Fear is one of the persistent hounds of hell that dog the footsteps of the poor, the dispossessed, the disinherited…There are some things that are worse than death. To deny one’s own integrity of personality in the presence of the human challenge is one of those things.
Howard Washington Thurman – Jesus and the Disinherited
Desperate times contain within them a Divine dilemma… Shall I give in to the hysteria of hopelessness or shall I delve deeply into my Divine destiny? Yea but in such a decision, as starkly simple as it may seem… Nestled neatly between the two options… Lays the all too real and destabilizing reality that I am afraid… I am… Afraid! Fear is not simply a consciousness… No, it is a complete and total restructuring of the human personality and as such contains within its very existence a reorienting approach to life itself. Such are the times that we live in now… A virus is viciously ravaging the land and much like The Spirit: we know not where it comes from and where it goes.
And so, our collective consciousness… Dampened and delusional by that which we cannot see, but we know is present, has turned us to… Toilet Paper! Desperate times contain within them a Divine dilemma! Yet… it is in this moment that those who claim to be followers of “The Way” (Acts 9:2) must recall to the front of their consciousness the reality that it is LENT!! Yes! We are confronted by Corona! Yes! We are marred and mocked by mediocre national leadership! Yes! Our places of worship are no longer available for mass gatherings! Yet… The Benevolent One is boldly beckoning us to be the believers we have been birthed into by the faith of our foremothers and forefathers! It is LENT!! And just maybe we should be reflecting on the revelatory and revolutionary declarations that got them through the dark nights of slavery, the masked and menacing marauders in white sheets with murderous hearts and the calamitous days of Jim Crow: YOU ARE MORE THEN CONQUERERS…I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU…NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST US SHALL PROSPER!!!
Could it be that during THIS Lenten season, God is demanding our authentic reflection and preparing us in ways not seen before… Beyond the commercial appeal of a little white bunny… Or a beautiful new church hat… Or two full services and a better-than-expected offering… Could it be… That shelter in place orders put forth by our government is God’s way of saying: “be still and know that I am God!” Could it be… That THIS Lenten season, God is not simply offering us the opportunity to home school our children, but to reconnect with them in real and authentic ways.
Is it possible…That this virus is our opportunity to refocus our faith on that which has ultimate meaning and Power… Is it possible…social distancing offers us moments of spiritual solitude and reflection! IS THIS NOT STILL THE LENTEN SEASON? Yes…Desperate times contain within them a Divine dilemma…Shall I give in to the hysteria of hopelessness or shall I delve deeply into my Divine destiny?
Today… Let us choose to have a bit more faith than fear… Fast from complaining that you are stuck in the house and pray for the homeless! Fast from complaining that you have run out of your favorite snack and pray for the hungry! Fast from complaining that your children are home all day long and pray for that parent who has had to bury a child! Let us fast from the fear of death and pray that we actually live meaningful lives!!
Is it possible…That God is calling us in this season of Lent to grow in our faith as we prepare for that glorious declaration…Heralded high and holy…That The Resurrection is near…A virus can’t stop it…Social distancing can’t delay it…Poor leadership can’t deny it…The Resurrection is real…And so is
your protection!
Amen!
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