Thought for Today – Tuesday 24th March 2020
Bible Reading 1 Corinthians 12: 1-11
The Prime Minister announced new, more stringent measures yesterday evening to attempt to keep the Covid 19 Virus under control as numbers of those infected increase and as a result, this morning has a very different feel with only “essential” shops being open and people being instructed to stay at home. None of this seems to feel natural to us, we are used to having the freedom to come and go as we please, to spend time with other people and do the things we enjoy doing. For some, isolation means exactly that and being on “lock down” even for three weeks will leave some feeling very lonely and isolated indeed. People talk about life changing completely as a result of this virus and in some ways that can be positive, but our default position has been that we are enthused and encouraged by other and are a societal community and I hope that as we emerge we might value that even more.
Saint Paul reminds us in our Bible reading today about Spiritual Gifts, it would appear that people have been using the gifts God has given them as an opportunity to boast and polish their own egos. Paul reminds them that central to everything is God and gifts from the Spirit are given so that God may be glorified, not ourselves. The Spirit gifts us all in different ways and society works best when all those gifts are brought together for the work of the Kingdom, not for self-gratification. Bearing all this in mind, how does this work on the first day of “Lock Down”?
• Do we blame God for what is happening in the world?
• Do we sit in isolation and sulk because we can’t do the things we want to do?
• Do we stop doing everything, because we can’t do anything in the old familiar ways?
Lent traditionally is a season for giving things up, the idea being that self-denial gives us a space to concentrate more on God and on his love for us. People will give things up of their own choosing, sometimes in an effort to live healthier lives, sometimes for sheer vanity, sometimes to impress others. Lent is also a time for doing different, enabling us to deepen our faith in God, read a book, start a new discipline and so on. Lent this year looks very different, we are being forced to live a different lifestyle and we either wallow in self-pity or we embrace the opportunity given to us.
The most important consideration is this. The Spirit of God, talked about by Saint Paul two thousand years ago, is the same Spirit that surrounds us today, enveloping us in the arms of the God of love, we might feel lonely in this current situation, but the Christian can never be alone for God will always be around and within us. Maybe the Covid 19 Virus, horrid as it is, gives us a further gift from the Spirit, the gift of time, the gift of space and the gift to use our time more productively for God.
Let us make the best of the opportunity God has given us and let His Spirit dwell in us!