COVID-19 | A PASTORAL REFLECTION ON OUR HEARTS

I STARTED THIS REFLECTION ALMOST FOUR DAYS AGO, AND IT HAS GONE THROUGH AT LEAST THREE DIFFERENT TITLES AND MORE THAN A COUPLE OF SCRIPTURE READINGS...and, now, a moment to pause on a Saturday morning.

As I was talking with Erin this morning, the best analogy for what I am sensing and feeling comes from my experiences in south Louisiana. In those times where we know with 90% certainty that we are going to be in the "cone of uncertainty" and there is a better than even chance we will have severe impact even if we are not directly in the storm's path - and we've made the various contingencies for work, school, church, etc. The time where the Facebook memes are getting more in number and better (in many cases) in quality. The time where you'd have more room navigating the concourses in the Atlanta airport at 5:00 on a Friday afternoon than you would at the local Walmart. The time where you've stocked up on the essentials so you can hunker down for a few days.

At some point, we move into the, "Now what?" phase, and are able to sit and reflect for a minute on a bigger picture.

"Let not your heart be troubled." Jesus' words in the first verse of the fourteenth chapter of John's gospel are delivered on the heels of what we see at then end of chapter thirteen is a sense of panic from Simon Peter - who was desperate to know where Jesus was going, why Simon Peter could not go with him, and gets told that he will deny Jesus three times before the cock crows.

Even before COVID-19 impacted us all, there was a sense in the air from many that the times were so uncertain, and so many changes were on the docket that one could very easily be understood for having a heightened sense of anxiety.

No matter the source of our anxiety, be it in Simon Peter's time or our own, we are not only faithful but wise to hold on to our Lord's words of comfort and assurance. Where we get in trouble, and there is no better season than Lent to confront and admit this reality, is that no matter what we may say, a great deal of our comfort and assurance comes from knowing and having the illusion of things being under control either because of what we see or because of our ability to control our situation.

The challenge is understanding and accepting the transcending power and depth of Christ's abiding presence in our lives in such a way that while circumstances may produce a healthy and appropriate level of anxiety (for not all anxiety is a bad thing) we remain grounded not in circumstance but in Christ's love for us, and for all.

Let not your hearts be troubled, my friends. Our circumstances are different, but, as a wise friend of mine says often, "Jesus is still on the throne."

To God be the glory.

Grace and Peace,
Lamar