February 17, 2017
The Artificial Heart

“ Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the Sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the Sabbath day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites!” Luke 13:10-15a

On this date, February 17, 1985, the third recipient of an artificial heart, Murray Haydon, dies due to complications including kidney problems. The retired auto worker lived for 16 months on the mechanical heart. The heart surgery was performed by pioneer Dr. William C. DeVries.

“Artificial hearts are typically used to bridge the time to heart transplantation, or to permanently replace the heart in case heart transplantation is impossible. Although other similar inventions preceded it going back to the late 1940s, the first artificial heart to be successfully implanted in a human was the Jarvik-7 in 1982, designed by a team including Willem Johan Kolff and Robert Jarvik. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, veterinarian Donald Olsen led a series of calf experiments that refined the artificial heart and its surgical care. During that time, as a student at the University of Utah, Robert Jarvik combined several modifications: an ovoid shape to fit inside the human chest, a more blood-compatible polyurethane developed by biomedical engineer Donald Lyman, and a fabrication method by Kwan-Gett that made the inside of the ventricles smooth and seamless to reduce dangerous stroke-causing blood clots. On December 2, 1982, William DeVries implanted the artificial heart into retired dentist Barney Bailey Clark (born January 21, 1921), who survived 112 days with the device, dying on March 23, 1983. Bill Schroeder became the second recipient and lived for a record 620 days. Murray Haydon was the third to receive an artificial heart living one year, four months and two days.” (Wikipedia)

Jesus spoke harshly against the Pharisees and other religious leaders because they were good at following the law, but were no good at following what was meant as the “heart” of the law. For example, they panicked when Jesus healed someone on the Sabbath, which resulted in this exchange: “… indignant because Jesus had cured on the Sabbath, (a leader of the synagogue) kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the Sabbath day.” (Luke 13:14) Do you hear how ridiculous that sounds – come on any other day to be “healed” but don’t come on the Sabbath. In so many ways I feel as if I am healed when I hear the words of absolution in our Sunday service – where I am reminded that Jesus forgives my sins. And in the sacrament of Holy Communion Jesus comes to me and heals me from the inside out.

What is at the heart of the law? Is the law given to us to keep us focused on the law and to ignore our relationships with others? Or is G-d’s law given out of G-d’s love for all people because the health of our relationships matters that much to G-d? I like to think it is the latter. I like to think that the law is a sure guide for all people to maintain healthy and G-dly relationships – since we also know that keeping the law is just not possible. The law helps us to see how many different ways our behavior can destroy our relationships and then guides us toward the Christ-like life.

“Create in me a clean heart O’ G-d, and renew a right spirit within me”, says Psalm 51:10. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we will see the Spirit of G-d guiding us toward faithful relationships with hearts firmly fixed on Jesus.

Pastor Dave