Dear Friends.
Greetings on this sunny early spring morning. I hope that you and your loved ones are safe and well.
A friend posted a great picture on Facebook this morning – to demonstrate “Social Distancing”! On the left side of the page was a picture of the Stanley Cup. On the right-hand side, a picture of a Leaf’s jersey! Alas, maybe this could have been the year!? (Who am I kidding? But hope springs eternal!)
This morning I am offering a reflection on the word “Vulnerability”. Tomorrow I’ll focus on “Joy”. Again, I remind you that though we are not able to meet in person, you are free to contact me anytime by email, text or on the phone. My number is 613-970-7880.
Until tomorrow,
Grace and peace with pastoral love and support,
Rev. Phil
at the bottom of the page
“Vulnerability”
“Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD, Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!
My soul waits for the LORD more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning.
O My People hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love.”
Psalm 130 – Selections
Psalm 130 is the assigned Psalm for the Fifth Sunday in the Season of Lent – this coming Sunday, March 29th. Like Psalm 22, it is a Psalm of lament. The author is crying out to God in great distress and anguish. (Eugene Peterson, in The Message, gives a paraphrase of the first verse that includes the phrase: “the bottom has fallen out of my life”)
The author of Psalm 130 is praying from a position of vulnerability. That’s where many of us find ourselves today. Generally speaking, it is not a familiar place to most of us. We are not used to feeling vulnerable.
Most of us who consider ourselves to be part of the middle class in Ontario, are usually pretty secure. We are accustomed to eating three meals a day. We have a roof over our heads. We have a comfortable bed to sleep in. If we do get sick, we take for granted that we have a health care system that is second to none in the world – and it is accessible to everyone. We don’t have to consider whether we’ll lose our home in order to access quality care. Most of us have a supportive community around us – family and friends upon whom we can count.
But now COVID-19 comes charging onto the scene and we find ourselves feeling vulnerable. Along with the vulnerability comes fear about who among us might be struck down by this virus. We are isolating in our homes and taking great precautions to try to stop the disease from spreading – but we hear reports daily of increasing death tolls around the world.
We are now experiencing vulnerability, which is a daily reality for several billion of our sisters and brothers in the human family. This is certainly true of the two-thirds world who live in the global south. But it is also true for many closer to home. This morning as I was out for my walk (keeping social distance of course!) I passed the TD Bank on Main Street. A homeless man, with all his earthly possessions in shopping bags, was sleeping in the foyer of the bank. We know of the plight of the homeless, of those who must depend on our Food Bank for assistance each month, and for Indigenous Communities across Canada who lack clean drinking water. All of these folk have lived with the daily reality of vulnerability. We have now joined them in living in a vulnerable state.
This reality serves as a wake-up-call and a reminder to us that we are all in this together. As a human family, the vulnerability of any is the vulnerability of us all. The only way that we can come safely through this extreme crisis situation is for all of us to pull together. It was encouraging to hear the Prime Minister today indicate that our Federal Government is going to make sure that Canada takes action to help fund the World Health Organization as it provides leadership moving forward. Monies are also going to be provided for all those who are working to develop a vaccine and treatments. These are valuable uses of our tax dollars.
So, what can we do in this vulnerable situation? The things we are being asked to do are pretty simple really. (Things we learned in Kindergarten? ) Stay at home. Wash our hands for twenty seconds with soap and water. Keep a safe two metre (six foot) distance between us when we have to go out for necessities or are going out for exercise.
As a faith community we can pray. Please do continue to hold especially those on the front lines in your prayers. Light a candle in your window tonight at 7:30 (keeping the flame away from draperies and never leaving it unattended) and remember with gratitude: nurses, doctors, nurse practitioners, respiratory technicians, all hospital staff, paramedics, police officers, fire-fighters, clerks in our grocery stores, pharmacies and other stores selling the necessities of life, waste collectors and all others who, at personal risk, keep our society functioning. And during the day, whenever you think of it, say a prayer for them. (Never forgetting that God is with us.)
These are ways that we can make a difference. We can also pick up the phone and call a neighbour or friend to check on them. We can use email, texts, and social media to keep in touch.
We are all vulnerable. This is part of our universal human experience. We are all in this together.
I leave you with the words of another hymn – probably my favourite hymn – entitled “My Life Flows On” – (Voices United #716) Words and Music by Robert Lowry 1869. (Robert Lowry was an American Baptist Minister who was writing in the aftermath of the terrible Civil War in his country – a time of great vulnerability for his beloved people. He was 73 when he wrote this hymn.)
“What though my joys and comforts die? My Saviour still is living. What though the shadows gather round? A new song Christ is giving! No storm can shake my inmost calm, while to that Rock I’m clinging: since Love commands both heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing!”
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