A funeral hymnn cited by Fr John Behr in this talk on the economy of God:

I weep and I wail when I think upon death, and behold our beauty, created in the likeness of God, lying in the tomb, disfigured, bereft of glory and form.

O Marvel! What is this mystery concerning us? Why have we been given over unto corruption? And why have we been wedded unto death? Truly as it is written by the command of God, who gives the departed rest

Prayer for Persons Troubled in Mind or Conscience

Blessed Lord, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comforts: We beseech thee, took down in pity and com- passion upon this thy afflicted servant. Thou writest bit- ter things against him, and makest him to possess his former iniq- uities; thy wrath lieth hard upon him, and his soul is full of trou- ble: But, O merciful God, who hast written thy holy Word for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of thy holy Scriptures, might have hope; give him a right understanding of himself, and of thy threats and promises; that he may neither cast away his confidence in thee, nor place it any where but in thee. Give him strength against all his temptations, and heal all his distempers. Break not the bruised reed, nor quench the smok- ing flax. Shut not up thy tender mercies in displeasure; but make him to hear of joy and gladness, that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Deliver him from fear of the enemy, and lift up the light of thy countenance upon him, and give him peace, through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

-The Book of Common Prayer (1662).

In this conversation, former nurse and now professor John Swinton mentions the theme of accompaniment. Speaking of the experience of a depressed person, he said that accompaniment might not mean sitting with someone in their depression but rather helping them find the right medication for their condition. Much of the work I did as a chaplain could be characterized as accompaniment.

I found that each room I visited held a new way for me to journey with someone. Never was the company predictable in their need. That might sound obvious; yet, in doing the same thing of “showing up” to hospital rooms, one could easily assume that’s where the job ended. The essence of accompaniment is to move with another for a time.

Toward the city of God or man? Pilgrims paired for a time. “Love has its speed…” as Kosuke Koyama would say.

Abide means sickness and sarcoma, waves
at your chin and satan’s grin
won’t swallow. Engulfed in saline
the buoyant body bobs
in limbo. Only in dream
can I breathe water but here
I wake where
fear stays.

I was introduced to Julia over at Narrative RX through the CPE residency. About a month ago, I attended one of their, online, close reading workshops. This poem came as the result of a free writing exercise. I like the idea of defining a word poetically, which is an idea I stole from Christian Wiman’s poem “Every Riven Thing.”