September 27, 2019

Yesterday we compared life to a courtroom.  Life can also be like a hospital – a place we go to tend to our wounds and illnesses. I don’t believe this is an overly morose comparison – even when the vessel of your body is relatively ship-shape, you still routinely deal with “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”.  And sometimes you experience them to such a degree that like Hamlet you are tempted to throw in the towel. (Act III, Scene I)

The good news for us is that Jesus’ incarnation was one big Hospital Visit.  In Mark 2:17, Jesus says, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” In other words, your maladies, no matter what form they take, qualify you to get lifetime, one on one care from the Great Physician, as He has come to be known.

And just to finish the analogy – there is no need for HMOs or co-payments. He paid the bill in full with his own wounds. Like the famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio, standing atop the city with His arms stretched wide, His enduring word remains: “Come unto me all ye who are weary and heavy laden, and I will refresh you.” (Matthew 11:28)

“O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to us the help of your power, that our sickness may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.” (For Recovery From Sickness – BCP p. 458)