13/02/2024
LONG POST WARNING:
“A certain man wend down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.” -Luke 10:30
This is Fr. Justin Havens. Fr. Justin serves as priest of St. Xenia Orthodox Church in Payson, Utah a parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. We did not know of each other, nor had we met prior to this photograph being taken. What follows is the story of how we met, orchestrated by the grace and mercy of the Holy Spirit.
As many of you know this past week I had a medical emergency. In the early hours of Sunday morning, February 4th, my appendix ruptured. I didn't know that was what it was at the time, just that I was in a world of pain that I had not experienced before. Thinking it was some sort of gastric issue, I took some Tums and proceeded to "walk it off,” around and around the dining room table. The pain did not immediately relent, but did lessen over the course of the next two days. On Tuesday, Feb 6, I went to the doctor who ran labs, proscribed antibiotics, and thankfully ordered a CT scan. That same day, I think, or perhaps the day prior, Fr. Justin left his home in Payson, Utah for a 1300 mile trip to Glendale, Washington. At St. John the Forerunner Monastery, Fr. Justin would be on retreat with his fellow priests of the Diocese of Los Angeles and the West and His Eminence Metropolitan Saba. This was Met. Saba's first visit to the Pacific Northwest and to the clergy and parishes of this diocese. The uniqueness and timing of this retreat cannot be overlooked.
On Wed. February 9 while Met. Saba was meeting and encouraging his priests, I was making my way to St. Alphonsus hospital here in Baker for a CT scan. As I have always found them to be, the staff at St. Al's were welcoming and so helpful. We are blessed in our community to have such a faithful band of dedicated healthcare workers. They worked swiftly to get the necessary pictures and send them off to radiology. In just two hours I had the answer to my issue, a ruptured appendix. After a phone call from my doctor, Alicia and I packed our bags and made the drive down to St. Alphonsus, Nampa, where we checked into the ER for emergency surgery. Again the staff was incredible as they prepped me for surgery and got me in as soon as they could. Just outstanding care, from trading bad one-liners with the phlebotomist as she was drawing blood to the skillful hand of the surgeon and all the nurses and staff who tended to me. It was a great experience and thanks be to God that all the dominos fell into place just as they were needed. It couldn't have gone more smoothly.
Thursday, Feb 8, was a recovery day in my room as I began to come of the effects of surgery. I started walking around the hallways of my med/surg floor. As I walked, I prayed for the staff and for my fellow residents several of whom were in worse shape than I was. I prayed again and again the words of the ancient Jesus Prayer, "Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us." And that "us" was prayed with the intention that it was directed for ALL of us there at St. Al’s Nampa. Those of us wearing hospital gowns, those of us in scrubs, those of us watching over loved ones, those of us catering food trays and cleaning rooms, those of us on my floor and on every floor. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us!
Around 5:30 p.m. that Thursday evening, I received a text from Kevin, a parishioner of mine and owner of the wonderful North7 Brewing Co. He asked if I would be up for a visit Friday morning. Thinking that he or his wife might be in town, as they have a son in the area, I said sure. But my assumption proved false. Fr. Justin was actually on his long trek home, when out of all the places along I-84 to take a break, he stopped in Baker City. And with all the places to grab a beer in Baker City, he just happened to stop by North 7, where Kevin was working and a few other parishioners had gathered for Theology on Tap in my absence. He found out town and that brewery all without the aid of a cellphone. My parishioners related to him my condition and my affinity for the beautiful tradition of Orthodoxy, especially its iconography. Fr. Justin resolved then to come and visit me the next day.
On Friday Feb. 9, having spent the night at a hotel next to the hospital in Nampa, Fr. Justin came to visit me. We had a blessed conversation. He told me of his family and their wonderful 10 kids! We shared that we had a mutual connection in Fr. Ignatius Valentine whom I met when I served a congregation in Iowa. He told me of his retreat and the marvelous growth he has seen at his parish in Utah. Then graciously he prayed over me, anointed me with holy oil, and gave me gifts of a prayer bracelet, booklet, and a vial of the oil he had anointed me with. It was a grace-filled encounter and in that visit I felt like the man fallen amid robbers and tended to by the Good Samaritan. I had prayed to the Lord, "Lord have mercy," and he had mercy upon me by sending me an orthodox priest. As Fr. Justin was leaving he mentioned that his patronal name (Orthodox priests often take a saint's name upon ordination) was taken from Justin Martyr, a second century Christian saint known for being the first Christian apologist. That day of his visit was also the 16th birthday of my son, Justin, which I was missing being stuck in the hospital, whom Alicia & I also named in honor of St. Justin Martyr.
I still cannot fully comprehend the sheer coincidences it would have taken for our meeting to have happened. Too many to make any logical sense. I can only ascribe it to the grace and mercy of God, to the love of Our Good Samaritan who, "went to [the man fallen amid robbers] and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine…brought him to an inn and took care of him (Lk 10:34).” This past week I felt like that man cared for, loved, and tended to by Christ through His priest.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end. Amen.
