In the
epistle passage for this Sunday, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews lists
numerous heroes in Israel’s history, including Gideon, Samson, and David, among
others, who accomplished mighty deeds, and those mighty deeds are attributed to
their great faith. In the last verses, Jesus is then referred to as “the
pioneer and perfecter of our faith” to whom we should look as our example for
living a fully human life—in particular through Jesus’s willingness to give
himself for us.
I was
thinking about people who are heroes today through their great strength and
faith and who, consciously or not, remind me of the same self-giving love that
Jesus exemplifies for us. It didn’t take me long to come up with a category of
people from my current experience. The past eleven weeks, as part of my
pastoral training, I have been serving as a chaplain intern at a large, urban
teaching hospital that is consistently ranked as one of the best in the nation.
It’s attached to an outstanding university which is known for its top-notch
medical school. That is certainly part of what makes it such a fantastic
hospital.
But the
backbone of the hospital rests not just on the doctors and educators. The real,
everyday heroes who have drawn my awe and admiration all summer long are the
nurses. As today is the final day of my chaplaincy with the nurses on my
floors, I can think of no greater heroes to embody the virtues of love and
sacrifice than these nurses with whom I have been privileged to work.
These women
and men are the ones who spend hours every day with the patients and their
families, tending to their bodies, minds, and spirits with a self-giving love,
embodying grace in their every step. I have learned so much from these heroes.
I have had
nurses call me to talk about a patient they are concerned about an hour after
they went off the clock because they can’t rest until they know a chaplain will
visit their patient.
I have
watched them go home after a 12-hour shift for a few hours and turn around to
work another shift when there just were too many patients on a floor for the
number of nurses available, and they didn’t want patient care to suffer.
I have seen
them cry and embrace families after patients have coded and passed away.
I have seen
them advocate for and be with patients who had no family present when they met
with doctors.
I have
watched them stroke the hands and heads of the dying, comforting families in
times of deep distress, skillfully eliciting stories about the beloved patient
from the families and helping them, if only for a moment, place themselves in
memories of happier times.
These
nurses have been a living reminder of the reminder from St. Teresa of Avila
that the life of a Christian is to embody the love of Christ himself, to be not
just a fan but a participant in the life of Jesus, lived out for love of the
world:
Christ has no body but
yours,
No hands, no feet on
earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes
with which he looks
Compassion on this
world,
Yours are the feet
with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands,
with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands,
yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes,
you are his body.
Christ has no body now
but yours,
No hands, no feet on
earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes
with which he looks
compassion on this
world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
Our reading
from Hebrews begins by celebrating military heroics, but ends by reminding us
that the greatest example of faith is based not in strength or might, but in
living faithful lives embodying the love of Christ. So many great world faith traditions agree that we are called to
live a good life, a life lived for others. This summer, I have been most
beautifully and wondrously reminded who the true heroes of America’s hospitals
are. I give thanks for the wonderful women and men who have embodied that grace
for me, as well as for their patients and families this summer, and for
teaching me what true care for each other really means.
(This was first published at the Episcopal Cafe's Speaking to the Soul on August 12, 2016.)
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