In today’s Gospel, Jesus hears the words, “The one you love is sick.”

Many of us have heard these fear-inducing words about someone we deeply love.
These are the words that Jesus hears about his friend Lazarus.
And these are the words dreaded by the family members of Solidarity Bridge’s patients in Bolivia and Paraguay.

My name is Lindsay Doucette and I am the Program Director of the Neurosurgery and Neurology Institute at Solidarity Bridge. Solidarity Bridge is a lay initiative of the Archdiocese of Chicago, responding to the gospel call to heal the sick. We connect medical practitioners in the US to their peers in Bolivia and Paraguay in efforts to increase access to surgery and other essential healthcare. Located right here in Evanston, Solidarity Bridge has deep roots in the St. John XXIII community. Both our founder and our current Executive Director are parishioners and so many of YOU have traveled on mission trips or connected deeply to our work in other ways right here at home. We are so grateful for this supportive community!

“The one you love is sick””

— John 11:3

In today’s gospel, Mary and Martha are confronted with their brothers’ serious illness. Fearing he will die, Martha sends word to her dear friend, Jesus, the healer. She hopes that if Jesus can just come, her dying brother Lazarus can be saved.

This is such a human story, isn’t it?

We can all put ourselves in Martha and Mary’s place. We can imagine their worry and fear, their anxiety and dread. We can feel their hope turn to despair when Jesus doesn’t arrive, and we experience their profound grief when nothing can save their beloved brother’s life.

This fear, worry and desperation are what many of Solidarity Bridge’s patients and their families feel when they receive the diagnosis of a surgically treatable condition, but are unable to access the needed operation. This is what 4 year old Abel’s family felt when, on a day like any other, he fell, hit his head, and began convulsing. Family members rushed him to the nearest hospital in the remote river town of Riberalta, Bolivia. There, doctors performed a CT scan which revealed an operable brain tumor at the base of the boy’s skull. But there were no surgical services at this small, municipal hospital and nothing the doctors could do. So, they advised the family to make the twenty-hour road trip to Santa Cruz where a neurosurgical team might be able to perform the complex surgery needed to remove the tumor. Abel’s aunt Mercedes, who raised him since birth, was distraught and overwhelmed with the weight of the news. The one she loved was ill and she did not know how she would be able to manage the distance and the immense medical and travel expenses.

In today’s gospel, we see that the closer Jesus gets to Martha and Mary, the more deeply he feels their pain, their grief, their loss. As he approaches, he proclaims to those around him that they would see a mighty miracle, but then he meets the grieving Martha and Mary and is immediately moved by compassion. He enters into the grief of his friends. And Jesus weeps. Jesus is troubled and moved by all suffering; whether 2000 years ago in Bethany, or today in Evanston or South America. Jesus walks into our grief, our fear, and our frustration. He understands it and he meets it with love, compassion, and healing. And we are invited to do the same.

Lindsay talks with Abel’s Aunt during a 2017 mission trip.

I had this profound privilege on my first trip as a Solidarity Bridge missioner. A team of US neurosurgeons traveled to Santa Cruz to work alongside their neurosurgical peers at the Hospital Caja Nacional. We had planned for a week of training and skill building around skull-based tumors and Abel was scheduled for surgery. As the chaplain on the trip, I met Abel’s aunt Mercedes in the hospital before his surgery. I had to bend over to listen to this tiny woman who was about half my height. As she told me her story, her tears began to flow and I was moved by her pain and worry. I put my hand on her shoulder and told her that her nephew was in good hands. I vowed we would be with her in prayer throughout the surgery and in the days and weeks of recovery that followed. Gratefully, Abel’s surgery was successful and, after significant recovery time, he was restored to new health. But there are so many more Abel’s in need of care…

In today’s gospel, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead! What he did that day was truly miraculous! But, while Jesus effects the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead, he leaves the work of unbinding (or untying) him and setting him free to Lazarus’s community of family, neighbors, and friends. He leaves the work of liberation to us!

US missioner, Dr. Richard Moser discusses Abel’s case with his colleagues at the Children’s Hospital.

The late Dr. Paul Farmer once said, “... no one should have to die of a disease that is treatable.” And yet, countless people do…every day. Common cures and treatments for accidents and illnesses are not accessible for all - because of cost or geographic distance or a medical workforce that is too small for the local population. How do we respond to those who are bound by illness, by poverty, by unjust healthcare systems? How do we respond when the Abels of our community are diagnosed with conditions that are known to be treatable, but they can’t access care??

Solidarity Bridge is committed to this work of untying/unbinding. We know that when doctors have access to advanced training and critical equipment, they can narrow the treatment gap for their most vulnerable patients. Through our partnerships in Bolivia and Paraguay we are working to build local surgical capacity. We provide training in advanced surgical techniques - both in person and virtually. We work to mobilize critical surgical resources in partnership with medical supply companies and individual donors. And we journey with our medical peers in mutual relationships of support and accompaniment. Together, we are working toward a day when patients like Abel do not have to travel 20 hours to receive care, and where doctors in hospitals all over the world have access to the training and resources required to provide the care they know their patients need.

Today, we invite you - the faithful community of J23 - to continue supporting our work of unbinding. In a few minutes, we will take up a 2nd collection and your gifts of Lenten alms will help:

patients access life-changing surgery
hospitals receive crucial supplies
local doctors expand their skills, and
families find renewed hope.

We thank you in advance for your generosity.

Today’s gospel reminds us that while it is one thing to talk about solidarity and compassion, it is often when we come face to face with the suffering of another, that we are deeply moved. Encountering and accompanying others during their fragile moments allows us to participate in God’s creative force for life in the world. This Lenten season, Christ shows us the power of compassion and challenges us to work for liberation. May we enter into the suffering and grief of those around us and may we be moved to work to untie and set free all who are bound!

Lenten Reflection: The one you love is sick