Today doctors are those who are in almost the biggest “risk group”, and nevertheless they willfully, acting out of love “take upon them the form of a servant” to embrace sick, suffering, miserable people with their consideration, care and professional help. Bishop Bohdan Dziurakh, the Secretary of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC said in his homily on Sunday of Veneration of the Holy Cross, March 22, 2020.
Bishop Bohdan mentioned that we could make a long discussion and delve into today’s Gospel, explaining the meaning of words like “save one’s soul”, “deny oneself”, “take up one’s cross”. “However, it ultimately it leads to one thing: in today’s Word of God Jesus calls every person to courageously choose a life similar to His own, as it holds our real rescue and salvation”, the bishop stated.
The Secretary of the Synod emphasized that an embodied Son of God left people an example of divinely human love, which overcomes pride, fear for oneself, selfish desire to save oneself and opens for others, to bend over them and minister with a merciful love.
According to the preacher, Jesus could have escaped the death on the cross, yet He chose complete loyalty to God and a man, expressing solidarity with those who had been forsaken, forgotten, ignored. “Even in the hour of death, Jesus thinks not so of himself as of others: his mother, his most lovable disciple, who reflected every one of us, a suffering criminal hung there on the cross and his crucifiers, eventually”, said bishop Bohdan.
Hence, the bishop retold a story about one event from a young doctor’s life: “In one of the hospitals of West Ukraine medical staff was getting prepared for a potential inflow of people infected with COVID – 19, in case a regional hospital of infectious diseases will be packed full. The administration of the hospital suggested medicals of elder age and those who have children write a statement, which allows be dismissed from an obligation to treat and look after those seriously ill, not to put themselves to risk. One young doctor, a mother of a three-year old child decided not to write such statement but carry out her duty with other colleagues and save lives of those who would arrive in their hospital. I am convinced that this decision made of the young doctor articulates something more than just being loyal to the Hippocratic Oath. This decision reflected the response of a Christian doctor to Christ’s invitation: “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it”.
After such testimony of the doctor, the bishop encouraged to pray for doctors, for all workers of health-care system, who, in this time of peril, often arrive at tough decisions, putting their lives and health at risk for the sake to save neighbors.
The UGCC Department for the Information