Beloved Members of St. Martin’s
I always hope that when the lessons are read in each week’s liturgy, that we are all listening to each reading—listening, and asking ourselves how the readings for the week work together, and hopefully asking ourselves how they proceed from the previous week’s readings. I know some people merely focus on the gospel passage, but the way the lectionary is designed, the readings can either support each other or rub up against and challenge one another.
For the next few weeks, our readings from the Old Testament will be focusing on how people react to crises and suffering. I know this is a timely topic not just for myself, but for so many of us right now.
This week, Queen Esther, married to the Persian king, outwits a royal official who is intent on destroying all the Jews in the Persian empire, and manages to save her people by demonstrating how they have been loyal subjects to the king despite being foreign nationals. Where Esther could have given up when faced with such a calamity, she finds the courage to persevere and saves her people, with these events being celebrated even to this day in the festival of Purim. She is resolute and brave in advocating for her people in a time of crisis, and where her enemy is capricious and dangerous, she uses both her beauty and intelligence to emerge victorious.
Next week we will begin a month with the Book of Job, and I hope many of you will take the time to read the book in its entirety. The Book of Job continues our study of wisdom literature in the Old Testament, centering around the question: Why do good people suffer? And I don’t want to spoil the ending, but I will say the story of Job answers neither with cynicism or empty platitudes. It starts from a common human fallacy that has endured throughout history to today—that God causes or allows suffering to happen. Yet there are words of wisdom and hope in the Book of Job, and I hope we can all spend some time pondering them.
One of the things that becomes clear is that when we are willing to love, we also become vulnerable to loss. This also, has been true throughout the ages. This reminds us that even when we suffer, we do not do so alone, nor do we do so because we have been abandoned by God.
As motivational author (and Episcopalian) Brene Brown notes in her book Rising Strong, which is about the ability to reset after facing loss, those who are able to rise strong after heartbreak or loss almost always have in common a sense of spirituality—which she defines as “recognizing and celebrating that we are all inextricably connected to one another by a power greater than all of us, and that our connection to that power and to one another is grounded in love and belonging. Practicing spirituality brings a sense of perspective, meaning, and purpose to our lives.” In other words, our sense of connection to God and to each other not only is the heart of the Great Commandment of faith, but it is the heart of being able to live faithfully when we ourselves are beset by loss and grief. Our sense of connection to God and each other is a motivator in our life of disciples, but also a comfort to us when we are internally struggling. And no matter whether we experience joy or loss, it is a reminder that God is alongside us in all the times of our lives.
In Christ,
Mother Leslie+