Editor’s Note: As I write, we are preparing for tonight’s Maundy Thursday observance at Second Church. The news reports are full of the latest court maneuverings related to the Terri Schiavo tragedy. By the time you read this, it will be a very different time. But the questions raised today deserve continued, prayerful consideration
We who belong to the church of Jesus Christ might do well to cast ourselves before God and beg for mercy for our part in (either to ignore, to cheer, or to feed) the deplorable circus that has grown up around the life and disability of Terri Schiavo. How did one family (out of hundreds who are now faced with similar circumstances) gain such notoriety over what ought to have been from the outset a matter — not of personal preference — but of decision by family, doctors, priest, pastor, and social worker?
As a Christian I cannot claim that Terri Schiavo and I have a right to life. Our lives are a gift to us — and to those who love and depend upon us — from the Maker of heaven and earth. We did not our own selves make. But she and I have a legitimate claim on those around us: parents, husbands, wives, children, friends, and society itself to assist us in humane dying, for all of us shall surely die.
When my mother was dying with pneumonia I could have chosen to override her medical directive that she not be put on a respirator. The respirator would have kept her alive, but she would never again have been without it. She had made it plain for many years that she would come back and haunt me if I did that to her. Her doctor was a faithful Presbyterian who was humane and wise. He supported her decision and assisted me in making what was at the moment — even though I knew what compassion required — a difficult decision. My mother died surrounded by those she loved most in the world.
After thirty-five years as a pastor I can tell the same story scores of times. And I can also tell a few stories about how guilt, estrangement, family disagreement — or the fear or apathy of a doctor — drove a family into inhumane, costly decisions that resulted in tortured and unnatural dying. Each of us wants the right to die in peace and with dignity, surrounded by friends and loved ones who weep, and pray, and sing beside us as we slip from the limits of our God-given lives into God’s gracious eternity.
So how did we reach this disgraceful impasse over the life and death of Terri Schiavo?
The leadership we have received reminds me of that woeful passage in Ezekiel 34 about Israel’s false shepherds who have been feeding themselves and not the sheep: You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured . . . you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them . . . because there was no shepherd, they became food for all the wild animals’ (vs. 4 — 5). Terry Schiavo, her parents, her husband, and all who love her have become food for politicians and for the voracious media who exploit public fear.
Why was not political power used to remove these unfortunate people from public view, rather than keep them there? Why did not a pro-life governor protect their dignity and grant them peace by pointing to a mediation procedure that would remove them from the hands of ravenous lawyers? Where is the priest or pastor who married Michael Schiavo to Terri Schindler? Where is the ministry of the church to her parents? Why did wise private counsel never enter this picture?
The insertion of the Bush family and Congress into what was already tabloid tragedy is unconscionable. Is there, in the minds of Governor Jeb and President George (or their callous handlers) political gold to be mined from rubbing salt in the wounds of this family’s sadness? Were their decisions driven by fear of or fealty to the Religious Right, who demands an action to prove their version of ‘right to life’ true? I do not impugn anyone’s faith. But I question the misuse of that faith combined with the power of public office. The governor and the president chose not to throw a bridge over roiling waters, or use their unaccountable power to help heal a broken family. What they and the United States Congress have done disgraces God and the political process, and scorns the constitution.
Can there be a truly wise word from the church?
The church has either not been paying attention or has been ignored. At our best we are profoundly pro-life. In numerous policy statements we have made clear that care of and respect for the disabled, holding the hands of the dying, and advocacy for the helpless are our responsibility. Who would believe the gospel entrusted to us if we do not express and embody such concern?
To that end I am reminded of the story of the two women who brought King Solomon their claims for the same infant. Who was the true mother? The wise king offered to take his sword and sever the child in two, and give each woman half a baby. Then the true mother cried out and stopped the proceeding. She pled with the king to give the child of her womb and heart to her false companion. She received back her own child.
Why has no friend, no pastor, no lawyer, no one, it seems, asked Mr. Schiavo to let go of his legal claim upon his wife and let her parents assist their daughter with her dying? No matter how long it takes Terri Schiavo is in the process of dying. For fifteen years she has been held captive by estranged family members who are now political and media pawns.
Finally, what is the gracious word, or the confession, of the Christian church at such a time?
Our lives are hid with Christ in God. We members of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church belong to the God who raised Jesus from death. We live in the hope of resurrection. Therefore we do not cling to physical existence as those who have no hope beyond this life, nor do we impel or encourage others to do so. But we respect human life in whatever shape it takes, for we do not make ourselves. We receive our lives — whole and broken — from the loving hand of the Creator. Therefore we are convinced that the life God wills for each of is stronger than the death that destroys us . . . for we know we shall be with Christ. Who is risen indeed! Thanks be to God.
