There are some days when I’m just so over computer screens, so tired of zoom meetings and emails instead of face-to-face conversations.

I realize that for some who are feeling very isolated, this technology is a lifeline. Indeed, I don’t want to imagine not having this tool to stay connected and carry on work and school. Just the same, I get sick of it.

One day last week I had several (seemed like 200) hours of zoom meetings and had another one immediately ahead on my schedule. I was  tired of screen time and hungry for food and brainless decompression. The upcoming meeting was not required of me, only requested that I participate. Here’s a confession: I just skipped it. I had reached my limit of unbroken zooming. Just skipped it. Went to get something to eat.

I’m not really confessing this, I suppose, because I don’t feel guilty about it. Actually, I feel good about acting with a little self-care, which is not always easy for “caregivers” to do. It wasn’t easy for Jesus either, but he managed to do it. He got up while it was still dark to be alone and pray (Mark 1:35). Even when crowds were looking for him and the world needed saving, he would repeatedly withdraw. Sometimes he’d take his friends with him, sometimes he’d just go be alone.

For some, this distancing time has been a welcome opportunity to slow down. It hasn’t been too hard, just inconvenient. For many, it has been exhausting, stressful and full of loss. Especially for those “high-functioners”, times of continuous high demand (i.e. parenting) take a toll. God wants us to practice self-care. The Great Commandment includes “…as we love ourselves.” The more centered we are (instead of externally driven), the more we can hear Jesus’ invitation: “Come to me, those of you who are weary and heavily burdened…I will give you rest”

Writtten by Rev Bill Hoff

A word I am hearing with great frequency in the these most uncertain of times is hope. 

The headlines say it all: “Auto Workers’ Return Gives Hope”, “Property Owners Hopeful Vacation Rentals Will Be Cleared to Reopen”, “NCAA Hopes for June Sports Return”.

People are hoping to have haircuts, to fly on commercial airplanes, to have their teeth cleaned.

Perhaps the best explanation of this abstract concept, hope, has been provided by American poet, Emily Dickinson. 

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –

And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –
And sore must be the storm –
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm –

I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.

In this extended metaphor, Dickinson identifies hope not as a thing, but the thing within all people which keeps us going.  She likens hope (an abstract concept) to a tangible entity: a bird.  Covered with soft feathers (though feathers are also strong allowing the bird to fly in gusty winds), the bird sings, not at daybreak, not on a sunny tree limb, but in the dark and chill of life’s storms.

I believe we have all heard this bird, are hearing it daily if we stop to listen.  It’s what keeps us going. 

Dickinson scholars have long commented that many of her poems are reflective of the Psalms and of hymns. 

Consider Psalm 62.  Here the psalmist, presumably David, besieged by enemies, places his hope on God: “For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress.”

A familiar hymn by Isaac Watts proclaims the hope provided by God throughout the ages, this “something” within us all that Dickinson points to.

Turn up your speakers now, and sing along:

Oh God, our help in ages past
Our hope for years to come
Our shelter from the stormy blast
And our eternal home.

SONGS FROM THE BUS

Remember a couple of weeks ago, we talked about “Who’s Driving the Bus?” We decided that it is Jesus, our Lord and Savior.  The thing is that the ride is longer and bumpier than we could ever have imagined, but there are many signs of hope and of future. Just different.

Last night this passenger woke up – couldn’t go back to sleep. I sensed that other riders were restless too.    

I started to sing “Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nations….. Thee will I honor, Thee will I cherish, Thou my soul’s glory, joy, and crown.”  I suddenly felt the “peace that passes all understanding.” Others were singing, too.

Then the little girl in the seat in front of me started to sing “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so….  Yes, Jesus loves me, yes, Jesus loves me, …….” 

After that another passenger sang “Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me….” 

And then we were all singing songs that we love, songs of our faith and trust. Songs of our past and of our future. 

Then, only Jesus, driving the bus was awake, and there was quiet and peace – and I’m pretty sure He was smiling.

Prayer:

SO let us “SING! praise to God, who reigns above, the God of all creation.  The God of power, the God of love, the God of our salvation. With healing balm, my soul is filled, and every faithless murmur stilled. To God all grace and glory.”

Finally, the quarantine is being lifted! Or so they say … Really it’s sorta lifted so some businesses can try to rebuild and maybe people can, within limits, come and go as they once did … it’s kinda lifted since now we have 4 more packages of toilet paper on the shelves but still no disinfecting sprays or wipes – oh, wait: the Walmart near me did say they were expected 2 boxes on their next shipment … they just failed to further explain the 2 boxes held a total of 12 cans for roughly 24,000 people … And it’s maybe lifted unless the virus begins to spread again, which would logically lead to reversal of the lifted quarantine and put us back in the old quarantine with the old rules — or would it be a new quarantine since it would be a new time and date and would we have new rules and guidelines because it’s the second time around??

This is a dizzying and unsettling time – in history and especially our lives. I feel like the deep dark tunnel I’ve been wandering around in these past weeks has expanded and exploded in my face. Those few little guides I had before aren’t so defined and clear. The slope is becoming slippery and the walls are sharp and cutting. The light I once thought I saw glowing in the darkness has faded. I’m stumbling along my way, hoping I don’t fall down and get hurt, or worse: become totally lost in the dark!

I’m more confused that before — the rough but clear guidelines have become blurred. I might even be more concerned and a little more scared without them. What can I do to find my way when the instructions aren’t clear enough for someone who’s OCD tendencies kick into overdrive? How do I find peace and calm in a world filled with COVID-chaos?

My grandmother used to say if we ever got lost and didn’t know which way to go, we were to sit down and wait for help to come to us. It didn’t occur to me at the time as a child just how valuable her lesson was. Many times in my life I have thanked God for the special blessing He gave me: growing up as a Protestant I read the Bible many times and learned a lot of scripture. Converting to Catholicism I have read many beautiful prayers written by many Saints and sinners. Living in the best of both worlds, I learned the greatest peace and calm fills my heart when I simply sit still and wait for help to find me.

Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with you: be not dismayed; for I am your God: I will strengthen you; yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.

Adaption of the Prayer of St. Pio of Pietrelcina
Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You.
You know how easily I abandon You.
Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength,
that I may not fall so often.
Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life,
and without You, I am without fervor.
Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light,
and without You, I am in darkness. Amen

Written by Teri Wright

My cell phone gives me a weekly report about my use. This report tells me how many hours and minutes I used my phone when compared to what I used the prior week. I find this report quite interesting. Generally speaking, I have this feeling that I should be spending less time on my phone. But under our current circumstances, I use my phone to call people I can’t visit.

What if God sent me a report each week giving me the amount of time I spent in prayer with him this week as compared with last week? What would that report look like? The implication in this report is that I should have spent more time talking with Him than I did.

But communication is not just with words or on my knees or with my eyes closed. Sometimes I pray while doing. I actually talk out loud while I’m in the car alone. Hearing what I say to Jesus helps me stay focused.

I can also talk to God by bringing some canned food in to the church for distribution by DESC. I can also talk to God by picking up litter I see on the road that was dropped or blew out of the back of a vehicle. Talking to God can also be calling my German exchange brother in Germany asking him if he is staying healthy. Speaking with God can also be listening to someone talk about how they are doing.

God gives us so many different ways to communicate, but it doesn’t have to be in our sanctuary. I don’t think it even has to be when “…two or three are gathered together in my name…” that we can talk with him.

Prayer:  Oh Lord, help me to speak to you everyday in as many ways as possible.  Amen.

Written by Dave Tuttle