Caring for our well being

 

Rev. Molly F. James, PhD

DFMS Noonday Prayer via Zoom

September 9, 2021

Martyrs of Memphis

Psalm 116:1–8; 2 Corinthians 1:3-5; John 12:24-28

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 Constance and her companions. We remember those who stayed in Memphis to care for those who were ill in the midst of a yellow fever epidemic in 1878. It is a week for remembering and honoring those who are called to places of tragedy and disaster. On Saturday we will honor the 20th Anniversary of 9/11 and all the lives lost that day. It seems particularly meaningful and important to honor all those first responders who walked into the building that day. All those who sought to help. All those who willingly put their lives at risk to help others. 

And of course there are thousands and thousands of first responders and health care workers who do this everyday. Thankfully the advent of PPE and advances in medical technology have meant that nurses and doctors can care for people with infectious disease and have a very low risk of infection. Don’t we wish we could send some PPE and an infectious disease handbook back in time to Constance and her companions. 

So in addition to the value of medical advances and PPE, what else might we learn from Constance and her companions? I think we can certainly be inspired by their sense of call and dedication. It is indeed noble and holy to see a need and respond, to give what we can to help others. There is that oft cited quote from Frederick Buechner about how our vocation is found where our passion meets the needs of the world. 

And yet, I do not believe we are called to mimic or follow in their footsteps of martyrdom, despite the Gospel’s talk of losing one’s life. While it is certainly true that there are things worth dying for, I do not believe we need to seek them out or continually put ourselves at that level of risk. Thankfully, I think most of us are not in daily situations with anywhere near the level of risk that Constance and her companions faced.

Of course, I do not think that makes us immune from the more metaphorical sort of martyrdom or the slow martyrdom that can come from pushing ourselves too hard for too long. There are real risks to our health and well being in not getting enough sleep, enough water and good food, enough exercise, in not taking care of our bodies and our souls. 

I think we all know the surge of adrenaline that gets us through a crisis. When it matters. When the need is urgent. When we are inspired, we can do more than we thought possible. That is a wonderful gift of evolution and biology. But that is not a reality or a pace that is sustainable for the long term. We need to pace ourselves. 

We have a long road ahead of us. We are not going to be able to put COVID behind us as quickly as we might have hoped. And the realities of systemic injustice in our society and our world are not going to go away overnight either. The world needs us. It needs our gifts and skills. It needs our passion. It needs our faith. It needs the truth of the Incarnation and the truth of the Resurrection. It needs to know that God is with us. It needs to know that Love always has the last word. 

But we are not going to serve anyone if we work to the point of exhaustion. Or if we become so overwhelmed by the headlines or the magnitude of what lies ahead of us. Side note, that if you feel overwhelmed, Nadia Bolz-Weber had a great blog post recently about why we feel overwhelmed: https://thecorners.substack.com/p/if-you-cant-take-in-anymore-theres

So my friends, let us take inspiration from our faith, from the reminder that our consolation is in Christ, it is not contingent on anything in this world. The truths of our faith stand no matter what the headlines say. We can carry those truths with us as we go about the work to which we are called. And as we go about our work in the days ahead may we honor Constance and her companions by seeking to care for our well being. May we strive to find time each day to do something that strengthens our faith, that reconnects us to God and to each other. And may doing so keep us grounded and filled with hope. AMEN. 

Meaning and Joy

Dawn

 

Rev. Molly F. James, PhD

DFMS Noonday Prayer via Zoom

Martyrs of Uganda, October 29, 2020

Psalm 124; 1 Peter 3:14-22; Matthew 10:37-42

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. 

On occasion I teach Christian Ethics classes and in the course of that look at a variety of Christian perspectives on life and death. One of the passages that has stayed me with me from that work is from the writing of scholar and ethicist Stanley Hauerwas. He writes:

“As a matter of fact, Christians do not believe life is sacred. I often remind my right-to-life friends that Christians took their children with them to martyrdom rather than have them raised as pagans. Christians believe there is much worth dying for.”

I could not help but think of that passage today as we remember Bishop James Hannington and the Martyrs of Uganda. Hannington and so many others are in a long line of forbearers in the faith who have been willing to give their lives. Those who have believed that faith is something worth dying for. 

I don’t know about you, but that thought and the stories of the martyrs give me pause. At first, of course, I want to push back on those stories. I want to say did they really have to die? I want to find a happier ending to the story. Or I want to flag the story with a cautionary note. I want to say there is a really problematic strand in the Christian tradition that has glorified suffering and martyrdom at the expense of those on the margins. A tradition that has told women, people of color, LGBTQ people, the poor, anyone who is different from those in power that they should be grateful for their suffering because it brings them closer to God. No. That is not a message we want to reinforce. That kind of systemic injustice is what we are supposed to change and transform as Christians, not passively accept. 

Okay, now that I have gotten my resistance and my caveats out of the way. I am still left with the all important question of these stories of martyrdom - “What do I believe is worth dying for?”

That is a hard question. Of course it is. None of us wants to think that we would ever be asked to die for our faith. I certainly hope it does not come to that for any of us. 

There is something compelling about the stories of the martyrs. They seem to have such a clear sense of priorities, such a clear sense of what really matters. Their depth of faith and clarity of mind and heart are inspirational. Even if we are not likely to have to follow in their footsteps, perhaps we can still draw on that inspiration. 

Perhaps, rather than asking ourselves what is worth dying for, we should be asking ourselves what is worth living for? What is it that gives our life meaning? 

As you all know, I am fond of quoting Jeremy Taylor, the 17th century Bishop best known for his book Holy Living, Holy Dying. In a funeral sermon for Lady Carberry, he told the congregation, “Go home and think to die, and what you would choose to be doing when you die, that do daily.” He wanted them to remember that life is precious and short. We never know how long we have. So, we should be thoughtful about where we spend our time, our energy, and our resources. 

If we do not have some time each day, even if it is a small window, a tiny glimpse, where we feel connected to God, where we experience joy, where we have a sense that we matter and what we do matters, then perhaps it is time to reassess our calendars and our practices? 

We probably cannot get rid of all the things in the calendar that do not bring us joy - bills need to be paid, garbage needs to be taken out, difficult conversations will need to be had - but we can be attentive to the balance. We can be attentive to always allowing the mundane or menial tasks to crowd out the meaningful and the life giving. 

In these days, when there is so much stress and anxiety and the To Do list seems never ending, may we have the grace to remember that it is okay - actually it is more than okay - it is essential - to set aside time in our day for joy and meaning. We need it. It is what is going to get us through today and whatever lies ahead. Amen.