Time to renew the Covenant?

Of course, remember social distancing!

The entire world is in the midst of working out a new ‘Normal” due to the worldwide pandemic of the Coronavirus.  Many people are frightened about what's happening and what it means for the future.

Leaving the pandemic aside for a moment, let’s look at the state of our world…a record number of refugees; communities in peril due to climate change; an obscene number of children still dying each day from malnourishment or preventable diseases; and countless other horrors.  The human misery index is soaring and many of us are paralyzed by what Pope Francis calls the “Globalization of Indifference”.  Since we didn’t cause it and certainly can't fix it, we either do nothing or we look the other way.

These are uncertain times.  Many people are afraid and worried about their health, their finances, and their loved ones. There's not a clear path to follow as we're in uncharted territory.  We can panic or stress out about this crisis the world is experiencing or we could look at this time in our world as an opportunity.

I've been thinking alot about the irony that our world is being hit with COVID19 during the Lenten season. Social distancing is being urged by health experts. We're being told to avoid large gatherings, to work from home, and almost all businesses are closed except grocery stores.  It feels like this extraordinary time is an invitation from God to review our response to the final covenant that Jesus represents (Genesis 17:3-9).  We should take this unexpected "time out” to reflect on how we could model Jesus’ generosity; to love as Jesus did,to do what we can, where we can.  None of us can solve the mess we're in, but surely, we all can do something to reduce the misery we see.

This could be our moment; the time to renew God’s final covenant.  Can we move away from war and violence?  Can we create societies where all people have the opportunity to thrive?  Right now we have some unexpected opportunities and I'm hoping we will use this time to come together and work to create God’s kingdom in our communities and the world.  As followers of Jesus we know there's a better way.  Following Jesus’ example will take lots of prayer and courage, but isn’t that what Lent is about?