Today’s world is different from two months ago. Some say things will never be the same again. I don’t know that we can or should remain unchanged in all of this. Let me go out on a limb and say that perhaps some of the changes we experience can be for the best. I don’t mean that there won’t be loss, there has been loss and it will doubtless continue.
Challenge
How do we keep ministering to others while keeping common sense safety measures in place to protect them at the same time? Many churches have gone on-line with worship for perhaps the first time. Others have been doing it for a long time now and have the technology and expertise in place to carry on, just without a congregation physically present.
On-line worship is one of the ways we can share the love of God in a time of social distancing and health crisis. Zoom and other platforms have made possible group Bible Study, Sunday School and even committee meetings.
What other ministries could and should go on in new ways?
Social distancing is new, a novel health crisis is not. Remember 2009 when H1N1 was first identified? Remember the early 80’s when AIDS first appeared? The AIDS virus has killed 32 million people worldwide since the beginning of the epidemic, 700,000 in the US alone. (Mark Cichocki, RN, is an HIV/AIDS nurse educator at the University of Michigan Health System. November 25, 2019)
The Promise
“God’s promise to be with us allows us to consider the surprising and powerful intimacy of God’s willingness to be with us in all our circumstances.” (Amy Poling Sutherlun, Presbyterian Women’s Bible Study, I am With You, 2018-2019, p. 11, emphasis mine).
Personally, I am thankful for that because it means that He is:
right here, right now with you and me
with health care providers at every hospital and clinic, nursing home and assisted living facility in the world,
with every isolated individual in any part of the world,
with every family trying to become their children’s teachers overnight,
with every hourly wage earner who is suddenly without a wage,
with every critically ill patient on life support,
with every family separated by distance of any sort
even with those who cavalierly flaunt social distancing, placing neighbors and family at greater risk.
And those who greedily hoard needed resources preventing others from having what they need.
God is always here, ready to listen, support and comfort. God is our refuge and strength, an ever–present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1)
We must put our faith in God, not in hoarding material things, not in our own robust physical health or youthful vigor. In God alone is hope, love and peace found while the world whirls in crisis around us. His Presence with us is more than enough.
Lord,
I am a sinner, and I have taken for granted your hand in the events of my life. I recognize your promise to be with me in all of life and I am profoundly grateful for that promise today.
In the words of Psalm 51:10
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Amen
God Keep You
Nathan Green, “The Healer” photo credit
Light for this step 