Identifying With Suffering
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series IV, Cycle A
For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested. (vv. 16--18)
In the book Walking Taylor Home, Brian Schrauger tells of his son, Taylor. The boy was eight years old when he began to feel periodic aches in his legs. It seemed like normal growing pains at first. But then the soreness turned into a limp. A month before his tenth birthday, Taylor went to an orthopedic clinic. An MRI revealed that he had a melon--sized tumor growing near his inner pelvis. A biopsy revealed osteo--sarcoma, a vicious cancer that grows from the bone. The mass becomes hard and has a stabbing effect.
Taylor began being treated with chemotherapy. Two days after his tenth birthday, he discovered that he could pull out his hair. He yelled to his dad to watch because he thought it was cool. Brian admonished Taylor to stop pulling out his hair because he was only making his bald spot bigger. However, Brian knew that he could not stop Taylor from losing his hair. It is an inevitable side effect of the chemo.
He suggested to Taylor that he buzz it down to a stubble and make the bald spot less noticeable. Off to the garage they went with electric clippers. Taylor's mom took pictures during the haircut. They laughed and played as they left a momentary Mohawk. They also left one tuft, which was tied with a ribbon. They gathered his blond hair in a Ziploc bag.
A week later, even the stubble had fallen out. Taylor now had a chrome dome. Brian felt so terrible for his son that he snuck into the bathroom one afternoon and trimmed his gray hair to stubble. He lathered up and shaved off the stubble.
Brian joined Taylor at dinner to show off his cue ball look. Taylor grinned and said, "Feels kinda weird, doesn't it?" Brian agreed. But they took a positive approach to the change. In a takeoff of the movie Men in Black, they became Men in Baldness.
A few months later, the tumor was removed and Taylor's left leg was amputated. A year later, the Schraugers discovered that the cancer had spread to Taylor's lungs and pelvic sphere. A quarter of his left lung was removed. The cancer continued to worsen over the next five months, so in desperation the doctors tried radiation therapy even though osteo--sarcomas are highly resistant to it. The radiation was not effective, and Taylor died twelve days shy of his twelfth birthday.
In an e--mail to loved ones, Brian wrote, "As his body declined, his spirit shined brighter and brighter. It was so brilliant, everyone who saw it was stunned." No doubt, Taylor's faith was impacted by the way his father lived out his faith. Like Christ who took a human form to identify with our suffering, Brian shaved his head to identify with Taylor's suffering - both the disease and the chemo. Brian sacrificed to show his love to his son, just as Christ sacrificed to show his love for the world.
In the book Walking Taylor Home, Brian Schrauger tells of his son, Taylor. The boy was eight years old when he began to feel periodic aches in his legs. It seemed like normal growing pains at first. But then the soreness turned into a limp. A month before his tenth birthday, Taylor went to an orthopedic clinic. An MRI revealed that he had a melon--sized tumor growing near his inner pelvis. A biopsy revealed osteo--sarcoma, a vicious cancer that grows from the bone. The mass becomes hard and has a stabbing effect.
Taylor began being treated with chemotherapy. Two days after his tenth birthday, he discovered that he could pull out his hair. He yelled to his dad to watch because he thought it was cool. Brian admonished Taylor to stop pulling out his hair because he was only making his bald spot bigger. However, Brian knew that he could not stop Taylor from losing his hair. It is an inevitable side effect of the chemo.
He suggested to Taylor that he buzz it down to a stubble and make the bald spot less noticeable. Off to the garage they went with electric clippers. Taylor's mom took pictures during the haircut. They laughed and played as they left a momentary Mohawk. They also left one tuft, which was tied with a ribbon. They gathered his blond hair in a Ziploc bag.
A week later, even the stubble had fallen out. Taylor now had a chrome dome. Brian felt so terrible for his son that he snuck into the bathroom one afternoon and trimmed his gray hair to stubble. He lathered up and shaved off the stubble.
Brian joined Taylor at dinner to show off his cue ball look. Taylor grinned and said, "Feels kinda weird, doesn't it?" Brian agreed. But they took a positive approach to the change. In a takeoff of the movie Men in Black, they became Men in Baldness.
A few months later, the tumor was removed and Taylor's left leg was amputated. A year later, the Schraugers discovered that the cancer had spread to Taylor's lungs and pelvic sphere. A quarter of his left lung was removed. The cancer continued to worsen over the next five months, so in desperation the doctors tried radiation therapy even though osteo--sarcomas are highly resistant to it. The radiation was not effective, and Taylor died twelve days shy of his twelfth birthday.
In an e--mail to loved ones, Brian wrote, "As his body declined, his spirit shined brighter and brighter. It was so brilliant, everyone who saw it was stunned." No doubt, Taylor's faith was impacted by the way his father lived out his faith. Like Christ who took a human form to identify with our suffering, Brian shaved his head to identify with Taylor's suffering - both the disease and the chemo. Brian sacrificed to show his love to his son, just as Christ sacrificed to show his love for the world.
