God's Word in a Pandemic

God’s Word in a Pandemic

July 12, 2020

Live from Lynn, it’s “Godspell”.

Hello, this is Fr Paul Bresnahan, priest of the Episcopal Church.

Welcome back to “Godspell”: a time to spell it out.

Who is God, and how is God involved in our lives?

“Godspell” is a nice old English word for the Gospel or, what I call, the language of God, the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Silence

Blessed be God; The Most Holy, Undivided and Everlasting Trinity. 

And blessed be God’s Kingdom for ever and ever. Amen

The Collect: 

O God, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Isaiah 55:10-13

10 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
   and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
   giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
   it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
   and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

12 For you shall go out in joy,
   and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
   shall burst into song,
   and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Psalm: Psalm 119:105-112

105 Your word is a lantern to my feet *
       and a light upon my path.106 I have sworn and am determined *
       to keep your righteous judgments.107 I am deeply troubled; *
       preserve my life, O Lord, according to your word.108 Accept, O Lord, the willing tribute of my lips, *
       and teach me your judgments.109 My life is always in my hand, *
       yet I do not forget your law.110 O The wicked have set a trap for me, *
       but I have not strayed from your commandments.111 Your decrees are my inheritance for ever; *
       truly, they are the joy of my heart.112 I have applied my heart to fulfill your statutes *
       for ever and to the end.

Gospel: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. 2Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9Let anyone with ears listen!’

18 ‘Hear then the parable of the sower. 19When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. 22As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.’

“Your word is a lantern to my feet

And a Light unto my path”

These particular words resonate within us like few other words in Scripture do. They take root in us and bear much fruit so much so that we dedicate our lives to the reading, mediating, and sharing of God’s Holy Word in the world. 

Jesus said; “A Sower went out to sow,” There is that part of us that may not understand God’s Word on occasion and Evil snatches us away for a time. There may be something within that gets it at first but the Word may not take root in us at any real depth. Then there are those anxieties within or troubles that draw us away. But eventually the Word of God falls on good ground and it bears good fruit for the rest of our lives and for the lives of those around us. 

The passages of Scripture assigned to be read on this Sunday in the Church Year are of profound consequence to many. The Prophet Isaiah says of God’s Word; “so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose. 

What does God purpose during this pandemic?

We are in a time that will try the human soul. Yesterday, the New York Times carried the heart wrenching story of Doctor Lorna Breen who was head of the emergency department at Columbia Presbyterian in New York City during the worst days of the outbreak. There were shortages of PPE’s and space to put the people who suffered. What she saw there at the height of the epidemic brought her soul to the breaking point. So overwhelmed was the hospital that people were dying in the waiting room unnoticed.

She approached her Bible Study group for prayer and strength in her darkest and most desperate moments because there was nothing more she could do. Like people of faith in every age, Dr. Breen checked in with the Word of God. 

“Your word is a Lantern unto my feet and a light upon my path”.

Dr Breen however was at the end of her inner strength to carry on. Then she came down with the virus and her recovery was far too long for the over achiever she was. When she tried to resume her duties the stress and the strain got worse. She despaired and cried out for help. Colleagues intervened She was admitted to a psychiatric ward. But the stigma attached to anyone who suffered so was especially sharp in the medical community.

Tragically, it was all too much. She cried out; “I’m totally lost.” “I’m just baffled and overwhelmed.” and “It is the hardest time of my life”. On April 26 of this year, she took her life. I know all too well what mental illness can do in moments of despair.

There is much Dr Breen and I share. There was a time in my life when things got out of hand. I was a bit of an over achiever. I ended up in the psych ward at the Cleveland Clinic for 28 days. My psychiatrist told me I was Bi-polar. When you tell me I’m crazy, I can tell you I have the documentation. I have a diagnosis and I have taken my meds ever since. I continue to see a Psychiatrist and a Spiritual Director. 

My recovery took far too long for me and for those God sent me to serve. The stigma of my encounter with mental illness in the church was just as sharp for me as it was for Dr. Breen. I was not welcome back in my position as Rector of that church. I considered leaving the priesthood. Thankfully I was spared suicidal ideation.

During all this time your Word has been a lantern unto my feet and a light upon my path, especially when the darkest night of my soul overshadowed me. There YOU were in YOUR WORD resonating in my soul. “Yea thought I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me.” Mind you, it was a dark time.

We cannot know why Dr. Breen took her own life. She left no note, no letter, no explanation. Things got too far out of hand for her. But I know about how that can happen. When I served in West Virginia there were teens who felt the sting of rejection at home, at church and at school because of their sexual orientation.  They had nowhere to turn for the embrace of love. It was all too much. And I stood at the graveside of more than one. I was among the few who proclaimed that God’s love extends in ever widening circles of inclusion. Mind you, I was taken to task for that too. Sigh..

No matter; “Your word is a lantern to my feet and a Light upon my path.” What does God purpose in this pandemic. Sane leadership for one thing.

What of the mental health of the President of the United States? How can he stand by and ignore a pandemic? How can it be that after all these months he still refuses to mobilize a national emergency strategy to fight the virus? More than 68,000 of us tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday of this week. More doctors, hospitals, the sick, the suffering and the dying face into the bleak reality of the pandemic. 

Why does he not listen to Dr. Fauci? He is one of the few remaining names in this Administration the public trust. It is simple. Wear a mask, practice social distancing and hand hygiene. As early as February and March, he and the World Health Organization began to alert us to the need for universal Testing, Tracing and Isolating. Most of Europe has stumbled its way into flattening out the curve. 

Only grudgingly has he finally worn a mask in public once. He won’s listen to Dr. Fauci. Instead he follows the Roger Stone playbook “admit nothing, deny everything, blame everybody and counter attack.” Does he not see the sickness, suffering and death that has become our national daily experience? Or is this the borderline personality disorder we suspect? Is our President really a narcissist? 

Is Mitt Romney the only Republican with the grit and courage to speak truth to power? Where are the rest? Or are you all so deathly afraid of him? Do you have no backbone? Common decency? Respect for human life? Do you want history to say of you that you chose the madness over your country?

It appears that we have nowhere to turn now but to the Word of God made Flesh and Blood in Jesus. This is precisely what The Gospel of John proclaims; “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.” ~John 1:14       

Jesus; you are the Word of God to Christian folk. You are the love of God made flesh and blood. But that alone does not fix the predicament we’re in. Salvation for us is not become manifest merely in repeating two syllables; “Je-sus.”

It will not be until we recognize that we are now the living presence of Jesus in the world. As Therese of Avila is famous for saying; “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”

We cannot afford 68,000 new cases a day until election day. Dr. Fauci indicated; it won’t be long before that number will climb to 100.000 cases every single day. Our hospitals cannot deal with the numbers we have let alone the numbers coming at us. We cannot allow our loved ones to suffer and die like this without rising up as one. Black lives matter. The lives of our loved ones who suffer matter. The elderly, the poor, the veterans, those in nursing homes, the foolish youth who cram the beaches and the barrooms matter. 

We cannot afford to let this catastrophe continue without holding his feet to the fire. Rise up America. How many more hundreds of thousands must suffer and die before we finally speak up.

Dr. Breen, the Word of God and I are waiting. 

In the Name of God the Most Holy, Undivided, and Everlasting Trinity. Amen.

Prayers for the Church and the World

John, may he Rest in Peace and rise in Glory

Mary from St Mark’s Church in Saint Albans, West Virginia. 

Lord’s Prayer

A Blessing

See that ye be at peace among yourselves, 

and love one another.

Follow the example of the wise and good

and God will comfort you and help you,

both in this world

and in the world which is to come.

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you,

wherever He may send you.

May He guide you through the wilderness,

protect you through the storm.

May He bring you home rejoicing

at the wonders He has shown you.

May He bring you home rejoicing

once again into our doors.

And may the Blessing of God the Most holy undivided and everlasting Trinity be upon you this day and always. Amen.

God  Bless us everyone!

Thanks for joining with me. See you next week, same time, same station. 

Fr Paul