大象传媒

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with the Revd Dr Rosa Hunt, Minister at Tabernacle Chapel Cardiff and Co-Principal of Cardiff Baptist College.

Good morning.

Speed can be a virtue if you鈥檙e a 100m sprint Olympic hopeful, a mum getting kids ready for school before the bus arrives or even if you want to wash your hair before the hot water runs out! But there are occasions when skill and accuracy might be valued over speed. And I would argue that surgical operations would be some of these occasions. If for instance I were being operated on, I would rather the surgeon took their time and did it properly.

This has not, however, always been the case. On this day in 1794 a little boy, Robert Liston, was born in a manse in West Lothian, and he grew up to be a surgeon known as "the fastest knife in the West End鈥� in his day. Apparently, Liston could amputate a leg in 21鈦�2 minutes, crying out, 鈥淭ime me gentlemen, time me!鈥� to the students watching from the galleries.

But Liston鈥檚 need for speed was not as crazy as it might seem. He was operating at a time when general anaesthetic was unavailable, and so speed was essential to reduce pain and improve the odds of survival of a patient. In fact, Liston was the first surgeon in Europe to perform a public operation using modern anaesthetic.

Loving God, as we remember Robert Liston today, we are grateful for him and for all those whose brilliance, learning and sheer hard work have made medical advances possible. We pray for those working in the field of medical research today, that they may have the resources they need in their fight against suffering, sickness and pain.
Healing God, hear our prayer,
Amen.