Journal of Sacred Work

Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, O Jerusalem, and put on forever the beauty of the glory from God. Baruch 5:1

78 By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Luke 1:78-79

Our humanity is rescued when we live love in the presence of hatred.
– Erie Chapman

   How nice it would be if sorrow could be shed as easily as the verse from Baruch commands. We simply take off the garment of our afflictions & replace it with the glory of God. Is that what we say to the grieving woman in Liberia (left)? Can anyone convince her, in the middle of her loss, that the time has come to put on forever the glory of God?
   And what of those who work in hospitals around the world? What are they to say to those who have been pierced by the arrow of loss?…

   Christians believe that Jesus entered the world two millennia ago to "give light to those who sit
in darkness and in the shadow of death." This is the comfort we hope for the father in the image (left) who lost his son when a tsunami hit Sri Lanka in the last days of 2004. This father’s grief is so palpable that we want to reach across the ocean to comfort him. His loss is emblematic of sorrow that falls on the shoulders of millions each day.
   The rescuing light of Jesus spreads around the world today more powerfully than ever. News reports claim there are now 60 million Christians in China alone, a startling development in the land of Mao. Yet Christians have no monopoly on compassion. All faiths call out to their followers to have mercy on those in need, to spread charity and to follow the ways of peace & love.
   In this time of Advent, a season of hope and expectation, the world seems profoundly immersed in darkness. Hope for peace in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East is faint. Films like "Blood Diamond" and "Hotel Rwanda" and the continuing news from the Sudan tell the story of the sorrow that continues to wrap the continent of Africa like a shroud. The hatefulness of terrorism is on the rise.
   In America and in the countries of the European union, leaders tout freedom and civilization yet aid to Africa flows like a trickle and the hundreds of billions spent in Iraq has been far more about military force than humanitarian assistance.
   America’s hospitals and charity clinics, with some shinning exceptions, are increasingly mechanized and devoid of compassion.
   How can we take off the garment of our sorrow in the midst of these realities? Perhaps the better emphasis comes when we contemplate the meaning of courage.
   As Ralph Ellison wrote so eloquently, "humanity is won by continuing to play in the face of certain defeat."
   It is because of the increasing encroachment of business and technology into healthcare that I encourage caregivers to increase their commitment to loving care. Our humanity is salvaged when we continue to love in the presence of hatred. Love is the last and most important bastion of humanity. And it is with this thought that I offer these few final words:

Be

Be the kind hand that reaches out
to calm someone’s need.

Be the heart that opens
in spite of its own pain.

Be the arm that reaches
for the sun strong as an
oak limb, gentle as its leaves

Awaken the better angels within you.
Christen your life with meaning &
join the servants of light.

Be a lover.

–Erie Chapman