July 19

Today marked the first day of the Seneca Falls Convention, in 1848, a major milestone in women’s rights. Led by such figures as Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Frederick Douglass, the convention galvanized the women’s suffrage movement.

Today is the birthday, in 1875, of Alice Dunbar-Nelson, poet and journalist of the Harlem Renaissance. 

Today marks the death, in 2002, of Alan Lomax, folk music historian and ethnomusicologist, who spent decades of his life recording folk music of diverse cultures and places. He heard in music and rhythm a common humanity than connects us all.  

Today marks the death, in 2014, of Rubem Alves, Brazilian liberation theologian who was persecuted by the military dictatorship. He believed and wrote that theology should be both hopeful and beautiful, and that, though social justice is important, liberation theology should be about more than just fixing broken political systems.  

Today is the Feast Day of Seraphim of Sarov, a Russian hermit and monk whose ascetism and kindness toward others became legendary. He greeted everyone by saying, “Christ is risen!” and treated them as if they were Jesus himself. 

Reflection: 

Since I treat religious obsessive-compulsive disorder, I sometimes have a hard time seeing certain heroic feats of faith — like Seraphim of Sarov spending one thousand nights on a rock with his hands raised in prayer — as something to aspire to. The important questions are always, “Does this behavior make it difficult to work, live, or find fulfillment in relationships?” and “Does this behavior cause or sustain significant distress?” For this reason, I take a skeptical stance toward the asceticism and self-mortification of many official saints.  

Some of Sarov’s asceticism does not seem to have come from a fear of punishment or an abiding sense of guilt, and instead brought more people into his life, who he greeted with love. Even though he was a hermit, he delighted in other people. He said:

Alice Dunbar-Nelson wrote: 

Alan Lomax said: 

Rubem Alves said: 

and

Prayer: God save us from theology that is boring, uninspiring, and manufactures suffering for people and planet. Give us a theology that is vibrant, hopeful, transformative, and that leads toward peace. Amen.