The Doctor is In (Reposted from "Switch 2 Plan B")

I’m standing in the middle of the physical therapy gym of the rehabilitation center in downtown Boise.

As I wait for Gary, I watch others hobble in and out. A gray-haired man stares out the window as he slowly pedals nowhere on his stationary bike. Another man—his wife at his side—lies patiently on a padded table as a therapist attends to his ankle, gingerly working the joint back and forth. The elderly and young, sick and injured, all around me are people—crumpled, lame, exhausted.

Outside the huge plate glass window, pedestrians—Plato’s shadows—hurry by, pretending not to see into this brightly lit clinic. They are well-dressed and walk purposefully past.

Back here inside, I notice that even one of the therapists is limping.

And then

suddenly

in this single moment

the entire universe

comes crashing into view

In here, the broken help the weak

the injured attend to the dying

while we all await our turn

as servant and the served

Every one of us

Incomplete

fallen

in need

physically,

emotionally…

spiritually

None of us whole

none of us well

Each of us

Depending

on the other.

And…

This is reality

This is how it was always supposed to be,

how it was all ordained:

Christ told us,

then showed us,

feed those who are hungry,

clothe those in need,

visit the sick and imprisoned…

because sooner or later

we will all find ourselves

starving, suffering, alone

in a prison of our own making

Outside

are shadows.

An unreal

fantasy

where we imagine ourselves to be

healthy and happy

independent

But

Inside is the real world

A community of the vulnerable

The weak and the broken

The tired

and waiting

So welcome to the hospital...

The doctor/

The patient/

Will see you now