Jesus in the psych ward
by Rev. Sarah Speed
He’s in group therapy, plastic chairs in a circle.
Paper cups with weak coffee. Everyone in the room has seeking eyes.
The Pharisees admitted him. They said things like,
He’s more than we can handle.
They let the rumors fly.
The other patients like him. They say, He listens to me.
He calls them by name.
And when one of them asks,
Is this our fault? Are we here because we sinned?
Jesus does not wait for the facilitator to speak.
He crosses the circle. He kneels down. He grabs their hands in his and says,
Child of the covenant, God loves you too much to ever wish you pain.
Bodies and minds crumble sometimes, but God’s love for you does not.
And after that
there were happy tears and the group was dismissed to lunch,
where they broke bread and no one talked of sin.
**A note from the author: “I placed Jesus in a hospital setting to reflect the text’s (John 9:1-41) focus around healing. In particular, I chose a psychiatric setting to continue dismantling unfair stigmas around mental health. Once again, in this modern-day context, Jesus offers words of comfort and belonging.”**