DAY 194
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-eight Thursday 24 September 2020
An Unknown Future
When we face an unknown future that we can’t imagine yet,
When the closeness we have treasured turns from blessing into threat –
As we miss our friends and loved ones, as we crave community,
May we look, God, in this season, for a whole new way to be.
Jesus faced the lonely desert as a time to look within;
There he met such trial and conflict, there he knew you were with him.
In this time of separation when we miss the life we’ve known,
May we hear your voice proclaiming: “I am here! You’re not alone.”
May we cherish those around us as we never have before.
May we think much less of profit; may we learn what matters more.
May we hear our neighbors’ suffering; may we see our neighbors’ pain.
May we learn new ways of offering life and health and hope again.
God, when illness comes to threaten, and when so much here goes wrong,
May we know one thing for certain – that your love is sure and strong.
You’re beside us in our suffering – and when times are surely tough,
We may face an unknown future, but it’s filled, Lord, with your love.
Hymn text by Rev. Carolyn Gillette,
Presbyterian Church U.S.A. minister - © 2020
Reflective question: How would you describe your future in one honest sentence? Now talk to the Lord about it.
Reflective Scripture: Matthew 6:28-34
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown unto the fire, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagan runs after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Reflective hymn: See the Scripture text above written for this pandemic time in which we live.
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