I’m not really a great fan of human politicians, but there is one in particular, who has recently caught my eye. And that might be because Boris Johnson has a hint of Cockatoo about him. But not only that. No; last week when he was released from Intensive Care, he made one of the most profound statements ever to come from the lips of any politician. Talking about the Coronavirus, he said this:
“We will win because our N.H.S. is the beating heart of this country. It is the best of this country. It is unconquerable. It is powered by love.”
And Boris went on to make a reference to two special nurses, -Luis from Portugal, and Jenny from New Zealand, who had remained by his side during his darkest hours in hospital.
And all this made me think back to Martin Luther King, who once said:
“We must discover the power of love, the redemptive power of love. And when we discover that, we will be able to make this old world a new world, for love is the only way.”
The N.H.S., along with so many others that are often taken for granted, -they are all continuing to keep our society going out of a sense of duty, care and underlying love. All of these people could so easily quit and walk away, but they haven’t, even when it means putting themselves at risk.
Now, let’s turn the clock back a couple of years. To when Prince Harry married Megan Markle in the chapel at Windsor Castle. During the service, the American Pastor, Bishop Michael Curry gave a very powerful address about “The Power of Love”:
“We were made by a power of love, and our lives were meant, -and are meant, -to be lived in that love. That’s why we are here………..There’s power in love. There’s power in love to help and heal when nothing else can. There’s power in love to lift up and liberate when nothing else will. There’s power in love to show us the way to live.”
And having had his near-death experience in hospital, Boris Johnson knows exactly what these words mean. Their wisdom. Their power. And their significance for all humanity.
I often think of the human N.H.S. (and other caring organisations) as an example of how God wants us all to live our lives throughout the wider world. Because collectively, it represents an expression of God’s love. God’s love, working through an army of 1.5 million health workers. All tirelessly and selflessly giving of themselves so that others may be helped and sometimes physically saved. A team working together as a huge force for goodness and compassion. Made up of people representing every race, colour and creed, drawn from so many different countries around the world. All united in their desire to care, to cure, to fix and to improve, because of an astonishing calling to help humanity.
Picture: Shutterstock
The N.H.S. is not simply a health service. It provides a model for how humans should all be living their lives around the world. A unique society in which both vagrant and Prime Minister are treated with equal value and respect. A society which continues to carry on with its selfless acts of love, compassion and kindness, despite shortages, pressures, dangers, unjust criticism and lawsuits from those trying to make financial gain. And all because, -as Boris Johnson said-, “It is unconquerable. It is powered by love.”
And now it seems that something in this human world is starting to change. Something that needed to change a long time ago. Because the N.H.S., and the selfless love that it represents, -along with other carers and community workers, -has taken centre stage. Anonymous nurses and medics and carers have become the new heroes. Is this the start of that new world talked about by Martin Luther King and Bishop Curry? A new world which suddenly values unsung heroes and love instead of money, fame, fortune and celebrity status?
Something has certainly changed in the psyche of our Prime Minister, and amongst the many millions of humans who applaud these anonymous heroes from their doorsteps every Thursday evening.
Picture: Shutterstock
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