DAY 81
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 TWELVE: WEDNESDAY 3 JUNE 2020
“I put my faith in God and take precautions”
“I chose a career in
health care – specifically, critical care – because I wanted to help others in
their most vulnerable and dire time of need. I put my faith in God and take
precautions by properly donning, removing, and disinfecting my personal
protective equipment. But in the back of my mind, I can’t help but wonder how
much the risk of infection increases from constant exposure.’ - Brooke Spence,
Critical Care Nurse, Las Vegas.
After immobilizing my head
and neck with a brace, they carefully placed me on a flat board stretcher and
loaded me into the ambulance for the ride to the hospital. Injured while
playing basketball with some friends, they were afraid I had broken my neck. The
paramedics spoke no English and my Spanish was very limited, yet as we sped
through the streets of Madrid to the hospital, I was overwhelmed with a sense
that they were committed to my care communicated both by the tone they spoke to
me and the way they handled me.
There is something about
people who commit themselves to caring for the vulnerable, sick and injured
that is universal in its motive: a desire to help people. Now the pandemic has
turned our gaze in a direction few of us normally would glance, where
physicians, nurses, orderlies, EMT’s and paramedics, hospital cleaners and home
health care givers are all being tested by the presence not only of a surge in
people needing care, some of it critical, but by an invisible potentially
deadly enemy lurking in the very places where they feel called to serve others.
Most of us are not in one
of these categories, but all of us are potentially candidates for their care. A
lesson to be learned during this pandemic is in the dual clear commitment to
trust in God and take the necessary steps to protect ourselves. A face mask is
not a political statement: it is rather a statement about our trust in God and
our commitment to take intentional steps to protect ourselves and those around
us, a commitment to compassionate wisdom, reflecting the God who has made us – “The
Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is
good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.” Psalm 145:8-9.
Reflective question: Trusting in God and using wisdom – will you do both?
Will you reach out in some way to those caring for the sick?
Reflective
Scripture: Proverbs 3:13 – “Blessed
are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding.”
Reflective hymn:
“We Come to You for
Healing, Lord” – Herman Stuempfle Jr. (1923-2007)
You touch us through
physicians’ skills,
through nurses’ gifts of
care,
And through the love of
faithful friends, we lift our lives in prayer.
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