Title:- Of Cats & Chewing Gum
Job 18:13,14…It devours patches of his skin; The firstborn of death devours his limbs. He is uprooted from the shelter of his tent, And they parade him before the king of terrors.
Probably the smallest man in the Bible, Bildad the Shuhite, is here in today’s text and with enormous poetic insensitivity, describing to poor old suffering severely Job, what the wicked can expect if they ‘cross God.’ The subtext is clear and Job obviously caught his drift. Bildad was in effect saying: “Looking at you Job, covered in festering sores and crushed like a moth, it’s obvious that you must have done something extremely wicked!” Please someone, reach out give Bildad a slap will you!
Now Bildad’s intent may not have been the most caring and instructive, but his content and description at this point in the narrative, is astonishingly wonderful! The writer, moved by God the Holy Spirit, pens for us in the most picturesque of poetic terms, the incarnation of death, the ‘King of terrors’ and its firstborn son, the devourer of limbs, ‘leprosy.’
In 2003 English born, world renowned leprosy physician Dr Paul Brand, died at his place of work in the National Leprosarium in Carville, Louisiana. A compassionate and world renowned doctor, just four of his multitude of achievements, move me to tears of thankfulness, and inspire me to life and joy.The first is his apparent discovery of the reason why lepers go blind; they feel no pain or discomfort in their eyes and so do not blink! Brand solved this problem by surgically attaching a chewing muscle to their eyelid. Subsequently every time they chewed gum, they blinked! Thus their eyes were kept clean and they retained their vision. Brilliant or what?!
The second is the discovery of why many lepers seemed to lose their toes and fingers overnight. Observing them whilst sleeping, he discovered that rats were stealing into their sleep area and gnawing living bones and tissue, literally chewing off the extremities of fingers and toes. Of course in the absence of pain, they could not feel what was happening. Imagine that. His solution was simple and profound. His leprous patients were required to take cats with them, wherever they decided to sleep. What simple and yet wonderful innovation!
Thirdly was his dedicated life to the unwashed, unlovely and uncared for. When he was finished with them, they were clean, helped, healed, and loved. The sweet perfume of Christ was all over his patients. What a challenge.
Fourthly and finally today, his attitude to suffering and death. It was Tim Hansel that said . “while pain is unavoidable, misery is optional!” The good Doctor Paul Brand seemed to take this philosophy and apply it to his whole personal life and was by example, able to impart this philosophy to his patients.
Brilliance; innovation; hope; love; laughter; and gentle care. What will you take to your Job today?
Listen:- You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever. Psalm 30:11-12
Pray: - “One day I shall experience a sickness unto death. I shall sense my mortal frame has no more strength to fight and that my pathway is leading into the valley of the shadow. Let me not feel the despair of one who is losing a battle, or that a triumph of evil is ahead. Focus within me, O Lord, the light of your eternal Spirit. Show me again that my body, for all that it is wonderful, is but the mantle of a greater wonder, my soul. Hold me, Lord, in such awareness of your presence and your love that my parting from my body shall be but the opening of a more vivid intimacy and union with the spirit of my Saviour. He who has been the inspiration of my stumbling body shall now be the very light and substance of my soul.” (Dr Paul Brands own prayer regarding death).
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