Dear Friends,
What a difficult time this is! There is so much Covid about and people are continually asking should we be doing things, or should we not? Is it safe to meet up with people or is it not? What are the current regulations and restrictions? The list of questions goes on and on, and so many people have lost confidence in their own judgement as they try to get back to some sort of normality and at the same time take appropriate precautions. All the uncertainty is having a terrible effect on so many people.
On my recent trip to the south of England, it was interesting to see how many people took no precautions at all, and how many people were very careful. Of the two cathedrals I visited in England one insisted on face masks and the other didn’t. Some shops did and some shops didn’t. Some people wore them on the train and the bus, and some didn’t. Indeed, on one bus we were asked to take them off! It is really hard to know what the most sensible thing to do is.
We have reached that time in the Christian year which used to be called Passiontide, that time when Jesus was coming closer to Jerusalem and all that awaited him there. He was determined to go, but his disciples wished that he would change his mind. He was determined to do the will of God, whatever the cost, but his disciples felt the cost might prove to be too great. And the question on all their lips was, were they right, or was he?
Well of course we know the story now. We know about the agony and the tragedy of the cross, and we know about the miracle and the triumph of the resurrection. And we know that in all things Jesus was inspired by love.
As a very wise friend once said to me, whatever the situation, love must always be the bottom line. This means that as we try to make informed decisions about what we should and shouldn’t do, we should all try to remember that love should always be the bottom line, and that Jesus said ‘Love one another, as I have loved you, so you must love one another’. It does make it easier to make decisions when we can remember this. And when we remember that for Jesus the bottom line was always love.
With love and blessings,
Marion
Categories: Minister's Blog