DAY 149: The Amazon

DAY 149

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 – pastorrobert@paxpres.org

Week Twenty-two Monday 10 August 2020

The Amazon

Giver of Life, Unleashes the Pandemic

“The pandemic is battering Brazil, overwhelming it with more infections and deaths than any country except the United States. And the Amazon region, as isolated as it may seem, has been hit particularly hard, with cities along the river suffering far higher death rates than the national average. Even in remote towns, people are as likely to get sick as in New York City.” - From a recent newspaper article with the same title

In 1969 the Cuyahoga River in Ohio literally caught on fire, so polluted was the waterway by industry that put profit over people. ‘River-on-fire’ scenarios on the Cuyahoga can be tracked back to the 1800’s. How could we allow something God created to be used for drinking, fish to eat and commerce to become a toxic river of death? What followed was the Clean Water Act which until recently served to protect our waterways from such pollution. Sadly, today again industries that put profit over people are being allowed to pollute.

And the Amazon? The second longest river in the world at 4,000 miles in length, is slowly also experiencing the increasing presence of unregulated pollutants from industry, especially gold mining. But now the greatest threat is the coronavirus traversing its length in unsuspecting travelers, and the mighty silent Amazon is taking lives wherever it flows. For those hard hit the medical facilities and personnel we take for granted are non-existent.   

Rivers – from Eden to the Nile to the Jordan rivers are symbols of our faith journey. Jesus spoke of another river in John 7:38-39: “’Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ By this he meant the Spirit…” Here an unseen river that gives life is understood to be resident in each of us in whom the Holy Spirit dwells to flow out of us and touch the lives of others with the life of Christ until we stand at the river of life in heaven.    

Reflective question: Is there any pollutant in you, keeping the river of life in Jesus from flowing?

Reflective Scripture: Revelation 22:1 – “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God,…”

Reflective hymn:

“Shall we gather at the River” - Robert Lowry (1826-1899) 

Shall we gather at the river, where bright angel feet have trod;

With its crystal tide forever flowing by the throne of God.

Yes, we’ll gather at the river, the beautiful, the beautiful river;

Gather with the saints at the river that flows by the throne of God.