Daily Devotional for April 14

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April 14                                                           Luke 5:12-26

                  HIV Positive

                            The three sat staring at the
                            Patterned oriental underfoot.
                           Terror inched through the boy
                    Like poison from an unsuspected dart.
From the knees, up the back, under his neck, it left his
                            Paralyzed gaze on the carpet.
           "Are you sure?", his voice the quiet monotone
                          Of the unbelievingly condemned.
            "Yes. We'll do what we can." An empty second.
               "It starts, son, with forgiving yourself."
 (Later) "This, doctor, is a clinic, not a confessional."
The younger man sat silent, letting the angry one finish.
    "What the [heck] is this 'forgiving yourself'? Since
                   When are doctors priests? Is that how
                 They taught you to deliver a diagnosis?"
               Too directly for the elder's comfort, the
                    Younger man met the fury in his eyes.
                   With unsettling calm, his clear reply,
              "Sir, it's the only real medicine we have."

Dear Creator,
Whenever I get caught up in the "right" way to do a thing,
please remind me that what is done in love and with
forgiveness is done "right." Please don't let the lessons of
humans blind me to the lessons of the Spirit, nor the emotions
of the moment to the truth.

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From The Road to Emmaus - An inclusive devotional Edited by Joseph W. Houle

Emmaus House of Prayer - Washington D.C.198