Day 39: “WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL SAFER?”

DAY 39

Faith in the Midst of a Pandemic

A series of daily reflections for people of faith

by Rev. Robert Bayley, Interim Pastor

Patuxent Presbyterian Church, California, Maryland

WEEK SIX: WEDNESDAY 22 APRIL 2020

“WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL SAFER?”

“The world has never seen anything like this and people want to make sure they’re prepared for whatever lies ahead, whether that be food shortages, government shutdown or worse,”  a spokesman for ammo.com said in an emailed statement to a major news outlet. “When everything around you is uncertain, having a supply of ammunition can make our customers feel safer.” - News release by a major news outlet 19 March 2020  

Yikes! Have some come to this – a sense of safety comes from having a gun and a good supply of ammunition? Whom do they plan on shooting – their unruly neighbors? Fellow Americans in the National Guard? What have we come to when gun sales surge because of a health crisis?

At the end of the day safety is relative and conditional – there is nothing and no one where true, unilateral safety can be known if by safety we are referencing the status of the physical body. As a child I have watched in the early light of dawn as atomic bombs have detonated on the desert floor of southern Nevada. Ask the people of Nagasaki and Hiroshima if they were safe. A certain proximity to such devices guarantees the demise of our physical body.

Our English word ‘safety’ comes to us following a circuitous linguistic route from the Latin meaning ‘uninjured, in good health, or whole.’ Curiously, on its journey from ancient Latin to modern English its root ‘salvus’ also became the basis for our English word ‘salvation.’ “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10. The location of this ‘place’ of safety is non-geographic: it is anywhere and everywhere the Lord’s name, Savior –  same linguistic root – is the ‘place’ were people are putting their trust for their safety, their ‘salvation.’ Trust in Him means that no matter what is going on in the world around us,  every night when we go to bed we can say with assurance and confidence, “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8.    

Reflective question: What is the location of the ultimate placement of your trust for your soul?

Reflective scripture: Proverbs 29:25

“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord will be kept safe.”    

Reflective hymn: “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” (Elisha Hoffman 1839-1929)

What have I to dread, what have I to fear, leaning on the everlasting arms?

I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms.

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;

Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.