Finding, Telling and Living Your Story

Come and hear, all you who fear God;

    let me tell you what he has done for me.

Psalm 66:16 (NIV)

I just finished a challenging book, Humbler Faith, Bigger God, by Sam Wells.  One of the  structural components of the book is found in the subtitle, Finding a Story to Live By.  This focus allows the author to begin a series of conversations about the lived realities of our lives together

Sam Wells addresses the hard questions of faith, truth, suffering and the church offering “rival” narratives.  He skillfully tells the stories and the experiences of searching, faith and doubt that have been part of our faith journeys,  His challenge to the reader is to find, tell and live a better story.  This book is a kind of story pilgrimage where your story can meet a larger story.

I was most interested in his understanding of suffering.  He draws attention to the difference between and the implications of a God who is “for”us and one who is “with” us. This idea resonated with my understanding of our medical responses to suffering.  We certainly want to mitigate suffering but most important is that we “stand with” the patient in the face of suffering.

I would recommend this book to any who are confronted with faith questions and are searching for a  story to live by.

Marvin

References 

Wells, S. (2022). Humbler Faith, Bigger God. Canterbury Press.

Elie, P. (2004). The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage (First Edition ed.). Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Hage, M. L. (2010). Pray with Africa

http://mhage1943.blogspot.com/2010/12/pray-with-africa.html

Hage, M. L. (2015). Telling the Story.

http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2015/01/telling-story.html

Hage, M. L. (2019). Suffering Revisited.

http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2019/10/suffering-revisited.html

"Latin Yankee"

Pope Leo XIV

Announcement - 5/8/2025

There is an important part of medical history that was driven by religious organizations.. My early professional career began in Catholic hospitals. Their goals of care resonated with medical professional mission statements.  The announcement of the first American-Latin Pope, Leo XIV got my attention, specifically in relationship to health care.  More generally, I wanted to understand his Augustinian perspective.

I was reminded of my introduction to the culture of caring at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan.(1974-1984).  I joined an educational residency that was being asked many hard questions as reported by Paul Starr in his book, The Social Transformation of American Medicine.(1982)   Later in my career(2010), I had the opportunity to again provide medical care in Catholic hospital systems.  These experiences were part of my understanding of the intimate relationship between religious and healthcare institutions.  

What I found was that St. Augustine had a profound religious effect both in the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant religious traditions. The order that took his name and ethics has a worldwide presence and impact. The Augustinians and Pope Leo XiV will promote public health and outreach to the marginalized.

There is more to learn about the impact of the leadership of this “Latin Yankee” as a healing agent in the world.  There are and will be many “hard questions” that will shape healthcare at the intersection faith and the healing professions.

Marvin

References

Long Drives and Short Homilies: How Father Bob Became Pope Leo

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/17/world/europe/robert-prevost-pope-leo-xiv.html?unlocked_article_code=1.H08.dOHJ.a9cy3CB0XfNT&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Providing care in the New World: the Augustinian sisters of Canada, women of heart and commitment

https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world/providing-care-new-world-augustinian-sisters-canada-women-heart-and-commitment

Category:Catholic hospital networks in the United States

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Catholic_hospital_networks_in_the_United_States

Catholic Health Care in the United States

https://www.chausa.org/news-and-publications/facts-and-statistics

Saint Joseph Mercy Health System

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Joseph_Mercy_Health_System#:~:text=4 References-,Foundation,when the Sisters opened St.

Starr, P. (1982). The Social Transformation of American Medicine. Basic Books

Epstein S; Timmermans S  From Medicine to Health: The Proliferation and Diversification of Cultural Authority.  Journal of Health & Social Behavior. 62(3):240-254, 2021 09. VI 1

Lenten Blessings

Christ Blessing 

with Saint John the Evangelist, the Virgin Mary, Saint John the Baptist, and Saint Francis

 (known as the Peruzzi Altarpiece)

Giotto di Bondone

North Carolina Museum of Art, Personal Photo, 3/22/2025

This Lenten season our church has been studying the Beatitudes as found in Matthew 5 and reviewed in the book by James Howell.  Although the book, The Beatitudes for Today,  was written in 2006, the reflections seemed very relevant for this current Lenten season.  

In the Beatitudes, the most striking word is “Blessed” which is connected to the realities of our lives.  I think these verses are best described as  “benedictions” spoken at the beginning  of each verse to a reality of our broken lives.   “Blessed’s” primary location adds meaning as the “given” or context to the events of our faith journey.

So the “good words” of this Lenten season are the “Blessings” that are the first things - the most important things.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Thanks be to God for the promises of these Lenten Beatitude blessings,

Marvin

References

Howell, J. C. (2006). The beatitudes for today. Westminster John Knox Press.

Matthew 5:3-12 (NIV)

Belonging

Personal Photo outside Nairobi, Kenya - 2018 

Personal photo, Hout Bay, South Africa - 2012

“I should love the truth, speak it candidly, and openly acknowledge it. 

And I should do what I can to guard and advance my neighbor's good name.”

Lord’s Day #43 - Heidelberg Catechism

It has been a long education!  I have had glimpses into the healing of disconnections, but never had the expansive view of “belonging” until I finished the book, “On Belonging” by Kim Samuel.  It is a comprehensive text on the theory, practice and history of building systems of connection in a world of loneliness.  I found a resonance with my experiences.

A central theme of the book, “On Belonging’ is the word, “dignity”.  The Swahili word would be “heshima”.  It is a “lifting up” and deep honoring of “others”.  I saw that lived out in my experiences in Kenya and my visit to South Africa.  In this country, this kind of belonging is central to the missions of Father Greg Boyle in Los Angeles. 

What “On Belonging” also describes is there are “dark sides” of this powerful idea.  Here is a quote:

“When we seek belonging in ways that do not acknowledge and honor our innate interconnectedness, we only stray further from wholeness, into the shadowlands.”  Kim Samuel

The Covid pandemic, like previous pandemics, has only exacerbated this reality.   This aspect of “long Covid” remains a challenge for the world.  There is work to do to bring The healing of Belonging to a suffering world.

Marvin

References

Heshima: Dignity for Children with Disabilities

https://heshima.org/

RCA House System

https://rcahousesystem.com/isibindi/

Lord’s Day 43 Heidelberg Catechism

Heidelberg, University. Heidelberg Catechism (Function). Kindle Edition.

Samuel, K. (2022). On belonging: Finding connection in an age of isolation. Abrams.  Quote p. 42 - Kindle

Sumuel Centre for Social Connectedness

https://www.socialconnectedness.org/about-us/

Hage, M. L. (2022). Healing Ecology

http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2022/12/healing-ecology.html

Boyle, G. (2024). Cherished Belonging. Simon and Schuster.

Remembering from a Distance

"9/11 Memorial up close"

 “Statue of Liberty from a Distance”

“Maasai Flag”

Original Painting by James Cloutier

“9/11 Condolences from the Maasai”

Personal Photos - 3/2024 

There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, 

 because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother. 

Genesis 35:7 (NIV)

There are realities and “time as distance” is one of them.   The responses to this “time limit” are many but a common one is some kind of marker or memorial.  These memorials are not just related to individuals but also communities.  They leave messages or ideas that can last well beyond individual limits or visions.

I was reminded and reflected on our visit to New York City this last year and particularly the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.  The 9/11 Memorial best captures who and what was lost.  The Statue of Liberty, not far away,  reminded me of what we valued.  Both carry powerful reminders of who we are and how we are seen.  One image that connected these memorials for me was the “Condolences from the Maasai”.  It connected me  over time, geography and cultures to the motto of "Liberté, égalité, fraternité” as a gift to the world.

Both national sites mark important moments in our stories.   Both carry important ideas of who we are.  Memorial art helps us remember and tell our stories.  It speaks across oceans.  It speaks when we are speechless.  It sometimes is the only thing that connects us!

Thanks be to God who continues to speak to us through art.

Marvin

Reference

“A Maasai Village Responds to 9/11 with Compassion”

https://www.911memorial.org/connect/blog/maasai-village-responds-911-compassion

Deedy, C. A. (2018). 14 Cows for America. Holiday House.