Wednesday, August 5, 2020              (today’s lectionary)
Hospital
For the first time in his 37 year old life, our son Marc is in the hospital, at least for today, to get an emergency EEG after a so-far unexplained seizure. When I left him at 9 pm he was his normal self, except for some very sore body parts that were injured when he fell. Netflix and very bad hospital food beckoned. The nurses obviously like him, especially his hair, which is longer, and healthier, than theirs.
Earlier in the emergency room he was less calm, in more pain, and sometimes very impatient. I put my hand on his back, on his head, on his arm, and prayed silently, with fear and trembling, joy and peace. How do you pray for one of your kids?
Well, mostly without words, at least that’s how it was for me. Just visioning him in the lap of Jesus, in the arms of our Father, cooled by the breezes of the Holy Spirit, as my friend Susan taught me to do. These prayers don’t hesitate, they don’t search for right words or words at all. They don’t feel as much like Paul’s “groans” as they do soft winds that blow through the room.
As God’s words through Jeremiah roll gently through my mind:
With age-old love I have loved you
So I have kept my mercy toward you.
I will restore you
And you shall go forth dancing,
Drink the wine you have made
From the vines you have planted,
Shout with joy!
For now, our prayers for Marc are more muted, when they find words.
Lord, guide us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Redeem our son from the hands of his enemies
So we can rise up together into the Lord’s blessings.
But we don’t hesitate to approach Jesus and ask for healing. The Canaanite’s daughter, our son, there are demons all around, and we, like her, plead for mercy.
Have pity, have pity on us, O Son of David!
Even the dogs eat scraps that fall from their master’s table.
Jesus heart opened in the presence of that woman, and her daughter was healed.
O Lord, us too, us too, Jesus. Have mercy on our brokenness and salve our wounds, have pity. Heal our son, O Lord.
           (Jeremiah 31, Luke 7, Matthew 15)
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