During Tuesday’s devotional, Rebekka Matheson, an associate professor in the School of Medicine, invited students to rethink the meaning of the refiner’s fire and consider how being present with others in their suffering can help them develop Christlike charity.
“I have come to believe that it is our choice to be present, with our senses and our attention, with other people in their afflictions, that purifies our love into charity,” Matheson said.
Embodying Presence
Matheson began by sharing an experience from her time volunteering on the Mobile Crisis Team in Rochester, New York: during one of her first emergency responses, she felt uncertain about how to help a man in distress. Seeking guidance, she turned to her team leader, Josh, who said: “Presence…Just presence.”
Recounting Job’s suffering in the Old Testament, Matheson explained that he nearly lost everything he loved and cared for. Job’s friends, seeing him suffer, silently sat with him for seven days. Their quiet presence offered him comfort, but this did not last long once his friends gave explanations for his suffering.
Matheson taught that sometimes you don’t need to give advice or explanations; instead, listening and being with them can provide more comfort than words.
She said that students, too, encounter challenges, but rather than remaining in solitude, she encouraged them to connect with others whether it’s in their classes, at church, or in their community.
“Don’t become disconnected from time, place, and from your people. Be present.”
Similarly, she invited students to be in the presence of those who are struggling. This doesn’t mean knowing exactly what to say to fix someone’s problems, but sometimes simply being there is enough.
In an increasingly digital age, Matheson also urged students to focus on their senses to engage with others. She explained that humans have senses that were meant to form relationships, understand each other’s experiences and develop empathy.
Just as Christ chose to have an earthly body to connect with others through acts of service and love, students too can do the same by using their senses to make meaningful relationships.
Finding Charity in Others’ Fire
“Sometimes presence means stepping into the hardest fires of another person’s life,” said Matheson.
Using the analogy of the refiner’s fire in the book of Malachi, Matheson challenged the idea that experiencing challenges is the only way for individuals to be spiritually strengthened and purified.
She gave three reasons to caution against this interpretation: suffering may be mistaken as punishment from God, individuals judge their righteousness based on their suffering, and growth can become passive rather than an active choice to develop charity.
Instead of interpreting the refiner’s fire this way, she offered a different perspective.
The most important refiner’s fires aren’t my own trials. They’re other people’s,” Matheson said. “It is actively choosing to walk into other people’s fires, the actual burdens and pains of others’ experiences.
It is through these acts that an individual can remove impurities such as selfishness and judgment and develop charity, the pure love of Christ.
Matheson pointed to Jesus Christ as the perfect example of presence and charity. Through His Atonement, He chose to suffer, willingly embracing the fires of humanity’s suffering.
Matheson concluded her remarks by sharing Psalm 139, which taught that God is everywhere, even in the darkest moments. While God may not give every answer or remove every trial, she explained that His presence is there.
“That is the sum of my testimony: God is love. Love is God,” said Matheson.
