https://youtu.be/F-
Grace to you and
peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen
Well, these are
difficult times.
We hope that the
corona virus COVID 19 is short lived and that our health care system is able to
rise to the challenge.
Mostly, we pray
for those who will get the virus that they may find healing and hope.
We wonder.
Are we making a
mountain out of a mole hill.
Are our fears
unfounded.
I hope so. I hope in the end that for the vast majority
of people this ends up being no big deal.
But having said that, the concerns being raised by our health
professionals are real, and the only way that we can prevent this from becoming
a BIG deal is by taking the precautions now.
The goal is to
slow the transmission of the virus so that our health care system is not
overwhelmed and unable to respond to the need.
It’s hard to imagine, but if the transmission of the virus is not slowed
down we might find ourselves in the situation where people need hospitalization
but there is no room for them.
And so, we are
doing our services remotely for the next few weeks or as long as the threat
remains so that no one’s health is compromised by gathering for worship.
So thank you in
advance for your understanding. And
especially, thank you to James and Judy for making this possible.
One housekeeping
matter.
Some of you have
asked about your offerings.
Please mail them
in these weeks. We will be checking the
mail and making our weekly deposits.
It’s important that we can sustain our ministries during these times,
even if we can’t gather for worship.
Thank you.
Jesus was
tired. It was the middle of the day when
he and his disciples arrived at Jacob’s well.
And he was tired.
There at the well
was a woman from the local town.
This would not
have been common. It was in the morning
and evening that people came to draw water at the well. This woman chose to come during the heat of
the day.
It was “social
distancing”. She came on her own at an
odd hour of the day to avoid the contact with the other women of the town.
“Just leave me
alone.” Is the message her actions proclaimed.
But there at the
well, she met Jesus, tired as he was.
“Give me a
drink.”
Had this happened
today, we’d would have had to inform Jesus that such interpersonal contact
is out of the question, a clear
violation of health department rules for these times.
“Give me a
drink.”
Jews did not ask
such things of Samaritans.
There was a
disconnect there. Samaritans were looked
down upon by Jews. Perhaps quite similar
to the rift that exists between Palestinians and Israelies today.
Or between us and
the immigrants at our borders.
Or the racial
divide that remains a powerful force in our country.
Or the gap
between the have nots and the haves.
The point is that
the last thing that woman expected to come out of Jesus mouth were those
words. “Give me a drink.”
And yet there he
was, a Jewish man, asking of her, a Samaritan woman who was isolating from
others, and perhaps also, running from her past, a drink.
It was a
connection. A point of contact between
the two. A bridge built where before
there was a deep chasm that had divided them.
“How is it that
you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?”
Our situation is
different.
And yet the same.
“Social
distancing” are the words of the day.
Our health,
perhaps even our lives, depend on distancing ourselves from others to slow the
spread of this disease.
There have been
other times when this has been the case.
The plague
decimated Europe during Luther’s day.
Influenza strikes
every year, sometimes worse than others.
In 1918 600,000 people died.
One of my
parishioners in Thompson Falls talked about that year. Five of her siblings, one after another, died
from the flu.
The threat of
such pandemics frightens us and isolates us.
We are rightfully
concerned.
Personally, it
strikes home in numerous ways.
I’m concerned
about you. Most of us, me included, are
in the high risk group. I am concerned
that if we do not distance ourselves from one another at this time, we might
suffer as a result.
I’m concerned
about my family.
Two things at
home concern me.
Our daughter in
law, Kersten, is the administrator of an assisted living facility. Her residents are especially at risk.
And Karla cares
for a baby whose mother is a nurse.
Health care
workers are at risk.
So we wash our
hands.
Thankfully, we
haven’t been sick, though my drippy nose troubles me. It shouldn’t.
Every year at this time my seasonal allergies creep up. I’ve been told it’s because of the molds that
are uncovered as the snow melts. But a
simple runny nose bothers us because of our fears it could be something far
worse.
That’s our
situation today.
Social
distancing.
Staying away from
one another.
“Give me a
drink.”
With those words
Jesus bridge the gap that divided him from that woman at Jacob’s well.
Jesus comes to us
as well.
Even at a time
when we must distance ourselves from others Jesus comes to us.
Our hope is that
these broadcasts might be a way that Jesus comes to you through the word and in
prayer.
Our hope is that
we might connect with each other in important and significant ways even when we
cannot hold hands.
Our hope is that
in the midst of these most difficult times Jesus might offer us that “living
water”.
It can happen.
Solitude is not
necessarily isolation.
Solitude can be a
time of deep intimate and spiritual connection.
And perhaps, this
Lent, it is in solitude that we will meet Jesus and drink from his well.
And then, when we
are able, we will awake from this Lenten fast and be able to celebrate
together, once again.
My hopes are that
this might happen for Easter.
I have even
imagined that if it is still not safe to gather indoors, we might have an
outdoor service instead.
But whether our
time of separation is short, or long, Jesus will be there with us at the well.
Finally, remember
that you have a special calling at this time.
Yes, you.
One of the ways
we can connect with Jesus during this time of Social Distancing, is by
connecting with one another. We are all
just a phone call away.
I am happy to
take phone calls from you, seven days a week.
Call. I will make it a point to
be making some calls as well to check in on you.
And call each
other.
A funny story
about that.
When I was
growing up I called one of my friends who had been sick. Michael cut the call short because he was
afraid that I might get sick talking with him on the phone.
“Michael, germs
cannot be transmitted over the phone.”
“Well why do they
show people spraying their phones with Lysol on the commercials then?”
I went on to
explain that it was to kill the germs on that phone, so that others in the
household wouldn’t get sick.
The point is we
can call one another.
We can pray for
and with one another.
I’m even prepared
to stretch the liturgical boundaries and do a remote communion service if this
current situation carries on too long.
Take care of
yourself.
Take care of
others.
And hopefully we
will all get through this without getting sick and suffering, and especially
dying.
But through it
all, just remember, that Jesus is with you.
Amen
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