Something New

 April 23, 2020

Something New

“In a time of destruction, create something.”
― Maxine Hong Kingston

 

 

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;  Psalm 146: 1-2

 

It seems a bit destructive, this Corona virus. The economy in 5 short weeks has been reduced from an all-powerful force, to a whimpering weakling. In 3 months 2X the number of people have died from Covid-19 than the seasonal flu. Concerts, sporting events, family gatherings, school, everything and anything other than a liquor store has been shut down. And the end, well the end is hardly within close sight.

 

“God is or refuge, a very present help in trouble”. Psalm 146 starts with the acknowledgment that disaster strikes now and will continue to strike throughout our lifetime. It’s an unpleasant reality and fact of life. No rose gardens around here- huh?

 

But the fact that we all know these things will happen, we can allow a disaster to unravel whatever sense of strength we believe we have accumulated along a previous path of relative calm.

 

I wish I could foretell the dates of normalcy returning, but I cannot.

I wish we could all move forward with one resolve, without bickering and strife.

 

What I can offer are these sage words from ages ago. They are words tested before they were set to parchment, and long after they were translated for our ear. “Therefore we will not fear.” Though I know sometimes wallowing in fear can feel familiar and therefore comfortable- but fight that. You are afforded the wisdom of the ages- fear not.

 

So I call upon you all to begin to brainstorm there at home. How might we emerge from this disaster, this calamity, this pandemic in hope? How might we work on now, something that will be ready for roll-out later to welcome others into our midst? In this time of destruction, what can we create?

 

I charge you in a hopeful spirit to dream big, dream creatively, dream new so that we can emerge from this chrysalis of pandemic as a beautiful, free butterfly? I welcome your comments in order to welcome anew the opportunity of renewal in our community.

 

Rev. Ken