Hospice hope shines in the shadows.

Finding the company of hope and love we need in the face of death.

What's the Story? in Waterford #4

The opening of the South East Palliative Care Centre in 2021 to receive patients was a cause for celebration.  It followed the raising of €6 million by Waterford Hospice Movement after over thirty years of fundraising.  This was a real team effort.  Chairperson of WHM, Danette Conolly, highlighted the enduring hard work of volunteers, board members and the community, to see this significant day.  This grit and generosity shows the best of our humanity in providing dignified care for our most difficult of days.  

Waterford Hospice Movement have been providing a hospice homecare palliative care service to the people of Waterford and South Kilkenny since 1988. This care aims to improve quality of life for those who are living in the shadow of death.  It is life affirming, whilst acknowledging death as a normal process and part of our humanity.  There is a real team effort of healthcare professionals working together to care for not only the medical needs of the patient, but also acknowledging their psychological and spiritual needs, as well as accompanying the families through their grief.  This accompaniment of a community of kindness brings hope in the shadows.  In the company of death the brightest and best of our humanity shines.

In times of Covid this community of kindness was disrupted.  Those who were in their last days in a hospital environment were too often denied the caring company of their families.  Those suffering the loss of loved ones lacked the comfort of the grieving community at funerals.  In these circumstances already busy healthcare staff took on an even bigger role in accompanying someone in their last moments of life.  To describe such people as angels seems fitting.  

The best of our humanity providing this care belongs to the breadth of our family; to those belonging to a range of faith backgrounds, or who profess no faith at all.  Here we find company in our common humanity.  

As I consider this kindness, as a person of Christian faith, it reminds me of the kindness of Jesus in the shadow of death.  The shortest verse in the bible shows the vastness of his compassion, ‘Jesus wept’. (John 11.35)  This is how he greeted Mary’s tears on the loss of her brother, as she was surrounded by a company of kindness, who were weeping also.  

He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.  The word in the Greek refers to a horse snorting in anger.  It shows Jesus’ strong indignation in the face of death.  It is unfair and unwelcome and his heart is troubled by it deeply.  We too might feel such anger.  Death robs us of the company of those we love and leave behind.  It seems unfair.  Might it be we recognise that although death may be a normal chapter of life, it is in another sense abnormal and unwelcome?

Jesus knows how we feel.  His sadness and anger show him to be human.  Indeed the bible presents him as the best of our humanity. So, in the kindness which is wrapped around patients and families by hospice and palliative care teams there is, for Christians, something which reflects their master.  If you are someone who doesn’t share this faith, I hope you might be able to appreciate the compliment, that for a Christian there is no greater comparision to be made.  

As death takes us from our loved ones we hope for their company once more.  We speak of seeing them again, or of knowing them with us, or even of them looking over us at our most difficult moments.  The hope of such company brings comfort to our hearts. 

Yet at times like these our minds may also be troubled.  Whilst we long to be in the company of our loved ones again we may wonder are we merely hoping for the best? If we have only been open spiritually in the face of death and have been closed and indifferent in life to this point, such inconsistency may fill us with doubt.  If we’ve grown up in the company of a religious morality which rewards the righteous, how will we know if we’ve been good enough?  This uncertainty sows doubt in our desire to find hope beyond death. 

You might find such questions when considering death somewhat crass and insensitive.  Surely it's no time for questions like this.  In one sense, you’d be right- there is something sharp here when we are sore from suffering.  Yet for many it is at times like these their minds are sharpened to what really matters.  They seek clarity and some confidence to place their hope in. 

A survey of almost one thousand people in Ireland on questions of life and faith showed one of the common questions was, ‘Is there hope in the face of death?’ 

Jesus offered such hope to Mary’s sister, Martha.  He knew she was looking for answers and he drew out her belief in him and invited her to place her confidence and hope in him.  Mary believed in a future resurrection as an event, he says it is present now in his person.  “I am the resurrection and the life.  The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives believing in me will never die.  Do you believe this?” 

When we lean towards hope beyond the grave we may wonder, ‘If only someone would come back and tell us.’ Such was the hope expressed by a friend as we discussed doubt in the face of death recently, “No one ever has” he lamented.  Yet in this story Jesus overcomes death and brings Lazarus back.  Even more remarkably at the end of John’s gospel we read that after being dead he rises again himself.  Many witnesses met with him in these days and could affirm this reality.  Indeed the gospel of John invites us to consider the risen Jesus and place our belief in him.  

Poetry can be a great help in our times of sorrow.  It can draw out our feelings and offer us hope.  Many today approach the gospels like poetry, myths, or allegories.  So, the resurrection becomes merely a metaphor.  Yet the gospel writers themselves offer them as historical accounts which we may consider and find hope in.  They invite us to consider, ‘what is the most plausible explanation for the community of faith which arose after Jesus and wrote these accounts?’  How might we best explain his resurrection?  

At the worst of times in the shadow of death the best of our humanity can shine.  We find hope in the community of kindness who accompany us in such dark times.  Yet we can also discover in Jesus the company of one who offers us hope beyond death’s door.  

Maybe you might take up the invitation to consider afresh the hope that Jesus brings now, rather than leaving it to another day.  Could it be you might find hope to anchor your soul in and comfort your heart, not just for your last days, but your everyday? 

To explore more of these questions about hope in life and death and the plausibility of Jesus and his resurrection check out What’s The Story? 

This blog is written by Colin Holmes, pastor of Ferrybank Christian Community Church.  Originally from Co. Antrim, he has made Waterford his home since 2010.  He previously worked as a pharmacist in both hospital and community settings, sometimes accompanying fellow healthcare professionals, families and patients as they made the difficult journey in the shadow of death.  As a pastor he is humbled to have the privilege of coming alongside people to bring comfort in their grief and sorrows.