Be Still and Know That I Am God

March 11^th was the anniversary of the COVID 19 pandemic.  The World Health Organization made official what many people already knew, COID 19 was a world-wide pandemic.  I hesitate to call it the first anniversary as I sincerely hope and fervently pray that next year at this time, we will be back to something approaching a pre-pandemic world.  However, I am sure that there will be significant changes which are part of what will be considered normal. 

The Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, Archbishop Linda Nicholls offered a prayer to mark the day:

God of infinite compassion and mercy, our hearts are overflowing with a flood of emotions from the past year, Fear and sorrow and grief — endurance, relief, and hope;

For the families of all who have died, who have been unable yet to mourn, we ask your comfort;

For health care workers persevering in the battle with the disease we ask your strength and courage;

For government and public health leaders we ask your wisdom;

For all facing the relentless uncertainties that continue we ask your endurance and peace.

We give thanks for the resilience discovered within us;

We give thanks for all who continue to work to protect and care for us;

We give thanks for your unending love and compassion in our midst at all times.

As we face the year ahead fill our hearts with that same love and compassion for our world and its needs;

For in you we find all that is needed — for whatever lies ahead. Amen. 

Lorna and I marked the occasion with three minutes of silence as suggested by Anglican House of Bishops.  The use of silence for occasions such as this is probably best known in the two minutes of silence on November 11^th to mark Remembrance Day in honour of those who made the supreme sacrifice during the world conflicts in the last century.  I have often said that the two minutes of silence during Remembrance Day services can seem, if not like an eternity, at least a lot longer that two minutes in duration.  Surprizingly, the three minutes silence on March 11^th did not seem long at all. 

When we observe moments of silence we generally do not do so with ease.  Our conscious ego-centered brains do not accept silence gracefully.  The silence needs to be filled and thoughts enter unsought.  This is the challenge that anyone practicing Centering Prayer for the recommended twenty minutes discovered.  The activity of our so-called “monkey brains” does not accept silence and wants to fill the vacuum.  However, there is a long tradition of emptying our minds of extraneous thoughts to allow room for God’s presence to come to the fore.  This is grounded in scripture with the passage from psalm 46:10, Be still and know that I am God.

Despite the imposed inactivity of the pandemic, we are still in need of opportunities to still the bombardment of information and activities and distractions which can fill the minutes and hours of our days.  This will allow us to be open to the things which truly matter and the presence of God in our lives.

Blessings on your journey and my you occasionally be still and know that God is always with you.