How are you?
Sunday Oct. 10th is World Mental Health Day, an international day for global mental health education, awareness and policy advocacy. Thank you for tuning in – by setting aside this time, you are actively supporting your spiritual well-being and mental health. This does not mean that any of us are 100% well; joining in community is an acknowledgement that we are in community to support and encourage each other through life. If you are in need of mental health resources please do not hesitate to ask - you are not alone – around you there is a church family with various gifts and life experiences to enable walking along side you. Together, through the love of God, we embrace each other and the brokenness of this world.
How are you this morning?
In the Gospel text, Jesus addresses
an all too familiar head space – worry. Make a quick google search of ‘worry’ and
you will discover a host of mental health sites and resources. Words on the pages speak of anxiety disorders,
depression, suicidal thoughts, paranoia, anger, restlessness; the inability to
focus, memory problems, decision overload, being emotionally overwhelmed, and stressed
beyond one’s ability to cope alone. Who
among us has not worried?
Jesus’ audience lived with no health
care plan, no insurance, no retirement funds.
Sickness, the inability to work, being
widowed or orphaned spelled disaster. One hoped for righteous land owners to provide
work and relied on family, friends, or community to be the safety net. There
was a lot that one could worry about. Jesus’ words of advice ring true for the
audience: “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its
own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
Jesus also commends the audience
to a mental wellness practice - look
beyond individual circumstance and be active – putting energy into striving for
the kindom of God and God’s righteousness.
How are you this morning?
Before COVID when asked this
question, the go-to answer for many was ‘fine thank you’ or simply ‘good.’ That
was the anticipated answer in public conversation, more of a polite conversational
construct then an actual listening to how another person really was. To answer ‘fine’
or ‘good’ did not mean that on the inside one was all put together; appearances
were deceiving.
Early on in the pandemic, when
asked the same question, answers changed. It was okay to say that you were ‘okay,
but, not okay.’ It was acceptable to admit that you were anxious. One could
easily say they were on the Corona-coaster, where emotions were all over the
map, with bouts of breaking into tears for what seemed like no reason. Mental
health was seriously talked about as people were isolated and distanced from
each other. More people accessed mental health resources than ever before.
The past couple of weeks I have
been on a number of Zoom meetings. The first few minutes of each gathering was
spent checking-in with each other. How
are you today, in this moment? I have
noticed another shift. Before saying anything else, there has been an uptake in
answering, ‘I am grateful’ or ‘I am filled with gratitude.’
The statement is followed by a
pause, a breathe, a smile, or all three.
When I hear others use this
response, I feel good inside. I feel
like I am basking in something wholesome. I get a sense that the person is
sharing with me: time taken in personal
work, priority setting, devotion and reflection time. ‘I am grateful’ is a deep thought and rests in
the inner being. To be grateful expresses a transformation of heart and attitude.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving
Sunday and drawing on the purpose of the liturgy, to offer our thanks and
praise to the Creator, I would like to commit to carrying gratitude with me every
day, and articulating it as often as possible.
To answer, ‘how are you?’ with the statement ‘I am grateful,’ changes
the polite, but, fake, pre-COVID conversational convention. I am not returning
to being ‘fine’ or ‘good.’
I am going to live into being
grateful; filled with thanksgiving.
Consider the reply, ‘I am
grateful.’ The statement can be true in whatever circumstance one is facing, despite
worrying, no matter how one is feeling, and regardless of one’s current
well-being; gratefulness can still be present.
Within the Christian tradition this
should not come as a surprise. The early church gathered in community, in the
courtyards of patron’s houses. When the community gathered in the a house of a
land owner, the community included a diversity of the society of the time:
God-fearers, Jews, Gentiles, Greeks, Arabs, mixed gender, intergenerational,
families, widows, slaves, the sick, and others. As part of the gathering the
liturgy was a singing of hymns, songs, and spiritual psalms; praise and prayer
were offered to God; scripture was read; Jesus’ stories were told; testimony
was given; and Eucharist was celebrated.
Eucharist is a Greek word that
means thanksgiving. The Great Thanksgiving was a meal -communion- a celebration
of Christ’s life and death and life, where bread, sometimes fish, and wine were
shared in community; everyone ate enough to be fed both spiritually and
physically. The community celebrated Eucharist, not alone, always together. Giving thanks for the grain of the field and
the fruit of the vine, for the life of Jesus and God’s unconditional love and
grace given for humankind and all creation; the community of faith experienced
abundance and their hearts were filled with gratitude.
Weekly, when we gather as
community, we are fed in Word – hymns, liturgy, scripture, prayers; in
Sacrament of bread and wine, water, confession; in community – sharing Christ’s
peace, faithfulness, joy in each other’s presence and in God’s presence. Today
Eucharist -thanksgiving- is extended into singing together in person for the
first time in 19 months.
How are you today?
I am grateful. I am filled with
gratitude.
Blessings to you my faith community
on this Thanksgiving Sunday; for being kind, encouraging, for continuing to
show up and be present; to share what you have with the neighbourhood and the
world. Thank you for being you.
Do not worry about tomorrow – turn
your energy towards bringing the kindom of God to the present. Be well. Be blessed
with eucharistic hearts and attitudes filled with gratitude.
How are you today? ....We are (I am) grateful.
Thanks be to God.
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