behave this way. There is not much we can do to stimulate it -- it just happens because it is the nature of the human body.
And so, we enjoy once again the richness of St. Paul's image of the Church as Christ's body in the world. Listen to 1 Corinthians 12: 25-26 as paraphrased by JB Phillips.
But God has harmonized the whole body by giving importance of function to the parts which lack apparent importance that the body should work together as a whole with all the members in sympathetic relationship with one another. So it happens that if one member suffers all the other members suffer with it, and if one member is honored all the members share a common joy.
The human body works because its members live and operate in sympathetic relationship with one another. Please do not confuse "sympathetic relationship" with pity. This is definitely not a call to feel sorry for our church family in need. Rather, it is not a call to do anything -- it is descriptive not prescriptive. The passage does not say that church members should be in sympathetic relationship with one another, it says that church members are in sympathetic relationship with one another.
For Jonathan, John, Jim, and millions of unnamed sufferers throughout the world, human bodies are constantly renewing themselves in all kinds of situations. We simply have to do that, because we are human bodies. On the other hand, the Church exists in sympathetic relationship only when there is a real church. For us Reformed types, a real church is one that recognizes one Sovereign God, salvation by grace through faith, a life of gratitude and obedience, a life careful about sin and one which is obedient to God in all things. If we call our members to worship, nurture, fellowship and service in this context, we might be amazed at how many more healings there might be in our midst.
I must say one last word lest you get the impression that I am missing the truth that there is chronic pain, paralysis, suffering, and death all around us. Of course, I have no more answer to this than I do about why the healings I have mentioned here have taken place. I do know that in the Body of Christ, our sympathetic relationships enable us to stand with and for all who suffer. Let us never forget that "standing with and for" is a healing gesture in itself. It works!
Rejoice! God's healing is hard-wired into us.
Jim
posted by Pierce | 8:00 AM
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