Faith in the Midst of a Pandemic
A series of daily reflections for people of faith
by Rev. Robert Bayley, Interim Pastor
WEEK TWO: WEDNESDAY 25 MARCH 2020
“A Mercy from God”
“During this uncertain time we are living in, I’m thankful that we
have a God that we can fully trust, if we choose to do so. We do not need to live
in fear of COVID19. We need to fear God. COVID19 is possibly a mercy from God
to help people think about death and whether they are ready or not to meet
him.” - Mark Peachey, caseworker, the Anabaptist Foundation, Central
Pennsylvania Clinic
Mercy – how does that word strike you in the context of the
coronavirus? Searching for God’s mercy in the midst of a pandemic that has yet
to exact its full toll on humanity, hitting especially hard hundreds of
millions of the planet’s poor, proves an elusive endeavor.
Mercy in the Greek New testament is a word that conveys the
dynamic not only of showing kindness toward those who are suffering but equally
so desiring to help them. And does this not fit perfectly mercy as an attribute
of God? Actually, is this not what the
cross represents?
Two men went to the temple to pray. One man stood up in front and reminded God what a good man he was. The other stood in the back and prayed quietly, “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.” Jesus said the latter rather the other, went home right with God, ready to meet Him. Luke 18:9-14.
The ancient prayer of the church traceable back to the fourth century, “Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison” remains integral to the liturgy for hundreds of millions of Christians to this day, including its use in some Presbyterian churches following the Prayer of Confession: “Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.” The mercy Mark Peachey references above is specific: to help us consider if we are, to use the traditional phrase, ‘right with God.”
The way back home to the God who made us, to be ready to meet Him someday, is simple: “I surrender all.” May the Holy Spirit use the present crisis to help you know you are ready.
Reflective scripture: John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
Reflective hymn: I Surrender All (#596)
All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give.
I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live.
I surrender all, surrender all.
All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I
surrender all.
A reflective prayer: Write your own
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