It took me just over a day to finish reading Sarah C. William's 'Shaming of the Strong'. In the book, she tells the story of how her and her family journeyed through the pregnancy and birth of baby Cerian. In the early stages of the pregnancy, Sarah had been told that the baby had a serious deformation and would not live past birth. Nevertheless, she chose to go through with the pregnancy to full term.
Through the experience, she was challenged to re-think the meaning of life. Something that particularly struck me was the worthiness of person-hood. Or rather, what defines a person? I would like to share an excerpt or two from the book,
......
What happens if you have no abilities, I thought, if you are born with no talents? Are you a pre-person before you achieve anything? And if you cannot even achieve the proper formation of the body in the womb, does this mean you are not a person?
This is not how the early church Fathers understood the self. St. Irenaeus of Lyon, for example, like St Paul of the Bible, placed the emphasis on the spirit. In their definition the spirit is placed at the centre of personhood rather than body or personality. The self is seen as a capacity for God. Rather than equating my selfhood with my ever-changing physical substance, which will in the end let me down in death and decay, Christianity defines self as a spirit whose substance and meaning is derived from relationship with the eternal God.
.........
In reality there is no such thing as a non-handicapped life. But ideas of health set up by society and the capable condemn a certain group of people to be called handicapped. Our society arbitrarily defines health as the capacity for work and a capacity for enjoyment, but true health is something quite different. True health is the strength to live, the strength to suffer, the strength to die. Health is not a condition of my body, it is the power of my soul to cope with the varying conditions of the body.
Some really challening ways of thinking. The theory of 'survival of the fittest' contradicts somewhat with God's love and his purpose for people. His love for all of us is equal. And does he call us to love all as if they were equal. I think he does! I could go on and blame society, or my upbringing, to the fact that I tend to view (and yikes, rank!) people by their intelligence and their outer appearance. Perhaps (although I clearly suspect but perhaps am unwilling to admit hat this way of thinking dominates me) I've gone through life just like that. But instead of blaming others, I look within myself. And of course, I look to God. I ask myself the hard questions. What is it that God calls me to do in this life? I think he calls me to love others as children of God, despite their "abilities". This brings me back to one of my new year's resolutions. That I will love people just because. Not because of their atributes, but because life is ever so precious. To me, the book has spoken. It has made me think that just to be alive, just to have a functioning body, is something to praise God for.
Which brings me back to the question of humility again. Jesus said, "For whoever wants to save his life wil lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." In constantly dying to self, we become what God created us to be. And it is in surrendering to the will of God that we find freedom in life.
What a remarkable thing Sarah and her family have accomplished! Personally I'm quite sure that I would be unable to carry through with it. Even if I was faced with the dilemma of an unplanned pregnancy, I'm not sure what I would do. I'm tempted to be pious and say that I would uphold life itself higher than my own selfish ambitions, but I am not sure if I would so until I am faced with the decision. Even as I am reading, I find my cynacism creeping up and questioning her decision - "Is this all that worth it considering all the suffering she is going through?" But then again I am reminded that Sarah has not carried Cerian to full term for herself, but for God. I'd like share another excerpt,
After Cerian's death the word 'paradox' took on a new and poignant meaning for me. Throughout her life I had seen that it was possible to experience two entirely different and apparently contradictory things at once: grief and hope, pain and joy, ugliness and beauty. I had rediscovered the paradox of death and resurrection, weakness and strength, at the heart of the Christian gospel.
And to end with scripture,
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of the world and the despised things - and things tha tare not - to nullify the things tha re, so that no one may boast before him. - 1 Corinthians 27-29
Through the experience, she was challenged to re-think the meaning of life. Something that particularly struck me was the worthiness of person-hood. Or rather, what defines a person? I would like to share an excerpt or two from the book,
......
What happens if you have no abilities, I thought, if you are born with no talents? Are you a pre-person before you achieve anything? And if you cannot even achieve the proper formation of the body in the womb, does this mean you are not a person?
This is not how the early church Fathers understood the self. St. Irenaeus of Lyon, for example, like St Paul of the Bible, placed the emphasis on the spirit. In their definition the spirit is placed at the centre of personhood rather than body or personality. The self is seen as a capacity for God. Rather than equating my selfhood with my ever-changing physical substance, which will in the end let me down in death and decay, Christianity defines self as a spirit whose substance and meaning is derived from relationship with the eternal God.
.........
In reality there is no such thing as a non-handicapped life. But ideas of health set up by society and the capable condemn a certain group of people to be called handicapped. Our society arbitrarily defines health as the capacity for work and a capacity for enjoyment, but true health is something quite different. True health is the strength to live, the strength to suffer, the strength to die. Health is not a condition of my body, it is the power of my soul to cope with the varying conditions of the body.
Some really challening ways of thinking. The theory of 'survival of the fittest' contradicts somewhat with God's love and his purpose for people. His love for all of us is equal. And does he call us to love all as if they were equal. I think he does! I could go on and blame society, or my upbringing, to the fact that I tend to view (and yikes, rank!) people by their intelligence and their outer appearance. Perhaps (although I clearly suspect but perhaps am unwilling to admit hat this way of thinking dominates me) I've gone through life just like that. But instead of blaming others, I look within myself. And of course, I look to God. I ask myself the hard questions. What is it that God calls me to do in this life? I think he calls me to love others as children of God, despite their "abilities". This brings me back to one of my new year's resolutions. That I will love people just because. Not because of their atributes, but because life is ever so precious. To me, the book has spoken. It has made me think that just to be alive, just to have a functioning body, is something to praise God for.
Which brings me back to the question of humility again. Jesus said, "For whoever wants to save his life wil lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." In constantly dying to self, we become what God created us to be. And it is in surrendering to the will of God that we find freedom in life.
What a remarkable thing Sarah and her family have accomplished! Personally I'm quite sure that I would be unable to carry through with it. Even if I was faced with the dilemma of an unplanned pregnancy, I'm not sure what I would do. I'm tempted to be pious and say that I would uphold life itself higher than my own selfish ambitions, but I am not sure if I would so until I am faced with the decision. Even as I am reading, I find my cynacism creeping up and questioning her decision - "Is this all that worth it considering all the suffering she is going through?" But then again I am reminded that Sarah has not carried Cerian to full term for herself, but for God. I'd like share another excerpt,
After Cerian's death the word 'paradox' took on a new and poignant meaning for me. Throughout her life I had seen that it was possible to experience two entirely different and apparently contradictory things at once: grief and hope, pain and joy, ugliness and beauty. I had rediscovered the paradox of death and resurrection, weakness and strength, at the heart of the Christian gospel.
And to end with scripture,
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of the world and the despised things - and things tha tare not - to nullify the things tha re, so that no one may boast before him. - 1 Corinthians 27-29
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