Who Is My Neighbour in the Time of COVID-19

What is the Christian response to what can be considered the next stage of the Corona Virus?  We are entering a stage in which the self isolation, thank God, is beginning to be relaxed and we are able to take small steps forward into what may be the new normal in our lives – at least until a vaccine is developed.  We will begin to interact more with others.  Some stores and other facilities are beginning to open to the public, albeit with social distancing rules in place. 

One aspect of this new stage is the wearing of masks.  The message on this has been somewhat less than straight forward since the beginning of what can be called the time of COVID.  Whether you wear a mask or not when you are in these - now new - situations whenever you encounter others.  Should I wear one or should I just maintain strict social distancing – keeping that Canadian perspective of a hockey stick distance from other people.  Is there a particular Christian perspective on this question?

Let’s look at the factors we might consider in addressing this question.  First, it is important to remember that you wear a mask to protect other people – it will do little if anything to protect the wearer from the Corona Virus.  If you are infected it will reduce and, hopefully stop, the spread of droplets to other people you may be in Contact with.  Second, it is important to remember that you can be infectious even if you are asymptomatic i.e. have no symptoms.  On the other hand, wearing a mask can be inconvenient.  It can be uncomfortable and if you wear glasses, as I do, the glasses tend to fog up when you wear them.  And some people might even think that they look silly if other people around them – hopefully at least a hockey stick away – are not wearing one.  I think many of us do not like to be the odd-person-out in a group – after all, what would they think about me?

The primary consideration here is, I believe, that as Christians we are called to love one another and particularly to love our neighbours as ourselves.  We can show our love for our neighbours by following all the guidelines in this new stage of dealing with the Corona Virus and specifically by wearing a mask when we are in situation where we come into contact with others.  Others may think we are being silly and overly cautious and it might be a bit inconvenient but it is one way in which we can love our neighbours as ourselves.

Take a mask and use it on your journey.

We Will Remember Them

There is much to pray for these days – the multitude of the sick, those who have died, their loved ones, the front-line essential workers in this time of pandemic – all who have been affected of the Corona virus, to the victims of gun violence in Nova Scotia.  On Sunday, the bell at St. James Anglican Church in Parkhill tolled in memory of the six members of the Canadian Armed Forces who died in the helicopter crash on April 29^th.  The soldiers were serving as part of the NATO mission patrolling the Mediterranean and Black seas. 

The following prayers from the Royal Canadian Legion were recited and the bell tolled twelve times - twice for each fallen soldier:

Almighty God, You are our refuge and strength; we humble ourselves in Your presence, and, remembering the great things You have done for us, we lift up our hearts in adoration and praise. As You have gathered us together this day, we give You thanks for all who served their country in time of trial. In remembrance of those who made the supreme sacrifice, make us better men and women, and give us peace in our time, O Lord.   

“O God, we remember before you those who laid down their lives for freedom and truth. We commend their souls into your gracious keeping and pray that we may be worthy of their sacrifice.  Help us to be faithful and true to those ideals for which they fought and died.  May we continue to perpetuate the memory of our departed comrades by our service to country, community and comrades, and remembering our solemn obligation, may we ever pray - Lord God of Hosts; Be with us yet.”  

We remember especially this day:

Capt. Kevin Hagen, Sub-Lt. Abbigail Cowbrough, Capt. Brenden Ian MacDonald, Master Cpl. Matthew Cousins, Sub-Lt. Matthew Pyke, Capt. Maxime Miron-Morin

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
We will remember them.

Their journey on this earth has ended, blessings on your journey.

Offering Our Suffering to God

It would be easy to question the efficacy of prayer in these times of the Corona virus pandemic.  Where is God?  How can God allow this to happen when so many innocent people are suffering and dying?  How can God let the world close down and allow so many people be the victims of the plague of famine?  How can God allow this? 

It would be easy for people to turn their backs and say there is no point in these futile prayers that seem to go into the depth of this darkness which has fallen on the world – which are swallowed up by the silence which seems to fill the vacuum that has been created by God’s seeming indifference?

I am not sure – perhaps I am sure that I do not have a good answer to these questions that have arisen this morning.  Perhaps the only answer is faith – faith that we are called to pray, to call out in our distress – to lament in this time when lamentation seems to be the best and only appropriate response.

Sunday, I was at St. James Anglican Church in Parkhill again to ring the bell at 9:00 a.m.  I have been doing this each Sunday beginning on Easter Sunday and, God willing, will continue to do it until we can meet in worship together.  At these times I offer a prayer despite any reservations I might have about the efficacy of prayer.  The prayer I used this Sunday was in response to the devastation which has been wrought by the Corona Virus.  The call to God is,” Out of the depths.”   We are calling from the depths of our despair, from the depths of our lamenting, out of the depth of our anger and frustration.  The response to this call is, “We cry out to you. Protect them.”

Out of the depths we cry out to you in the face of the Corona virus

Adapted from Anne and Jeffery Rowthorn, current Resident Scholars at the Collegeville Institute, wrote the following litany for use in places of worship in the midst of the spreading coronavirus.

Creator God of the universe, God of a thousand names and faces, divine source of health and wholeness, whose compassion embraces the entire community of Earth: behold your fearful people all over the world as we confront the corona virus. Out of the depths we cry to you, O God. Holy God, hear our voices. Let your ear be attentive to our cries as we pray for all who may be affected by the virus:

For all health caregivers – nurses, physicians, aides, EMTs, paramedics, technicians and therapists; out of the depths, O God–We cry out to you. Protect them.

For hospital and nursing home medical staff, assistants, and housekeepers who have close contact with patients and for the patients themselves; out of the depths, O God–We cry out to you. Protect them.

For all who travel for their daily work over land and sea and through the air—flight attendants, pilots, ship captains and sailors, bus drivers, passengers and long-distance truck drivers; out of the depths, O God–We cry out to you. Protect them.

For all who handle money—bankers, supermarket, village market and convenience store cashiers; out of the depths, O God–We cry out to you. Protect them.

For all who provide services to anyone travelling; out of the depths, O God–We cry out to you. Protect them.

For all who are providing food to the hungry; out of the depths, O God–We cry out to you. Protect them.

For all who provide care and comfort to children and for all children; out of the depths, O God–We cry out to you. Protect them.

For teachers who are providing education for students in many new and different methods; out of the depths, O God–We cry out to you. Protect them.

For the homeless, the poor, the lonely, the vulnerable, migrants, and the isolated elderly who have no protectors; out of the depths, O God–We cry out to you. Protect them.

For clergy and people who are fasting from the eucharist and are leading worship when we cannot gather together in God’s house; out of the depths O God–We cry out to you. Protect them.

For all who have tested positive, all who are waiting for test results, and all who are quarantined; out of the depths—We cry out to you. Protect them.

For all who have already died of the corona virus, now free from pain and suffering. May the God of hope carry them all the way home, and comfort their families and friends; out of the depths—We cry out to you. Protect them.

Loving God, hasten the day when the virus will have run its course; quicken scientists to develop medications and vaccines; call out the best instincts of your people—love, neighborliness, compassion, and a sense of caring for every member of your beloved community on Earth. We pray out of the depths to you, O God of hope, whom we call Jesus, Allah, YHWH, Divine Mystery, Great Spirit. Amen.

Blessings on your journey in this time of Corona virus.  

In Memoriam

 Easter Sunday, I rang the bell at St. James Anglican Church in Parkhill, Ontario at 9:00 a.m.  This was in response to the request by the Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, that churches ring their bells on Easter Sunday even though we are not able to assemble for worship. 

For the last two Sundays following, I have continued ringing the bell at 9:00 as to mark the presence of the church in in the community.  This has been well received – I have received some positive feedback and no complaints.  Yesterday, rather than ringing the bell, I tolled the bell 22 times in memoriam for the victims that had been killed by the gunman in Nova Scotia a week ago. 

When I decided to do this, I wondered whether it would be appropriate to toll the bell 23 times to include the perpetrator who was shot killed by police.  I questioned in my mind if this would be appropriate considering what is the appropriate Christian response to someone who had caused such violence and pain in the community and beyond.  After all, the one who we follow has commanded us to love our enemies and to turn the other cheek.  Upon reflection, I decided that it would not be appropriate or fair to the victims or their loved ones to include this person – who I will not name.   Our response to that person who did these unspeakable things must be at a different time and in a different context.  Perhaps this can be in the context of an attempt to try and make sense of what seems to be a senseless act of evil.

I want to repeat here the prayer which was received from Archbishop Ron Cutler of the Diocese of Nova Scotia and P.E. I. which I prayed before the bell was tolled in memoriam for the victims:

A Collect Prayer for a Day of Gun Violence

O God, you who are the glorious Lord of life, of death, of resurrection; We ask you in the Name of your Son who is the Prince of Peace; Make us mindful of your eternal presence of life in the midst of shock and grief; We lift before you all affected by this mass shooting in our Province Nova Scotia: the dead, the wounded -- all who know and love the victims; the RCMP and all first responders, all government leaders. Keep our communities already reeling from the shock of the reality of Covid-19 safe. Draw us ever closer together. May we be a continuing source of comfort and care to one another. May this be so to your glory so that the work of your redeeming, transforming love may be known to all. We pray this in the Name of the Holy One who enters into fearful, hurting lives; the One who says, "Peace be with you. My peace I give you." Amen. (Fr. Douglas Beck)

We remember:

Heidi Stevenson, Lisa McCully, Sean McLeod, Alanna Jenkins, Emily Tuck, Jolene Oliver, Aaron Tuck, Jamie Blair, Greg Blair, Corrie Ellison, Gina Goulet, Tom Bagley, Kristen Beaton, Joey Webber, John Joseph Zahl, Elizabeth Joanne Thomas, Lillian Campbell Hyslop, Heather O'Brien, Joy Bond, Peter Bond, Dawn Madsen, Frank Gulenchyn

Rest eternal grant them O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them.

Blessings to all. 

Prison or Refuge

CORDELIA

We are not the first
Who, with best meaning, have incurr'd the worst.
For thee, oppressed king, am I cast down;
Myself could else out-frown false fortune's frown.
Shall we not see these daughters and these sisters?

KING LEAR

No, no, no, no! Come, let's away to prison:
We two alone will sing like birds i' the cage:
When thou dost ask me blessing, I'll kneel down,
And ask of thee forgiveness: so we'll live,
And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh
At gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues
Talk of court news; and we'll talk with them too,
Who loses and who wins; who's in, who's out;
And take upon's the mystery of things,
As if we were God's spies: and we'll wear out,
In a wall'd prison, packs and sects of great ones,
That ebb and flow by the moon.

That speech by King Lear in Shakespeare’s play of the same name, has resonated down through the years with the essence of old age which, regrettably, has been lost in our modern age.  However, it seems to be even more poignant in this time of COVID-19.  Lear responds to the daughter who has remained true to him as his world has been disintegrating around him throughout the play.  Little by little, through Lear’s folly rather than wisdom, he has made assumptions and followed his ego rather than seeking the higher wisdom that is possible for people who “grow old, instead to merely sinking into the aging process,”[1] to quote Helen Luke who was an exemplar of someone who did just that, ‘grow old’. 

As noted by Luke, Cordelia has the passion of youth and wants to go out and confront the evil that has overthrown the ruling value represented by Lear.  No, no – a thousand times no, is his response showing that as a result of all his trials and tribulations, he indeed has grown old, “Come, let us away to prison.”  The question for us today is our staying in place and self isolating a prison or a refuge.  It can be either depending on how we decide to see it.  This is a time, which seems to be more suited to introverts who seem to be more easily embracing this self-isolation, as a refuge than a prison.  At least that is my experience and the experience of Lorna as we are both strong introverts.  I’m not sure how the extroverts who are used to living in a world made for extroverts, are fairing.  I would suspect it is more of a prison for them.

Lear asks some engaging questions for these times; “Who loses and who wins; who's in, who's out;” I don’t know for sure who are the winners and who are the losers in this time of pandemic.  I suspect that it will be the usual suspects that win - those with the resources and influence seem to be able to win regardless of the circumstances.  The team of NBA basketball players that were all able to be tested while those on the front lines of dealing with the pandemic couldn’t.  It has become more evident in this time who is in and who is out in our society during the pandemic.  The essential workers have been recognized and acknowledged.   The front-line workers, the people who deliver the supplies and food, who work in the food store, and all the health care workers including cleaners, to those who pick the crops are now recognized as essential in our society.  Many of them are the lowest paid as it is clear that their remuneration has little or nothing to do with the essential nature of their work. 

It has, unfortunately, been brought front and centre what value we give to the aged in our society.  The fragility and inadequacy of the institutions where so many of our senior citizens spend end of their lives has been put in the spot light.  If that recognition is turned into action in the new normal of our lives that may be something positive that comes out of this dark cloud of COVID-19.  I live in hope that our society will grow in wisdom as a result of this rather than simply sinking back into the old ways of doing things.  I live in hope but am not hopeful - if that makes sense.

Blessings in your journey in this time of COVID-19; stay safe and keep the distance.

---

[1] Old Age, Journey Into Simplicity

Ringing the Bells

Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack, a crack in everything

That’s how the light gets in.

(Anthem by Leonard Cohen)

Yesterday on Easter Sunday, the bells were still ringing or perhaps I should say ringing again, after what seems like an eternity of silence.  Perhaps it was the sound of silence to call up another popular song.  There seems to be a defining sound of silence these days.  However, yesterday that silence was broken across Canada as the leader of the Anglican Church, Archbishop Linda Nicholls, called for the bells of Anglican churches to be rung at 9:00 a.m.   Lorna and I went over to St. James Anglican Church in Parkhill, Ontario and rang the bell – we only have one but that one rang out.  I hope that this let those within hearing distance recognized that this was the evidence that church bells still can ring even though church buildings have been closed for a month and we have not been gathering for worship. Before ringing the bell,  I prayed the collect prayer for Easter Morning and Lorna served as acolyte holding a candle:

Collect
Lord of life and power,
through the mighty resurrection of your Son,
you have overcome the old order of sin and death
and have made all things new in him.
May we, being dead to sin
and alive to you in Jesus Christ,
reign with him in glory,
who with you and the Holy Spirit is alive,
one God, now and for ever.

Our offering of the bell ringing out was an offering even if it was not a perfect offering when compared to gathering together in worship especially on Easter Sunday.  We did not raise our voices together with those many beautiful Easter Hymns such as Jesus Christ is Risen Today, or Welcome Happy Morning.  However, we were able to tune in to the Easter Services on-line, of which there were many.  These were of varying quality as many clergy are using social media for the first time to make there worship available and, as one priest noted, he did not receive any training in how to do this in his theological studies.  However, as the great lyrics by Leonard Cohen state so wonderfully we need to forget our perfect offerings - all are acceptable to God. 

There is a deep truth in the song lyrics.  There are cracks in everything which have been made obvious at this time of self-isolation and quarantine.  We human beings do not easily embrace the cracks that appear in our lives whether it is in what we have believed is the foundation of our existence or even in our physical appearance – who is that old guy staring back at me in the mirror anyway?  However, perhaps in these days of COVID -19 we are beginning to see the light that is shining through those cracks.  We are beginning to really appreciate what is important and what is essential.  We can see that perhaps those people who are serving us and ensuring we have the necessities of life in this time of COVID-19 are the true heroes; the cleaners in the hospitals, the staff in the food stores, the truck drivers who are bringing the all the products to stock the shelves, the front line workers in hospitals and nursing homes.  All those who we now see as essential are so often the ones who are not compensated appropriately for people who are essential.  Perhaps there is some light shining through those cracks.

Blessings, stay well and keep the distance on this journey we are all on. 

Putting the Passion in the Palms

Sunday was officially The Sunday of the Passion with the Liturgy of the Palms in the Church Year .  The events of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem to the adulation of the crowd waving palm branches and crying Hosanna in the highest were contrasted with the events of Good Friday and the passion of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion. 

When I was growing up, I can remember that these two events were ‘celebrated’ on different days.  Palm Sunday recounted the entry into Jerusalem and the passion of Christ was marked on Good Friday – which it still is today.  I attended the United Church of Canada in the first part of my life and in my memory, Palm Sunday was reserved to mark the events of the entry into Jerusalem.  When I started attending an Anglican Church at the mid-point in my life – as I measure it at this point – I was surprized that the two events of Palm Sunday and the Passion were celebrated together and then the Passion was marked on Good Friday – where, to my mind, it rightly belongs. 

I must confess that, in the years that followed which included my formal theological training, I did not explore, what seemed to me, a strange convergence of the two Gospel narratives.  The issue was never addressed and I also did not raise it.  However, I have always thought that it made more sense to keep them separate as I had experienced it in my earlier life.  Well, with circumstances being what they are this year i.e. churches being closed due to the COVID -19 pandemic and with us being thrown on our own devices for worship albeit with lots of material available on-line and other places – ironically there is an embarrassment of riches in this context -  I decided to make the best of the opportunity and investigate how this came about in the current liturgy of our church.

It says in scripture, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened, I sought and knocked on Google’s door and it did open.  I came across an article from the United Methodist Church in the United States which addressed this issue. The author is not named but it is under the publication Discipleship Ministries https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/why-palmpassion-sunday-and-not-just-palm-sunday.   The author notes that he or she was one of the representatives of their denomination that was involved with the change which came about with the development of the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) which is used today in most churches.  The article puts to rest the rather common belief that this change was made so that church goers who perhaps were lax in their attendance on Good Friday worship services would hear the Passion story.   The reader is assured that this was not the case.  Rather, it was to address the perceived need to re-establish the dual event as a connection between Lent and Holy Week:

As a result of all this work by all these Christians, worldwide, over all this time, we are where we are now -- with a recovered Palm/Passion Sunday as the hinge between a recovered Lent and a more intense Holy Week.

Behind this was the goal of re-establishing and addressing the need to strengthening the discipleship of the followers of Jesus Christ by building on the Lenten observances and the foundational events of Holy Week:

The recovery of Lent was not simply about re-syncing our current calendars with more ancient ones. Instead, it was primarily about recovering the church's mission of discipling people in the way of Jesus, and realigning our worship practices to support that mission.

These are very lofty goals; however, I believe that something vital has been lost as a result.  By binding the two events inexorably together it does not enable the worshiper to experience the full impact and importance of the events of that triumphal entry of Jesus who was fulfilling the scriptural role of Messiah or king riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).  We need to have the full effect of being one of the crowed massed along the route hoping against hope that here is the long-awaited saviour who will address all the wrongs we have suffered in our lives.  Here is the anointed one who will make right all the wrongs in our lives and magically give us a new creation, a New Jerusalem.

Unless we have that experience as fully as possible, we will not have the full impact of being one of the masses that will turn on that failed saviour with the rage of our disappointment when those unrealistic expectations are unfulfilled.  We will never have at least a taste of the experience being part of the crowd that cries “crucify him”. 

If we are honest with ourselves will we admit that each of us would be with that crowd; or perhaps we would “only” be with Peter and would deny knowing him when push come to shove.

Blessings on your journey this Holy Week.