Day 91: “A time to choose what matters and what passes away.”

DAY 91

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 THIRTEEN: SATURDAY 13 JUNE 2020

“A time to choose what matters and what passes away.”

“Is the coronavirus pandemic a judgment from God? It is being debated by many Christians. Pope Francis, in the extraordinary prayer service broadcast live from an empty St. Peter’s Square on March 27, prayed:         

‘Lord, you are calling to us, calling us to faith,

It is not the time of your judgment, but of our judgment:

a time to choose what matters and what passes away,

a time to separate what is necessary from what is not.’”

- A recent newspaper article, “Is the Coronavirus Pandemic a Judgment from God?”

We had 24 hours from the time we made the decision to evacuate before we needed to leave. In three days, a high category four hurricane was to make landfall where we lived – we were ground zero. Knowing our house was not built to withstand anything other than a category three, we felt we had no choice. So I went through the house gathering what I didn’t want to lose, and packed the car and we left, emotionally exhausted - two cars, three adults, a 1 ½ year old and a dog. We could not return for two weeks due to washed out bridges and highways, but when we did our house was intact, the hurricane having decreased in strength at the last minute.

I will never forget how I felt, for a surreal shallowness had taken over my soul as I focused on ‘things’ I didn’t want to lose should a hurricane tear our house apart. All I was doing, however, was postponing my relinquishing of what I had taken, for death will release my grasp on it all.   

The thing about choosing between “what matters and what passes away” is that the things that matter can’t be packed or transported: faith, hope, love, peace, forgiveness, relationships. In a challenging reduction of this principle Jesus put it this way: “do not worry about … what you will eat … or what you will wear … But seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you …” Matthew 6:25-33. This pandemic offers us time to “separate what is necessary from what is not,” and in the separating, grow closer to God who will take care of us.

Reflective question: What choices do you need to make between what matters and what doesn’t?

Reflective Scripture: Joshua 24:15 – “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve …”

Reflective hymn:

“God Will Take Care of You” – Civilla Martin (1869-1948)

All you may need He will provide; God will take care of you.

Nothing you ask will be denied; God will take care of you.

God will take care of you, thro’ every day, o’er all the way.

God will take care of you; God will take care of you.