Nurturing Elders: The Fall is More Than a Season

By the Rev. Paul Graves | Painting by Tizian

For many years I’ve been professionally aware of older adults’ tendencies toward balance issues — often ending in falls of varying severity. Until the day I wrote this reflection, I hadn’t made the word-play connection of physical falls, spiritual falls, and the season we call “fall”.

Hence my assertion that “the fall is more than a season.” But this assertion comes with a difficult memory. To my knowledge, my 91-yr-old dad had only one fall. If he had more, he never told me.

Actually, he didn’t tell me about the one I knew about – but my cousin did. She called and said Dad had fallen in his apartment and was in the hospital with a cerebral hemorrhage. He didn’t survive that fall.

So I never got the chance to “scold” him about being more careful. But I do offer that “scold” to older adults (myself and my wife included) whenever I get that opportunity.

Consider yourself scolded!

There are great ways to reduce the likelihood of falling in our homes or elsewhere. I hope you pay attention to your surroundings and your body so you reduce your fall-ability.

But my intent goes beyond this kind of “fall” or the meteorological kind as well. Let’s consider biblical-spiritual falling. Frankly I’ve resisted thinking much about what we refer to as “The Fall” of humankind as blamed on Adam and Eve.

I’ve resisted it because the way we think of it is too simplistic. It’s too easy for us to dismiss it, even if we are ready to blame it for our human condition. But over recent years I’ve discovered that the redemptive dimension of The Fall is so much more than we usually settle for!

Let’s begin with the story we associate with The Fall, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3: 1-24). This is a powerful myth (a “story with great meaning”). It informs our understandings — and misunderstandings — about humanity’s relationship with God.

After the snake-apple encounter for Adam and Eve, they suddenly realize “they are naked”. We sometimes overlook an important part of this story. In Gen. 3:11, God simply asks, “Who told you that you were naked?”

We may assume God’s tone was accusatory, but maybe it really reflected God’s blessing all of creation. Sensing their exaggerated shame about this, God said the leaves they sew together to cover themselves weren’t good enough.

So God sewed clothes from animal skins for them to wear (Gen. 3:21). God continued to care for them in their self-driven shame.

Maybe God was affirming the couple was still good, still loved by God. There may have been a consequence to their disobedience, but they were still loved by God.

In later centuries, Christian theology used this story to demand that the only way to stand up from this fall is to be “saved” by believing in Jesus. But there’s much more to salvation than reserving a place in heaven!

It is more about healing us (salving our wounds) here and now, to free us to live daily lives as we are created to live them. That is meant to remind us that even when we’re uncertain of God, God is rock-solid certain of loving us no matter what.

The English mystic, Julian of Norwich, said “First the fall, and then the recovery from the fall, and both are the mercy of God.” When we fall down, literally and metaphorically, we are helped to stand up and walk again (whatever that “walk” looks like!). Our spiritual maturity reflects that.

We are in the season called “fall”. But every day, year-round, we can fall in some way. Our bodies may need help from another person. But our spirits are nourished by the God who cares for the wounded, the naked.

The Rev. Paul Graves serves as the chair for the Conference Council on Older Adult Ministries for the PNWUMC.