Courage to speak up

 

Rev. Molly F. James, PhD

DFMS Noonday Prayer via Zoom

Margaret of Cortona, February 22, 2021

Zephaniah 3:7-13; Psalm 30: 6–13; Luke 7:36–50

May God’s Word be spoken. May God’s Word be heard. May that point us to the living Word who is Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Today we remember Margaret of Cortona. There are many things about her life and faith that are notable - her courage, her fasting, her good works - but it was this line from Lesser Feasts and Fasts that stood out to me: “Twice, following divine command, she challenged the Bishop of Arezzo . . .because he lived and warred like a prince.” A woman in the thirteenth century was decidedly on the margins of society and the Church, and yet she did not hesitate to speak truth to power. She did not hold back. She stood up for what she believed in. She was empowered by God. She did not wait to be asked for her opinion. She spoke her truth with conviction - more than once!

And then in our Gospel for today, we get the story of the woman with the alabaster jar. This is a familiar story and there are a hundred different directions we can go with it. So much food for thought and reflection here. But reading it in light of Margaret’s life story, I am struck by the fact that the woman just goes up to Jesus and starts anointing him. Notice there is no preamble. No exchange. No, “Jesus, would it be okay if I . . .” No, permission given by Jesus, except implicitly by his acceptance of the gesture. Just like Margaret, the woman with the alabaster jar does not hesitate to act on her convictions. To take a risk for what she believed in. To offer care and generosity with no expectation of anything in return. She does not come seeking a transaction. She offers a precious gift - both in terms of monetary value and personal cost - because doing so is deeply meaningful to her. 

So these women have gotten me thinking about the importance of holding to our convictions, of speaking the truth without waiting to be asked. I think how different that is at least from my own life, perhaps much to do with how women and girls are socialized, especially in my own upper class WASP culture. I have been conditioned to wait, not to rock the boat or risk upset. I remember an elementary school teacher telling me how he and other teachers preferred to have a higher girl/boy ratio in the classroom, because girls were so much less disruptive. Or how in so many ways, we female caregivers are told that the mark of a good daughter, wife, mother, is to always put the needs of others before our own. 

But the women whose lives and stories we honor today did not hold back or hesitate. They did not simply follow the societal scripts laid out for them. They had stories to tell and truths to proclaim - about the depth of love and care, about how even the one who was willing to give his life for us all deserved to feel some measure of his impact, to receive the kind of communication that is only possible with the touch of a hand. They had truths to proclaim about the kind of world we are called to create as followers of Jesus and how those of us in positions of power and authority ought not to take that responsibility lightly - how we ought to live exemplary lives that point to the Truth of the Gospel.

Those women did not hesitate. And neither should we, no matter our gender. No doubt all of us have grown up with challenging and problematic scripts of various sorts that can hold us back, keep us from stepping out in faith or saying something important for fear of how it will be received. In the midst of this time, and all the challenges of these days, it can be particularly easy to say, oh I’ll wait until we get through this to say anything. I don’t want to add to anyone’s stress. Well, maybe . . .

And yet if this pandemic has taught us anything, it has been a profound reminder of the fragility and uncertainty of life. A reminder that is so powerfully reinforced in this Lenten season. “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” Life is precious and short. We never know how long we will have.

May this season and the courageous, unhesitating witness of Margaret and the woman with the alabaster jar remind us of the importance of acting and speaking with conviction. Whether it is a truth that needs to be spoken to the powers that be or an expression of how much someone matters to us, may we feel empowered to speak up. There will be no perfect time. And yes, there are risks involved in speaking up, but God has certainly shown me, shown us, over and over again that the risks are well worth it. Far more often than not, speaking up opens the doors to new, more life giving possibilities. 

So in the days ahead, throughout this Lenten season and beyond, I hope we will have the strength and courage we need to proclaim the Truth, to make our voices heard, and to trust that the rewards of doing so far outweigh the risks. Amen.