DAY 108: “In the Pandemic, as Ever, ‘I Will Give You Rest’”

DAY 108

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 Sixteen – Tuesday 30 June 2020

“In the Pandemic, as Ever, ‘I Will Give You Rest’”

“Beyond the glass lay a man, unconscious in the electric blue light, shrouded in tubes … the Rev. Ryan Connors stood at the door watching, his Roman collar barely visible beneath his face shield. Since the coronavirus pandemic began, he has gone to the bedsides of Covid-19 patients across the Boston area to perform one of the oldest religious rituals for the dying: the Roman Catholic practice commonly called last rites.”  From a recent newspaper article by the same title.

From the beginning of my pastoral ministry 48 years ago, I have practiced a set protocol when visiting a dying person: I anoint their forehead with oil with the sign of the cross, and then make the sign of the cross over their whole body, touching each point as I do: I want them to ‘feel’ the cross of Jesus who preceded them in death and rose again to be with them at this moment as they trust in Him for their eternal salvation and a seamless transition into His eternal presence.

It’s actually right out of our Presbyterian Book of Common Worship: “The presider dips a thumb in the oil and makes the sign of the cross on the person’s forehead, adding these words: ‘I anoint you with oil in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.’”   

We Protestants mark the beginning of life and of marriages with rituals that go back hundreds of years, but we have nothing to mark the most traumatic experience of all: death. And the three elements of this last rite in the Roman Catholic Church? All grounded in Scripture:

CONFESSION: “… confess your sins to each other and pray for each other …”  James 5:16.

ANNOINTING WITH OIL: “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.”  James 5:14.

COMMUNION: “… he took bread … he took the cup … do this in remembrance of me.”  Luke 22:19.

While we gained some things in the Reformation, we also lost some things. We might want to take a second look at the concept of ‘last rites.’ “The whole point of the sacrament is a reminder that we are not alone,” says Father Brian Conley, a Jesuit hospital chaplain. “The church is present with this person, and God is present with this person.”  Sounds to me like a good way to die.

Reflective question: What expression of your faith would you like to have as part of your dying?

Reflective Scripture: Psalm 116:15 – “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.”  

Reflective hymn:

“Precious Lord, Take My Hand” – Tommy Dorsey (1899-1965)

When my way grows drear, precious Lord, linger near; when my life is almost gone,

hear my cry, hear my call, hold my hand, lest I fall; take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.