Miriam is a lovely person, in
her mid-80s, living independently in her apartment - until recently. One
mid-morning, with a cane in each hand, she struggled to take her trash to the
dumpster. A neighbor emerged from a nearby apartment and pleaded to assist.
"No, thank you; I'll do it myself," was Miriam's predictable, resolute - yet
gracious - response. Moments later her anguished cries for help were heard.
While trying to lift her trash to the dumpster and maneuver both canes, she had
fallen backwards and lay helplessly in pain and embarrassment. She is not a
small person; no one could help her get up - which was for the better. 911 was
called, and without ceremony she was hauled away. As I have it, her severely
injured back may require both lengthy hospitalization and possibly permanent
nursing home residency. In any case, her life will never be the same.
Miriam has been committed to
independence and self-reliance. She probably became a devotee of
self-sufficiency, because of her particular family values, reinforced by many
friends and certain segments of her European-American culture. In a real way,
her prideful dedication to autonomy and personal sovereignty led to her
accident.
No one but the most hardhearted
would say that she got what she deserved! Utter compassion is certainly the
Christian response to virtually all tragedy. Nonetheless, her life-changing
misfortune was brought about by her own misguided values and decision. However,
dwelling on judgment and scoldings at this point would be cruel; some
accountability is usually better left to a merciful God (Who, incidentally, is
the only One truly independent and self-reliant.)
One might argue that Miriam had
become a robot programmed to behave independently, and therefore not
responsible for her accident; she simply did what she had to do. I recall a
wise psychiatrist's public comment when a few people tried to excuse an
attempted-murderer; they said the would-be killer couldn't help himself. His
parents and environment, perhaps his genes, were to blame; he did what he had
to do. The perceptive psychiatrist replied that no one has been created or
raised with textbook perfection; furthermore, the perpetrator was fully able to
distinguish between a watermelon and a human being, and was therefore
responsible for his actions. Likewise, though no doubt influenced by whatever
nudged her on, to a large extent Miriam is responsible for her avoidable
condition. A neighbor appealed to help, and she refused. Miriam was given an
option, and she decided to refuse it. Given her circumstances, she engaged in
an activity hazardous to her health. We can understand it, if her family and
friends have a bit of anger mixed with their love and compassion.
Clearly, some afflictions seem
to float through the air or are inborn. Other maladies develop, because of
accidents and unfinished evolutionary processes. Some ailments occur, because
in all honesty we didn't know their causes and would have made different
choices, had we known better. Nevertheless, many avoidable illnesses and
conditions, like Miriam's, occur because of our own poor decisions. Despite the
obvious, we sometimes choose to ignore reality and invest ourselves with
invulnerability; we set aside the probable consequences of certain risky and
hazardous behaviors. Indeed, with our foolish ways we sometimes knowingly court
self-inflicted unwellness.
By now it is evident that this
sermon is not centered on this morning's Scripture readings. Instead, I am
broadening the Presiding Bishop's call for prayer and compassion for persons
living under particular, devastating circumstances. My focus this morning is on
our responsibility for our individual and corporate well-being of body,
heart, and mind.
Several years ago I was
surprised by a secular ethics textbook chapter entitled "Mental and Physical
Health." I wondered why such a private, morally neutral matter deserved time
and space in an ethics course? Isn't my body my own to do with as I please?
Isn't my state of mind my private domain? The book awakened me to the reality
that, unless one attempts to be utterly indifferent to others, our well-being
is not an individualistic matter. Our circumstances of health have a
bearing on family, friends, or the community emotionally, financially, or with
expended time. On the financial side alone, our health insurance rates are
impacted by one another's needs.
Many individual deficits are
truly beyond one's control and responsibility. Those so beset deserve ongoing
concern and enabling help to maximize the quality of their lives.
Other people who yield to
patterns that sicken their bodies, men and women who concede to chronic
combativeness, suspicion, jealousy, sourness, or self-centeredness
unnecessarily diminish their participation in family and community life.
Personal decisions that generate illness of body, mind, or heart
unnecessarily deny individuals their wholeness and the community its
fullness. Admittedly, professional support of one kind or another is necessary
for many individuals to take healthier directions, but they must accept the
responsibility for choosing such support.
I'm taking the risk of being
simplistic, in order to make one point here: inasmuch as reasonable and
possible, you and I are responsible for our well-being. Under most
circumstances, if we are able to distinguish between a watermelon and a human
being, we are responsible for those decisions that take us toward degrees of
health or illness. While we advocate compassion for all who are ill or have
special health-related needs, we must also emphasize our obligation for
maintaining whatever level of health our circumstances permit.
What does all of this have to
do with being a Christian? First, nothing, including our bodies, is our own to
do with what we will. Psalm 24 puts it clearly and definitively: "The
earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world and all who dwell
therein." Humanity is not the absolute owner of any of the Creator's wonderful
provisions. Instead, like all else, we belong to God, and we are God's guests
on this planet. You and I are stewards of God's bounty, trustees accountable to
the Creator for our caretaking of the earth. Whenever we are tempted to say of
anything, including of our selves," this is mine," it is in the context
of "this is ultimately God's; I am ultimately God's."
Second, as Christians, we are
never isolated individuals. Human fulfillment is in the community that
processes more and more toward the absolute love of God, one's neighbor, and
oneself. Our Holy Writings do not even recognize as adequately human the
self-contained person, only persons-in-community.
Third, as Christians, we
continue the Bible's basic commitment to the preservation of health - a
tradition that reaches back to Moses. We continue to proclaim ways of life that
seek to enhance well-being in all its dimensions, indeed as a multi-dimensional
unity.
Fourth, in our prayers we
acknowledge directly and indirectly our responsibility for our well-being.
Recall these words from various parts of the Prayer Book: "Open, O Lord, the
eyes of all people..that, rejoicing in thy whole creation, they may honor thee
with their substance, and be faithful stewards of the bounty." (329) "You
formed us in your own image, giving the whole world into our care..." (373) "In
peace, we pray to you, Lord God: For the just and proper use of your creation."
(392) "And here we offer unto thee, O Lord, our selves, our souls and bodies,
to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto thee.." (336/342) We have
related prayers "For the Right Use of God's Gifts" (827), for Grace at Meals
(835), for Thanksgiving Day (194), and for the stewardship of creation (208).
In our Catechism we are questioned, "What does it mean to be created in
the image of God?" and we answer "It means that we are free to make choices: to
love, to create, to reason, and to live in harmony with creation and with God."
(845)
You and I become who we are in
our decisions made in response to God's awesome gifts. As accountable stewards,
we are responsible for choosing our ways with wisdom and courage. As disciples
of Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit, we offer to the unwell whom we are
called to serve: compassion, a voice of calm, strength to cope, and the healing
love of Christ.