Greetings My Dear Friends.
We can still maintain safe social distance and enjoy the amazing beauty of our County!
“I long night and day to see you that I may be filled with joy!”
These are the words of the author of the Second Letter to Timothy. (1.4b) They reflect well my own feelings today. We long to see one another and to have our world return to “normal” – before Covid-19 attacked our human race. We are literally, as a human family, involved in “a life and death struggle” with this virus.
Our health authorities tell us that the best way we can contribute to an ultimate victory is to: stay at home, to wash our hands with soap and water, and when we do have to go out for the necessities of life, to stay at least six feet (2 metres) away from anyone else. This is a difficult task – especially so, the isolating at home. We need to remember that this instruction does not preclude us from taking a walk, or from sitting on our deck. Electronic communication is the key to our feeling connected with our community. So, we use the phone, we use email, we use Facebook Messenger, we use other social media – and we can be connected with family and friends at a distance through Facetime and Skype. We can be so grateful for this technology – a reminder that we are all in this together – everyone of every nation, religion, culture and language. Let’s use our creative imaginations to find ways to pass the time at home – reading, listening to music, watching the birds. . . .
This week I reminded you again of the Daily Meditation of The Rev. Richard Rohr of The Centre for Action & Contemplation. (It’s free!) I want to share with you part of what Richard wrote today:
“Intelligently responding to the Coronavirus demands that we access resources of physical, emotional and spiritual resilience. One practice, that our family of faith has developed to nurture resilience is lamentation. Prayers of lamentation arise in us when we sit and speak out to God and one another – stunned, sad, and silenced by the tragedy and absurdity of human events. . .Without this we do not suffer the necessary pain of this world, the necessary sadness of being human.”
Tomorrow’s Psalm for use in worship is our beloved Psalm 23. But the Psalm just before that in the Book of Psalms, Psalm 22, may speak more to what many are feeling. Jesus quoted from this Psalm in the last moments before his death:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of your People. In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame” (Psalm 22.1-5)
Our friend, Ruth Bruce, has issued an invitation to everyone from our congregations and beyond, to join together in prayer for the world at 10:00am tomorrow morning. Even though we are separated from one another and not able to gather for worship – we can unit our hearts in prayer. Thanks, Ruth, for this suggestion.
In my sermon tomorrow I’ll be speaking further about where God is in the midst of this crisis.
For today, may each of you experience an awareness of God’s loving care as you reach out to family, friends and neighbours – by electronic means – and remain at home, grateful for many gifts.
With pastoral concern and love,
Rev. Phil