So many stars making a daily difference ‘on the ground’ in our NHS, community hubs & social networks. People like Prof Jason Leitch giving a clear, concise & compassionate national lead. I was sorry to miss my street’s raucous applause of frontline NHS workers, getting to my window just as neighbours re-entered their homes. Conservative government officials behaving like socialist trailblazers, political bickering & point scoring mostly binned in a united stand against the common enemy which threatens us all. People, like 93 year old veteran Harry Billinge (who lived & fought through WW2), urging us to see Covid-19 as a rallying cry to unite us in loving sacrificial service.
Holed up for most of the week playing catchup, it was like coming up to breathe on Friday & Saturday out on my bike. For how long will this still be possible, in a period of ‘calm before storm’? I thought a Rev sitting in on Sunday would be relaxing; I was more bushed than ever by 10pm, with such positive full-on social media engagement from our 10.30am pre-recorded & 6.30pm live Zoom services. Steep learning curves are being learnt to ‘do church’ differently, continuing ‘to share the love of Jesus, introduce people to Saviour Jesus and help each other follow Jesus’ lead of love’
Prayers continue: for the many who can’t get out right now! For the ill, infected, fearful, vulnerable & hemmed in, sanity escaping daily! For so many losing, & fearful of losing, their health, loved ones, jobs, businesses, savings, retirement & dreams! For other nations & communities without a health services & resources like ours.
With fewer world-sourced exotic foods we’ll learn to buy more local produce; we’ll see a spike in birth rates around Christmas, “You can only watch so many back episodes of Dad’s Army and Carry On films before you get bored with the telly.” For sure, vulnerability encourages humility, reflection & sifting of priorities and valuing of relationships. Be vigilant to people looking to prey on the vulnerable & to the
release of Fake News, like ‘dolphins swimming in Venice’s canals’.
While Coronavirus songs & jokes increase like the plague, some releases like Tom MacDonald’s rap resonate (a little apocalyptic),
“…We’re hoping for the best but we’re preparing for the worst. There’s one thing we’re not scared of: it’s hard work. We’re up against an enemy that doesn’t have a face. There’s no bombs we can drop, nowhere we can aim, no soldiers to stop with a tank at the gates, no cure that we’ve got or a pill we can take, no food, it’s been bought, The truth is we’re afraid, We sit inside our rooms and we pray…”
As Planet Earth’s re-set button is depressed, be sure our world is changing through this crisis. Let’s make sure it leads to us being more in touch with our neighbours, planet & the needs of others. I see it as a ‘Re-Jesus’ moment.
“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the centre of your life.” (Philippians 4:6-7 / MSG)
