Being the Blessed Community

When my 94 year old Dad tells stories about the Depression years and the time of rationing during WWII he inevitably ends up highlighting memory after memory of how people took care of people, family took care of family, and communities took care of each other. Yes, he talks about not having much, about how little money and resources were readily available and about how you made something out of nothing at all. Everything was kept to be reused in another way, nothing was thrown away and time was taken to mend, repair and restore . . . 'disposable' just was not an option.

Yet, more than anything else of which he speaks regarding those times, Dad speaks of relationships: parents and children, neighbors and strangers, those who had something sharing with those who didn't . . . and the list goes on and on. Those were times which galvanized communities and families, times which shaped the collective spirit and imagination of nations and cultures, times which forged strength and resilience in the soul of a people searching and working for hope in the face of despair and difficulty. For Dad, and many of those who yet remain from that time, one other thing brought them together in unity . . .and that was their faith and their faith communities.  The church, in its many expressions, bore the centrality of weight in how people found ways to survive. The church was a spiritual home, a communal gathering, a social necessity and a provider of food, resources and and healing in the way of the Christ who throws open the door of a tomb.

There is nothing of which we must be afraid, so let us move forward in the confidence of the One who is our Light and our Salvation. (Psalm 27.1 paraphrased)

Those are important words for another difficult time in our nation and our world. Today COVID 19 has become the name by which the health of millions is being put at risk. A virus without a known cure or inoculation, COVID 19 is spreading world-wide and many among our most vulnerable and susceptible in the population are being threatened. Hospital and health programs are being ramped-up, medical professionals are working at a frenzied rate to determine best treatment procedures and the general population is being warned to avoid contact with others in large groups. School, restaurants and businesses are being temporarily shuttered or extremely limited, sports programs have been cancelled, entertainment spots have been closed and religious organizations are having to make choices about how they will gather and share the journey. The financial markets of the world are teetering on every announcement, every thought that the growth of the last decade or so might be threatened by something which has no name on Wall Street, but has impacted every facet of the global economy. On nearly every front, the unblinking eye of the camera is recording politician after politician trying to appear calm and collected, all the while striving to limit the extent of liability to which they will be exposed if they either do too much or too little in meeting the needs and expectations of a nation which is being made more fearful by the moment by the same unblinking eye which reminds them, us, how big this virus is becoming. 

This is a new age of collective redefinition and I am pondering on how our weaknesses and our strengths will be, on the one hand, exposed and, on the other hand, celebrated. Only time will tell, but these are a few things I would offer from what history reveals:

• Where people care for each other as though every life matters, every life will find a new measure of meaning and care.
• How we manage the financial implications of such a difficult time, especially as it regards those most marginalized, will directly affect the long term recovery of both, the economy and our understanding of truly being a part of the larger community.
• If we do not make care for the most vulnerable our shared priority, whether it regards their health or their welfare, it will make all the more difficult forging a new vision of community beyond the immediate crisis. 
• The poorest among us will inevitably bear, proportionally, the largest cost in health, in reduced wages, in ability to secure necessities and to provide for their families as shutdowns and isolation grows. Conversely and ironically, history shows us that the poorest among us tend to be, proportionally, the most generous in caring for others.
• Our nation, our culture and our world will become known and remembered in the future by the actions we take today. How we react in this global crisis has the potential to either elevate our world to a new level of mutuality and responsibility or disparage any hope for unity this generation might have ever entertained.

From a Christian perspective, the world is waiting along the roadside to see if the disciples of Jesus will stop, heal, teach and feed or just keep walking on, oblivious to the calling of the needy. In every community, in every part of our country, in every corner of our world, the waters of Baptism require a faithful response, an urgency of love and compassion, and an open mind and heart to working in collaborative ways which, under other circumstances, we may otherwise have not imagined or attempted. Now is not a time to withdraw, but to reach out. Now is not a time to save yourself, but to lose yourself in service. Now is not a time to turn away from your neighbor, but to embrace the need of your neighbor as your own, for truly your neighbor's need is your own or you were never truly a neighbor in the first place.

I am not sure where the days ahead will lead us, either with COVID 19 or as a people of faith, but I do trust where God leads and what God would have us doing in this time. I pray you do, too. I look forward to working with you as we address the present issues from a history of understanding and God's Vision for a New Day.

Something to ponder on the journey.

(c)dcw2019