THE SEASON OF EPIPHANY
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TO HEAL OR NOT TO HEAL?

“And a leper came to Jesus begging him … ‘If you choose, you can make me clean.’ Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I do choose. Be made clean.’” Mark 1:40-41

I stopped by the office of my primary care physician [PCP] to renew an ongoing prescription medication I take, and  update my insurance information as it had changed at the beginning of the New Year. The nurse at the admission desk looked at the card, then dispassionately thrust it back to me saying, “We do not accept XYZ insurance.” Nothing said like “I am sorry for this inconvenience,” or offering possible options for my future medical care. At that moment, I felt like NOTHING … NOBODY … NON-EXISTENCE as a human being standing before her withering gaze. I have been a patient with this doctor since coming to Delaware over three years ago. Other than an annual physical, I have had just two other visits for an unrelenting cold and for another medical need. I am not a chronic or overly demanding patient. Yet what I was told, what I heard, was “You are of no value to us in anyway if your insurance does not match to what we accept. Goodbye!” TO HEAL OR NOT TO HEAL – is THIS the question?

This story from my life leads me to a reflection on the need and desire for physical healing, and a very different response by God’s chosen vessels in these stories. Rather than describe them, I invite you to join in the story of Naaman and the leper seeking Jesus. You can find both on this webpage by going to the left side under the WEEKLY READINGS icon. This will lead you to “The Lectionary Page” where you can find the readings for Sunday, February 12, the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany. One thought I will offer is that the response of Elisha and of Jesus comes from the heart of God’s COMPASSION, which means “to suffer with the other.”

Let me be clear that I am most grateful that I have health insurance to cover my medical needs through my wife’s employer, and I will no doubt find a new PCP who does accept our insurance. This is still sadly not the case for countless others in our very prosperous country with abundant resources for all. May we pray, and then act, to change this current circumstance into the COMPASSIONATE answer for all the people of God.

TO HEAL OR NOT TO HEAL should NEVER be the queston!

In peace always, your servant in Christ,
Paul+