En Garde! – 11-27-24

You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday’s gospel reading is here

En garde! That’s about the sum total of what I know about the sport – or is it the art? – of fencing. “En garde!” is what I think of when I read Jesus’ warning to his disciples:v“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap.”

If ever there were an apt warning for the day before Thanksgiving, this is it. Don’t be caught unawares… the turkey needs brining, the silver needs polishing, the oil needs changing, or was that the baby? Yep. Stress, thy name is the Day Before Thanksgiving. Whether you’re hosting or traveling, there seems to be a to-do list – especially if you have two x chromosomes… And yet, here is Jesus:“Do not let your hearts be weighed down by dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life.” (Save those for Thanksgiving Day!)

This, of course, is an instruction for life, not just for a Wednesday in November. It invites us to live in a state of preparedness such as we develop during times of crisis, like, perhaps, the kind we’ve are enduring globally. How might we cultivate a state of “en garde-ed-ness” without kicking up those nasty, free-radical stress chemicals? How can we be at peace, serene, and also alert?

The stylized movements of fencing may have something to teach us. “En garde” is the instruction given when two players face off; it begins the match (bout? I’ve already spent more time on fencing terms than I meant to.) It invites the combatants to assume a defensive posture, but one that distributes their balance in such a way that they can thrust and parry, light on their feet.

As followers of Christ, we are to be alert and on our guard against the trials that test our faith and the temptations sent our way by the enemy. Yet we are to hold that defense lightly, remembering that it is not we who do battle, but Christ who fights for us, with us. Our posture of readiness and balance is one that allows us to pivot nimbly to whatever comes at us, and to yield to God’s power coming through us.

Balance implies an equilibrium between rest and movement, thought and action, receiving and giving. What if we made it our spiritual goal this Advent to find this balance, to be on guard but without fear, ready at all times to fight for justice and faithfulness with love and mercy, wielding “l’epee d’Esprit,” the sword of the Spirit, in the name of peace?

When do you feel most relaxed? Think about how might you cultivate that feeling more of the time, even during stress. How better to prepare for the advent of the Prince of Peace.

If you’re stressed out today, try it now. En garde!
Now relax.

© Kate Heichler, 2024. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.

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