An Introduction from Vicar Kathryn, Part II

A reflection from the first few months of Vicar Kathryn Thompson’s internship as a chaplain resident in the hospital.

There is no space like that of a hospital room—all is quite literally stripped away and we are at our most vulnerable. News of a life-altering or life-ending diagnosis, a sense of loss after surgery, chronic or extreme pain, an emergency that will change things forever: the hospital is a place of the unexpected and inevitably a place of suffering. And it is most certainly a place where God’s presence is most poignant. Because God gently but urgently clamors for presence with the suffering, bringing us close to the cross. Our cries in these life-changing moments are echoes of Jesus’ cries: “Why oh God have you forsaken me?” God is comfortable with us asking the hard, pointed questions and asking them directly. Despite what we feel in moments of doubt, suffering, or hopelessness, God is not silent because God’s presence, even if quiet, is not silent in our hearts. There is one way that we know this in our tradition.

We know this because of transformation: God’s redeeming work through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This transformation is accessible to us as God’s beloved children. We, too, experience moments of transformation in our life, often born out of moments of suffering, doubt, or hopelessness. Often born out of moments of great vulnerability. In Jesus’s ministry with and to the vulnerable, we hear very consistent and necessary messages, messages that we carry through our faith but often need reminders of, whether from loved ones or from a stranger, from a chaplain in the hospital or our pastor.

First, peace—be—with—you. In the times of our deepest vulnerability, in our times of greatest fear and doubt, God shows up with this introduction, one that is meant to calm our hearts and open our spirits.

Second, you—are—loved. Not because of what you’ve done, earned, or achieved, but because you are God’s beloved child. You are fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image.

God is with you. In your vulnerabilities, in the mundane, in the relationships, in the difficulties, in the rejoicing, in the waiting, in the hope, in the peace, in the uncertainty, in love. God. Is. With. You.

May we respond to God’s loving and faithful presence from a posture of prayer and a heart of compassion—for ourselves, for others and for the world.

Peace to you. You are loved.

Vicar Kathryn Thompson