National Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS

Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

--Collect for Third Sunday in Lent

Wow. What words to think about as we spend a week in the middle of Lent reflecting on those who have been touched by HIV or AIDS!

"Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves..." God may know this, but we can lose sight of this one. Quite often, the temptation is there to take on everything ourselves and to rely on no one... no other person... let alone this intangible force that is greater than ourselves! And when one learns that one will be living with dis-ease, such as HIV, it can feel like an isolation.

"Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls..." the key word in this statement is "keep". A call to God that, in sickness and health, we are shielded with God's grace and mercy...

"...that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul..." And this, I would imagine, may challenge the hearts and minds of those who are living with HIV and AIDS. In the early years of the epidemic, when AIDS was claiming the lives of thousands of people in the United States, the common cruel assumption made about "those people" was that they had "done something" to deserve this painful and agonizing fatal disease. Fear and stigmatization abounded. People lost jobs, their insurance benefits, and family members who couldn't accept the diagnosis. Still worse, families that would learn of a son or brother's sexual orientation as a result of the diagnosis of HIV, and would turn away from their dying loved one at that point in their lives. I don't know that it's gotten any better. And with the improved drug treatments now, a new, weird phenomenon has started: "Bug Chasers". My Faust colleague Josh Potter explored in a one-act play this subculture that enjoys participating in high risk behaviors in hopes of becoming infected. Which leads me back to this statement in the collect asking God to "defend" us from those things that destroy the body, mind and spirit of the person. Seeking out infection, and resigning yourself to taking medication for the rest of your life, would seem to arise from a fatalistic view that says, "Party now because tomorrow you might die!" Friends have accused me of being judgemental about people who approach life from that angle. And perhaps I am. But that is because there are other ways to live that are "life affirming". Advocating the use of protection and employing your brain about sex isn't being a "kill joy". It's about staying alive!

And so... we turn it back to God, through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, to be the power that guides us, and aids in the protection of our outward bodies and inward souls, from falling prey to diseases such as HIV and AIDS. And to those who are living with disease, and their families, we hope that they are encompassed in the universal steadfast love of God and that they feel God's presence with them on the journey.