Health Care

If I believe in praying for the sick to become well, then I cannot withhold from the sick the resources to attain that wellness. This healthcare debate is dragging me too deep into the news again. I believe a Lenten news fast is in order, but hiding just doesn't seem ok.

The fact that there is even a discussion about the inherent value of everyone (that includes children) having SOME healthcare exposes the depths of our moral and spiritual depravity.

Is there anything more sinful than denying the sick the care they need? The parable of the good Samaritan reminds us that it COST the Samaritan something (meaning MONEY) to help the stranger, and that was the moral and holy thing to do in the eyes of Christ.

How dare I look down from my employer supplied healthcare ivory tower and tell those below that they are not as valuable or as deserving of medical care as I am. ESPECIALLY since my employer is the Lord's church!

Nancy Eiesland and a Disabled God

There is so much about God that I don't know or have ever thought about before. I have been a part of a church for my entire life and in full-time ministry for more than twelve years. I could recite the books of the Bible in the first grade and my family is stacked with ministers.

That sort of spiritual familiarity can easily give way to an intellectual laziness. And that's when hubris and arrogance can gain a foothold because you can begin to think and feel like you know all the right answers (or have at-least heard all the right answers) since you have been around faith for so long.

I am thinking about all of this because of an obituary I read in the NY-Times this weekend. Nancy Eiesland (pronounced EES-lund) died at the age of 44 on March 10th (most likely due to genetic lung cancer). Ms. Eiesland had 11 surgery's by the time she was 13 years old due to a congenital bone defect in her hips. At that young age she realized that pain was to be her lot in life.

Ms. Eiesland would grow up to be a wife, mother, sociologist, and theologian with a Ph.D. from Emory's Candler School of Theology. At the time of her death Ms. Eiesland came to believe that God was in fact disabled. Her view was articulated in her influential 1994 book "The Disabled God: Toward Liberatory Theology of Disability." The core idea of her work centered around Luke 24:36-39 where Jesus, risen from the dead, invites the disciples to touch his wounds.

"'In presenting his impaired body to his startled friends, the resurrected Jesus is revealed as the disabled God,' she wrote. God remains a God the disabled can identify with, she argued - he is not cured and made whole; his injury is part of him, neither a divine punishment nor an opportunity for healing."

I didn't Google Ms. Eiesland's book or any controversy it may or may not have whipped up in theological circles. Instead I just allowed myself to be taken aback at an insight to a Biblical story I have known literally my entire life, but have never considered in the way Ms. Eiesland suggests. I am in awe of the scriptures and the minds that study them in the hopes that God may be made more known.

The obituary describes a life of a woman who saw the disabled as being ignored by the church and society. From High School to her death she accepted the challenge of advocating for the disabled and creating a theological "place at the table" within the church. Ms. Eiesland is another reminder that God's truth and power can only be glimpsed when all are empowered to learn, listen, and speak of God's truth. This morning a woman in a wheel chair, whom I have never met and who I never heard speak, planted a seed of thought in my mind that will forever alter how I think about one of the most vital occurrences in the Bible. May God be praised, and may Ms. Eiesland family be comforted.

Lent

I was all set to give everyone an update on how my Lenten fast from the news was going. It's going great, by the way. I can definitely feel less ambient stress circling over my head.

Every time I tell someone what I gave up for Lent, they look at me wide eyed and with disbelief. I have taken this to mean not that what I was doing was particularly difficult, but rather people couldn't wrap their mind around ME not watching the news. That's been humbling, bothersome, and something I am coming to terms with.

To be honest I have been pretty proud of myself, and was going to write a post highlighting as much. Until I read this from Amanda Lehman a former student teacher that my mom knew.

Choosing what to “put off” for lent is a bit tricky when you’re living in a remote village in India... Fast food? Beef? Ice cream? Television? Hot showers? Starbucks? Oh wait, that’s right, I don’t have any of those things! Haha. That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of “treats” and comforts in my life. I am in no way suffering! But it was somewhat of a challenge for me to decide what to give up this year.

After much thought, I finally settled on this: my mattress.

Yes, I’m giving up my mattress and pillow for lent. The boys here at the orphanage sleep on hard-wooden beds with a thin mat and blanket. No mattress, no pillow. I am sometimes convicted as I tuck them in at night and then come back home to my warm, cozy bed. It just doesn’t seem fair.

She goes onto say that she isn't trying to be Mother Teresa or trying to make herself sound pious. Rather she is trying the best way she can to firmly fix her eyes on Jesus.

And it is one of the most beautiful and powerful display of humble sacrifice and discipleship that I have come across in a while.

The Wise Men

Matthew 2:1-11

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men^[a] from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose,^[b] and we have come to worship him.”

3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. 4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
are not least among the ruling cities^[c] of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’^[d]”

7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. 8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

9 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Two things really strike me from this passage.

One, what incredible faith and motivation the wise men had when they saw the sign of Jesus' birth. I mean Peter had a hard time believing in who Jesus said he was and that's with the benefit of walking with Jesus on water. The wise men were moved by signs which went unnoticed by most, but were nevertheless profound and powerful enough to spur them to cross deserts and travel thousands of miles to worship a baby!

Two, the wise men were evidently readers! Allison talks to me all the time about the different intelligences people can have and how that influences their ability to learn. Regardless of what type of a learner a person is, the common thread between all intelligent and informed people is how well read they are. Of course being well read isn't the same as being wise but you don't get wisdom without being well read. No doubt many people knew about Micha 5 which was the prophecy the wise men referenced for Herod. The wise men used their knowledge and understanding in the service of their faith. They somehow managed to be intellectually and culturally elite, while understanding their place in light of an all-might God.

Amazing.