[I have some new followers that came by way of my sick loved one's social media presence. To you, thank you for stopping by. This is a place where I reflect on my faith tradition's practice of daily scripture reading in the morning. Sometimes my reflections veer into my personal world. My intent has never been to expose anyone, or share secrets or stories that are not mine. Rather, I find that when I pray and reflect on Scripture, real life is how it relates in my world. Please respect my loved one's privacy, and my faith practice here. I hope you find peace and God's grace. And share..]
When praying the assigned Morning Prayer readings, there is a reading from the Gospel every day. With the brevity of the Gospels, and the repetition of some of the stories, some stories seem to crop up very often. Or maybe I just remember reflecting on the last time a particular story came up. Today is one of those days.
Jesus and his disciples are in the boat, heading over to the other side of the lake, which in Jesus’ time, was similar to heading over to the other side of the tracks. A big storm comes up and their little boat is tossed about. Meanwhile Jesus is asleep in the front of the boat. The disciples are afraid and awaken him. With his command, he calms the storm, and then turns to the disciples and asks why they’re afraid. Um, I can think of many reasons..
I have returned from my conference on the other side of the country, with people from all over the country. To get there, we probably travelled through most major airports, and came into contact with thousands of people. Upon our departure, three of our members got sick, and were tested for CoviD-19. It turns out they all had the Flu A. Another member works closely with someone who did test positive for CoviD. Our last action on the Board of Directors was to talk about a communication plan in case anyone from our group tested positive. If that occurs, all of us, and everyone we travelled with should, according to the CDC self-quarantine.
Upon returning, I was thrown in to similar planning and communicating in my job – what do we do, what should churches do, what about us as employees? The second day back, I awoke to a scratchy throat, stuffed up head, and tight chest. For an abundance of caution, I stayed home yesterday, and will again today. I’m nearly certain it’s just that malaise that happens from airline travel and 3 hours time difference. But I’m only nearly certain. Not certain certain. So I’ll work from home today.
Meanwhile, my sick loved one is increasingly agitated and unhappy.
So today’s reading is fitting. Why am I afraid? Why are we as a country or world afraid? For one reason, we are facing a pandemic that hasn’t been seen in our lifetime. For another, I have no certainty about my sick loved one’s future.
This morning, I’m thinking about how are we – facing such uncertainty – supposed to loose the fear that’s gripping us?
There’s nothing about faith in God that lessens the uncertainty, or immunizes me from bad things. There’s nothing about faith that assures me and my loved ones will escape unscathed from this pandemic, or that my loved one’s future will be rosy.
But what faith gives me is something to hold on to today, a certainty that I am loved and that God’s providential mercy will be with me all day. Today, I will deal with whatever comes up. I also have a certainty that when tomorrow comes, the same will be true. I will deal, and I am loved. Jesus is telling his disciples and is telling us not to worry about tomorrow. Don’t worry about the storm, CoviD, illness.
Today, I am glad some of these stories from Jesus come up frequently. Today, I need to be reminded that fear is not what I am ever called to. Today, I will deal with whatever comes my way. Today, I am loved. Tomorrow, it will be true again.
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