Healed of the Herd

Late into the night disciples are in a boat “being tossed about by the waves.” They see Jesus coming “toward them walking on the sea.” “They were terrified” “and they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, ‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’” Peter alone asserts he is not afraid. He begins walking out toward Jesus who nurses him across the turbulent waters. “But when (Peter) saw how strong the wind was he became frightened and, beginning to sink, he cried out.” “Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter.”

Among those who act like Jesus, who stretch out a healing hand to help a person as they fear dying, are nurses. Nurses are being rightfully appreciated during Covid 19 for the hands-on healing care they give to individuals who are suffering and dying. This is especially true of hospice nurses, nurses who accompany and care for individuals who are terminally ill. The modern Hospice Movement is most closely associated with Cicely Saunders (1918-2005). Ms. Saunders trained as a nurse and stretched out a healing hand to native Britons and refugees during WWII. Like all those who live through war she grieved each patient’s pain, suffering, and loss. – and her own. This was especially true when she fell in love with a refugee who, despite her care for him, could not recover from his wounds. Her grief deepened given the nature of her ministry and was compounded when two other loved ones died close in time. She described herself as suffering from “pathological grieving.” Needing her own healing she devoted herself to forming a community of healers giving wholistic care to individuals suffering with terminal illness. She began research on palliative care, meaning alleviating terminal pain. Her plans for a hospice hospital devoted to healing dying people’s pain were rejected by the medical establishment. She decided she would have greater likelihood of success if she became a doctor. So it was that in 1967 Dr. Saunders opened the first hospital giving care to the terminally ill, St. Christopher’s Hospice. There, health workers cared for each dying person’s total pain; physical, emotional, social, and spiritual. A dying person’s many needs were connected with their deep abilities and with nurses who stretched out their healing hands to them. Dr. Saunders had stepped away from the herd. She gave her life to providing pioneering and expanding care to individuals who were dying. In doing so she transformed the medical profession. It began extending to dying persons dignity, respect, and compassion as the medical norm. Each dying person was cared for as a human being of singular importance. Each individual was treated as a person of particular meaningfulness. No person’s death was viewed as a foregone conclusion. No one was treated as a statistic. The witness of ‘stretching out a healing hand’ to a person in need is currently being betrayed by promoters of ‘herd immunity’ for Covid 19. Herd immunity would allow for a large % of the population, 50-70%, becoming immune to the disease; which makes it not personal but statistical. In the U.S., herd immunity could result in 3.4 to 5.8 million human beings dying. Herd immunity could also result in 20% of those infected, 6.4 to 9.1 million human beings, needing critical care, greatly straining hospitals and resulting in life-long health problems. These statistics would prove an unconscionable failure on our part to act as compassionate healers to persons in need. It would prove a severe disconnect between ourselves and the healing profession of nursing, certainly hospice nursing. Every nurse, especially during this pandemic, is caring for every single person. Herd immunity is the exact opposite of all those nurses who during times of suffering and death connect us with life, every single life.

“You matter because you are you, and you matter to the end of your life. We will do all we can not only to help you die peacefully, but also to live until you die.” (Dr. Cicely Saunders)

Prayer: Spirit, heal in me any callousness over someone else dying.

Question: To whom can I stretch out my hand to help heal them?

August 09, 2020     Gospel Matthew 14:22-33     Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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