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Parish Nurse Homily October 16, 1005 by Bev Bennett In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Lord, prepare me to be a living sanctuary for you. Amen.This morning I’d like to share some thoughts about passion.
Betty was a fifty-year-old nurse, who looked every bit her age. A good nurse, but she always told us "I’m really only 29. It’s just the stress level of this work environment that makes me look so old!" We always laughed, but, looking back, I can see that Betty did not like her work. To her it was just a job. She was always tired, and often called in sick, classic signs of burnout. Betty no longer had passion for her work; she really needed to get out of there, and eventually she went to sell real estate. Robert, on the other hand, had a lot of passion for his work. He worked at the same hospital as part of the housekeeping staff. He was a familiar figure mopping the floors. He told me he loved his work because every morning a group of the housekeepers met for breakfast and prayed for the patients. I’m certain Robert saw himself as God’s point men at that hospital. Once, about 20 years ago, I was one of those patients, and one morning, Robert was mopping the floor outside my room when he stopped and knocked gently on my door. "Can I talk with you for a moment?" he asked . I said yes, and he told me he had a message for me from God. "You are a child of the King!" Robert said. Now, I am not a fundamentalist Christian as was Robert, but I have not a doubt in the world that message came to me, from God, through that lovely man, just when I needed it most. It changed my life. I shall never forget it. So much for passion! Passion is at the heart of Health Ministries, not just here, but across the country. It is the essence of what keeps the St. Andrew’s program vital and growing today, ten years after its beginning. Health Ministry leaders everywhere are deeply committed and enthusiastic about the work they do I didn’t always know it, for I had to be convinced by attending a couple of national seminars and meeting others involved in this work. It didn’t take long until I was hooked! God gave me the passion, and still today, I’m convinced it is the best job a nurse or anyone else could have! Today’s Scripture (Sirach 38:1-4, 6-10, and 12-14) comes from the Apocrypha. It reflects the traditional view of that time that illness comes from sin, and admonishes us to "Obey the physician". As a nurse, I take that to mean we should trust and obey our doctors, nurses. and health caretakers. I also wonder what happens today, when for a variety of reasons we feel unable to trust out care-givers, due to misunderstanding or lack of proper time for explanations. I kept reading Sirach for an answer, but didn’t find one. What I do know is that it is part of my job as parish nurse is to help you find those answers and to help you explore all the possibilities, no matter what is on your mind. Listening is the best gift I can give, and I am awed and humbled by your trust. Everyone needs help sometimes. Looking out, I see a lovely bunch of parishioners! We all look good, don’t we? We’re well-dressed, well-behaved, well-educated. But are we really so well? Probably the answer is "no". What’s that you say? "Except for me. I’m fine." Probably the answer is still "no exceptions". Why? Because we’re too busy looking good, too polite, too proud, too fiercely independent, too private. Or maybe we just don’t get that the church is here to help. Too scared to ask for help? Take the risk of being vulnerable? Sometimes to the point of not getting the help we so desperately desire and need. Simply to ask for someone to listen is the hardest of tasks! This week I met a new doctor. Very new, very young, I think just out of med school. But he has already learned something many of us never figure out: At the close of our appointment, he said to me "Call me for anything. Call me if you just get scared". We all need someone to listen. Do you have passion? If you think so, come see me. If not, come anyway and I’ll convince you can help with Health Ministries. Remember, the passion is a gift! And, for the sake of God, come and ask if you need a listening ear! Come, claim the gift! Amen.
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