The realization of today’s pestilence of COVID-19 couldn’t have come at a better time. We’ve had over four months of constant medical, social, political and economic focus. This is not just a fluke to be dismissed with other short-lived “Breaking News”. If you believe in a Higher Power, the spiritual side of you has either caused you to hit your knees at a new found or renewed prayer level, or it has caused you to raise an internal eyebrow with an unspoken question of “what else is going on here?”. Any heightened reaction or perception would be reasonable.
Passover (Exodus 12) is one of the most sacred holidays for Jews, mandated by God Himself, to celebrate how He miraculously and visibly delivered them from hundreds of years of Egyptian slavery, setting them on the path of acknowledgement and commitment to Him. With Easter being a Christian-created holiday to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and the acknowledgement that He is the God-offered Savior of mankind, this milestone is a starting point beyond which we are expected to move.
These two High Holidays are meant for us to pause. But, how much longer will we pause in the midst of this pestilence. Will we only pause long enough to figure out how we can gather with friends and family for the holiday dinner on Zoom? Will we only pause long enough to setup the virtual congregation in order to go through traditional, absent-minded liturgy? There is something to be gained if we truly pause to acknowledge God and commit to Him. There is something to be gained if we pause to celebrate the wonderful starting point of relating to God through Christ.
Jesus said that He came to offer us an abundant life (John 10:10). That includes peace in the midst of a global mess. The celebration of Jesus’ resurrection and believing that He is the Son of God is only the beginning. We have to pursue Him and allow Him to lead our lives. How religious that sounds! But, those statements cease to be religious rhetoric when you begin to experience His activity in your daily lives…when you start to see Him work in the small and large circumstances of your life – finding lost keys…getting good parking spaces…receiving words of encouragement…being offered a much needed meal…reconciling relationships…being protected by a stranger on the street…causing a stray bullet to miss its mark (when you were meant to be the mark)…giving you an unexplained peace as you mourn the death of a loved one…or as you are stilled on your own hospital bed. The list is infinite. Pay attention and you’ll come up with your own encounters with God. If you haven’t already!
At a macro-level, there is a change in our societal “normal” that’s meant to come out of this COVID-19 season. But, there is also an individual change that is meant to happen. God is a personal God. He desires a relationship with you (and me). He wants you to know that He loves you!
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