Rector’s Ramblings – April 3, 2025
Coming down with one of the wonderful bugs going around our collective immune systems this weekend has caused me to struggle a bit this week. As a result, this rambling may or may not make as much sense as it seems in the midst of a foggy brain. I’m in the stage of life where illness is still more annoying than anything else. I can see how illness affects me more as I get older, though (yeah, yeah, I know, some of you are saying, “Just wait!”). As they can be for many, this illness has longer legs than some. I thought I was on a steady healing trajectory after things peaked on Saturday, and the fevers ended on Sunday. Unfortunately, my immune system reminded me it wasn’t fully online by midday Wednesday.
The immune system is one of the most amazing things about our bodies, and many aspects of our physical nature are pretty darn impressive. It’s designed to protect us from bacteria, viruses, fungi, and all sorts of other fun stuff. It’s always working, usually silently, in the background. Some of the symptoms we attribute to colds are really the immune system doing its job. Fevers, for example, are one way the immune system can make life tough on invading pathogens. They can also accelerate the response of other cells who join in the fight. Unfortunately, while all that fighting is going on, we don’t feel very well. It’s a worthwhile tradeoff most of the time unless the battle rages a bit too long or too intensely, at which point fevers are a problem in their own right.
Our immune system also has its limitations. It can only do so much and for so long. Once it’s been working on a particular problem for a while, we might not have the full capacity to ward off the next thing that comes along. Nor can they always handle new or novel attacks, which is why pandemics can be so scary. We can do things to keep our immune system in better shape. Staying hydrated, getting sleep, and ensuring good nutrition are ways to boost our immune response, although it’s never a guarantee that we will enjoy perfect health. I know that when I push too hard for too long, my body will find itself fighting off something as a result. It’s always a give and take, and it’s also amazing that our immune systems usually keep or get us back on track.
It is not just our bodies that must respond to things that threaten our health. So, too, do our relationships, groups we belong to, like our families, institutions, and even our communities. Each of those realities has its own systems for maintaining healthier outcomes. Like our immune systems, they can’t be taken for granted either.
We are “fearfully and wonderfully made,” as the psalmist reminds us in Psalm 139, a truth whether the writer was thinking of the majesty of immunological systems or not. Later, in the closing verses of the psalm, after asking God to deal with our enemies and the wicked, it asks God to search out our hearts to find the anxious – our prayerbook says restless – thoughts that might dwell there. If God finds wickedness or anything offensive, the psalmist seeks God’s “everlasting ways” in response. In a roundabout way, it’s a simple expression of the spiritual immune system we tap into in response to conflict and turmoil outside our bodies. The response is the everlasting ways of God – things commonly thought to include love, mercy, truth, and holiness. That’s the cure, so to speak.
We sure can get feverish and anxious, signs that something has taken on the form of a threat. Such realizations are not to be ignored, but nor can the fever and anxiety be allowed to exacerbate the problem or become a problem in its own right. Instead, such symptoms can trigger us to invite God into the fight, not just to assail our enemies (although that is also part of the psalmist’s prayer), but the fight inside us as we take stock of what we find there. Everlasting ways won’t heal or fix everything overnight, but they won’t leave us hopeless or comfortless either. Some trials will have longer legs than we would like, hanging on long past our inclination for accommodation. It’s always a long game, which is why everlasting ways – love, mercy, truth, and holiness – are really the only responses with the power to endure and overcome everything else.
Stay healthy, friends, and give thanks for immune systems and everlasting ways.
Tom+
