Friday, December 18, 2020 (today’s lectionary)
Joy of the whole earth
Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up a righteous shoot (in) David.
In the hospital, Dr. Reddy told Margaret what he had told me. David’s right coronary artery is closed, and new arteries have taken over its work. No interventions are necessary now. And Margaret smiled, and then an hour or so later Maureen wheeled me down to the exit. Margaret was waiting. No snow on the ground yet in December, cold bracing air against my hospital-ed skin, and there were no resistances, no aching wounds in my body like there had been when my knee was replaced or my popliteal artery was bypassed.
The days will come, says the Lord, when they shall live again on their own land. O God, govern your people with justice and your afflicted ones with judgment. Blessed forever be your glorious name.
Twelve o’clock noon, and all is well. The sentries paced the wall, the gates of the city are opened, and we drove home, slowly, with great gratitude to God and his friends with skin on at OSF. There is nothing to do now except rest and take my enforced Sabbath, as Wayne Muller calls it. “When you don’t stop yourself, God stops you.”
It’s been a few days, and I’ve passed out all my candy. I mean the candy I bought on November 1, $65 for half price Halloween candy at Farm and Fleet. For Christmas, of course. For others, of course. But now that’s really true. For the moment at least I have little taste for sugar or even carbs (well, sugar at least). In the past I’ve been sorely tempted in the evenings, after Margaret has gone to bed. Hide in the corner, close my eyes, and eat that cookie. The little boy inside me is still alive and well. As Chris wrote on his hold-up-sign, “I NEED HELP!”
So many friends wished me well and were grateful alongside me in the following days. They provided some welcome medical advice, some shared experience, and lots of praises. In these moments of rest I feel surrounded, loved and without want. During follow visits both my primary physician Dr. Deem and my new cardiologist Dr. Kamin echoed the positive news and gratitude.
Still, the “peace of mind” Dr. Reddy offered me stays at arm’s reach. No intervention means no change in my shortness of breath, and the left side of my chest rises regularly to my attention. However, both doctors attributed that to my head more than to my heart. Sure, you can shovel snow! And I think of Eckhart Tolle’s description of what he called the pain body: “Thoughts and feelings you have about your life can become deeply negative and self-destructive. Illness and accidents are often created in this way … the pain-body wants to survive, just like every entity in existence, and it can only survive if it gets you to unconsciously identify with it … it needs to get its ‘food’ through you. Pain can only feed on pain. It cannot feed on joy. It finds it quite indigestible.”
This fascinating description of psycho-soma requires me to seek (and ye shall find) joy. Not just as an antidote but also simple, sweet, necessary nutrition for my body and my soul. How about that? The joy of the whole earth, of carrots and celery, water, apples, and oranges, and of rest. Sleep when I need it, deep breathing whenever I remember, and walking. Walking to and fro, quietly, settling into the rhythms of life in my world, singing inside and out along the way. Joy to the World, the Lord has come. Let earth receive her king!
Behold the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” Joseph awoke and then he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.
(Jeremiah 23, Psalm 72, Matthew 1)
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