Tuesday 14 July 2020

Default or promise?


As many of our faith communities are considering how best to safely gather for in person worship, I’m pondering what it means “to go back”.

Isaiah 58:6-7
Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

Going back...
What does that entail
Is it a regression?
back to old habits
and comforting practices
Is it a retreat?
back to safe spaces
and familiar patterns
Is it a withdrawal?
back to sanctuaries
where we can hide
safely entrenched
behind defensive walls
built up over generations
Going back...
A comforting default
Or moving forward?
a buzz phrase much maligned
Moving forward
with God
into the future
that God is revealing
Discerning the places
where God lives
and walks
and invites us to be partners
listening and connecting
learning and discovering
who we are called to be
in the wake of a pandemic
with the potential
for deploying the reset function
that is already in progress
Moving forward into the promise
of the unknown
where the rules of engagement
are still being worked out
where we cannot rely 
on the old paths that we know
but on the one
who makes all things new.
Default or promise?
Which will it be?

1 comment:

  1. Yes Liz your Blog is very thought provoking. Are people going to still show caring for others in need? To smile at strangers. to give the other person respect or even agree to differ ?
    the adage We're in it together has never been so true. Covid 19 is NOT over and can recur at any time without these qualities even now. Never mind the bleak warnings of what may happen in the Winter ahead. As the song says "God Is Watching Us" over this and the Care of His Planet Earth. Amana and Amen Huntly Ness

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