People here, like on other blogs, have some pretty strong feelings and opinions about the Schiavo case. I have mostly avoided discussions of Michael Schiavo and the Schindlers, because these discussions always seem to involve hurtful statements being made about people who are already living through a very dark hour. On liberal/progressive blogs, it is often Terri's parents who are seen as the "bad guys".
I just don't believe this story is simple enough that anyone deserves to be cast as the "bad guy". Okay, except Tom DeLay--I really believe that he has been the worst kind of political opportunist. But the people directly involved? They are human...and they are hurting. So right now, I don't want to take sides (except, again, against DeLay, and Frist...and Bush, and the other Bush--but I should leave that for another time.) But for Terri's husband and her family, right now I just want to hold them in prayer.
Just now, I read a Yahoo news story about
Terri Schiavo receiving Communion on Easter Sunday--a drop of wine on her tongue. Yesterday, Michael Schiavo had denied the Schindlers' request that Terri be given Communion, but today he consented. I hope this offers them some small measure of peace. It's never easy for parents to let go of a beloved child, but some parents have a harder time reaching acceptance than others. I don't think mainstream American culture is especially helpful in this regard. Death has become, I once read, "invisible and abstract" in modern times--people die in hospitals, surrounded by machines, rather than at home, surrounded by memories and loved ones. And I also think we are socialized to "fight" or "conquer" death more than we are to "surrender" or "let go".
So today I would like, not to take sides or to rehash any of the details of this very sad story, but simply to offer gentle prayers for Terri, her husband, and her family. I can't think of a good prayer right now (maybe someone else will feel so inspired) but I'll share a hymn I find comforting...
On Eagles' Wings
(Michael Joncas)
You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord,
Who abide in His shadow for life,
Say to the Lord: "My refuge,
My rock in whom I trust!"
Chorus: And he will raise you up on eagle's wings,
Bear you on the breath of dawn,
Make you to shine like the sun,
And hold you in the palm of His hand.
The snare of the fowler will never capture you,
And famine will bring you no fear:
Under His wings your refuge,
His faithfulness your shield.
You need not fear the terror of the night,
Nor the arrow that flies by day;
Though thousands fall about you,
Near you it shall not come.
For to His angels He's given a command
To guard you in all of your ways;
Upon their hands they will bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.