A Time for Contemplation

 “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:”

That wonderful passage from Ecclesiastes seems to be speaking to us in new way during the pandemic.  This is truly a season which none of us alive today have ever experienced before.  It would be tempting to yell at God that there can’t be any purpose in all that we have been going through – indeed all that the whole world has been going through and continues to go through in this time of COVID-19.

We could rewrite the words of Ecclesiastes and lament that it is a time to self isolate, a time to be anxious, a time to suffer from illness, a time of economic challenges beyond belief and yes even  a time to die – Ecclesiastes was correct on that one as more than eight thousand people have died from the pandemic in Canada and over 400 thousand worldwide at last count.  So, what in heavens name could be purpose under heaven in this time?

One possibility is that it is a time of turning inward.  Not inward in the sense that we are all just looking after ourselves and turning our backs on others in this time of so much need.  Rather, it is a time for contemplation; a time of seeking God in the silence that is all around us.  You could argue that there are still many distractions that can capture our attention – from endless news stories of tragedies brought about by the pandemic to the most recent cases of systemic racism in our country and our neighbour to the south with the uprising of protests that have followed.  Certainly justified and over due but there is little silence in this.

However, as we are self-isolating in our homes there an opportunity to turn inward in a way which is often neglected in our society.  It can be a time of contemplation in which we turn inward to find a deeper connection to the source of all we are and have.  We can seek and find the inner voice of God speaking to us – that so often still, small, quiet voice that is so easy to miss in the usual hustle and bustle and distractions and noise of what was the normal part of our life in the Western World until three months ago.  Richard Rohr addressed the need for contemplation in this time:

The word contemplation must press beyond the constraints of religious expectations to reach the potential for spiritual centering in the midst of danger. Centering moments accessed in safety are an expected luxury in our era. During slavery, however, crisis contemplation became a refuge, a wellspring of discernment in a suddenly disordered life space, and a geo-spiritual anvil for forging a new identity. This definition of contemplation is dynamic and situational. . . . Richard Rohr Daily Meditation June 11, 2020

There are many ways in which to practice contemplation from reading and reflecting on scripture, to prayer and meditation to being in the great outdoors of the world that God has created, keeping the social distance of course.  I will leave you with another passage from the psalms as a possible candidate for contemplation which seems to be speaking to this time. See which words or phrases resonate with you and spend a few minutes contemplating them.

A Song of Ascents.

130:1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
2 O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.

7 O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.
8 And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.

Blessings on your journey in this time of COVID-19.