Right now, Love looks like empty sports stadiums, concert halls, movie theatres and churches. As much as physical distancing from people I love saddens me, I know that the only way that we can defeat this virus is by keeping the number of new cases down. No one said this would be an easy task, and love often requires sacrifice.
I think of Jesus' friends hovering in a locked room, scared for their lives and the lives of their beloveds. After all, they had just witnessed the Roman government carry out a cruel death sentence. Their friend, teacher, and leader died a horrid death for crimes that He did not commit.
Jesus' self-sacrifice was the ultimate act of love. His friends and followers did not understand why He had to die, and they were rightfully terrified.
On the Cross, Christ shows us what it means to literally lay one's life down for one's friends. When the women come to His tomb and find it empty, Christ once again shows us that the LOVE of Creator God means that we will also conquer death.
Right now this pandemic has many of us feeling as though we are stuck in a loop of Holy Saturday. Innocent people are dying and all we can do in order to protect ourselves and our vulnerable loved ones is " hunker down" in the Upper Room that are our homes. We know not when it will be safe to emerge from our safe places, and the government has proven itself as an unreliable source of information.
People are growing weary of sheltering in place. Some are enacting their version of the First Amendment of the US Constitution to protest the Stay-At-Home orders of their states. Some churches are taking advantage of their " essential service" status in some states and are holding huge worship services on Sundays.
Y'all ,this is NOT what Jesus would do. He, by giving up his life in cruel, brutal way, showed us what love can be. Right now, we are called to emulate that sacrificial love of Jesus and stay safe and hidden in our homes. It is scary, nd we are not sure when it will be safe for life as we knew it to resume. But our duty to humanity right now is to listen to the advice of the medical professionals-- and NOT risk our lives and the lives of others n the name of " protecting the First Amendment.
There is a time and a place for righteous anger and protests. Now, in the middle of a pandemic, is not the time to be an armchair Constitutional lawyer. Now, regardless of what we profess, the political ideology with which we identify, or our income bracket-- we must all follow the instructions of the Center For Disease Control and stay home.
In the Name of the Risen LORD Jesus,
Amen.
Alleluia!
~Sarah
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