Finding the Way Through Preached on Sunday May 10th, 2020 For Wollaston Congregational Church UCC Virtual Worship Service Scripture: John 14:1-14 Friends, today my heart is troubled. My heart is troubled because ... - Walmart has closed in Quincy due to cluster of infections - Gun stores have reopened in Massachusetts, because it is deemed essential for us to be armed in a time when we all need more love than ever - And petty fights are breaking out over the need to distance physically and wear face coverings or masks. My heart is troubled by the distressing lack of discipline and an excess of entitlement among sections of the population. And my heart is troubled by the tragic disparity in infection rates between rich and poor, white and non-white, those who are deemed essential workers and those who are able to stay at home. My heart is troubled because I believe that we will need to reopen many businesses and activities without any control over infection rates. The consequence will be that many of us – our elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions – will be confined and isolated at home for much longer than we hoped. My heart is troubled because I cannot envision us gathering physically for worship for quite sometime. My heart is troubled because I read this week that singing and public performances will be impossible for many months to come, as singing transmits the virus much further than talking. My heart is troubled because, even though we live in a “reasonable” State, viruses cross borders. My heart is troubled for loved ones in other states and overseas, and the fear I will not be able to see them anytime soon. My heart is troubled because I have seen many colleagues and friends hitting a wall this week. My heart is troubled on this day, when we read Jesus’ words spoken to the disciples “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.” My heart is troubled because of living in these times, of course. We are living in in-between times, liminal times. The time between one thing and another. We live in the liminal time between pre-corona virus and post-corona virus. We remember well the time when coronavirus was not a problem. And, we can hope for a time when the virus will no longer be a concern. But for now we cannot imagine how we will get there. We cannot see the way forward. We do not know how long this liminal time will go on. The most troubling thing about liminal times, is the not knowing … not knowing what is coming next. The disciples are on the cusp of liminal times, too, as Jesus speaks to them during his farewell discourse in the Gospel of John. They are about to lose Jesus, he will be taken away and crucified the next day. Their three-year sojourn with him is coming to an end. They will need to learn “the way” of Jesus without his physical presence and his daily teaching. Jesus tells them not to let their hearts be troubled. He tells them that in his Abba’s house there are many rooms and that he is going to prepare a place for them. The disciples cannot help their troubled hearts, because they do not understand Jesus. They fear that they do not know the way through their heartache. For Jesus the way is death and resurrection. And for the disciples, who will become the church, perhaps their way is better understood as a birth. After all, Jesus has already taught them that a person cannot enter the kingdom of God unless they are born again. Both death and birth are journeys from one place to another. In that process we enter into a liminal time. But we do not have to go alone. For persons in nursing homes, hospice or the hospital, their companion from life through death and to eternal life is often a chaplain. In these liminal times, when we have been lifting up the work of healthcare providers, we may also think about chaplains. In fact chaplains have been in the news recently, usually they are not paid much attention. Now that family members are unable to be with their loved ones in the hospital, chaplains are being called upon to provide a vital link. They facilitate Facetime between families and loved ones, even when the patient is unconscious and on a ventilator. And they offer extra comfort to the sick and the dying who are separated from their families. They are heartbroken that this has to be done from a distance. Chaplains are also there for heartbroken healthcare workers, praying with them and listening to their stories. These care providers are Rabbis, Imams, Priests, Ministers and specialized chaplains. WBUR aired an interview with some Boston chaplains, including my neighbor Katie Rimer, who is the director of Spiritual Care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The chaplains said that they cannot hold hands or make close eye contact with their patients. These are things they would normally do with the dying. But they are doing their best to be present physically and virtually. They pray on the other side of the glass from patients, wondering if it is helpful at all. They pray in the morgue over bodies. They said they pray that their colleagues will be able to heal from the trauma of all that they have witnessed in these times. Katie tells the story of praying a Jewish blessing for healing for man on a respirator with her hand on glass outside his room. She says that the hospital staff ask for her to pray with them all the time, in the hallways and break rooms. [1] Chaplains show the way, in liminal places like nursing homes and critical care wards. They show the way to share love for families and loved ones of patients. They show the way through this crisis to nurses and other healthcare workers. Of course, this is not a sure and certain way even for chaplains. Many are exhausted by the grief and unknowing. It is the way of prayer in the darkest hours. It is a ministry of presence, when even physical presence is not possible. They lead and guide the other administers of care, even while they do not know the way themselves. We, church, are struggling to know the way at this time. Our hearts are troubled in these time, this liminal place, as we try to see the way forward. We don’t know what worship will look like when we eventually come back together. Will we be distanced from one another? Will we wear masks? How might we celebrate communion? Just this week I learned that it will be unsafe for choirs and others to sing and perform together, so long as infection is a concern. And it is likely that it will be unsafe for us to share coffee hour or meals together. When I hear members of the congregation say they do not like Zoom and they will wait until we can be together in the sanctuary I am concerned. They may grow tired of waiting. They are missing the community of these gatherings in the meantime. Of course, I am also especially concerned for those who are unable to access Zoom and other virtual ways of gathering. The way ahead, for ourselves, for our church for our world, into the post-coronavirus world is not clear. Just as the way ahead, for the disciples, into a world in which Jesus would be present in the church was not clear. Jesus doesn’t give the disciples a roadmap. In the passage we read today, he only tells the disciples that he is the way. He is the way that their troubled and fractured little group will become Christ’s body on earth. Jesus gives them a relationship with himself and with Abba, our parent God. When I meet with my spiritual director, Susie, I often talk about discerning the way ahead for my life and for the life of our church. Susie once shared with me an image of discerning the way ahead. She says that often when we pray to God to show us the way, we hope to see a red carpet leading us clearly to our future. Instead, God provides us with just enough light to take the next step on a darkened path, not knowing where it might lead. We are to trust in the relationship Jesus offers, and the little pool of light we have for our next best step. We may rest assured that we are ultimately being led to the place Jesus is preparing for us. Our next best steps will surely lead us into the post-coronavirus world. One moment of inspiration came this week when I came across a vision of that world, entitled “Imagine a Pandemic of Love.” It is a poem, written on a colorful cartoon image of Mother Earth. It says: “There is still time to build a world of peace Of easy words and bright rooms Where everywhere we go we will be at home.” So, my friends, may our troubled hearts be eased by the thought that Jesus shows us the way ahead. And then may we take our next best step toward that world. May all God’s people say, Amen [1] https://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2020/05/04/spiritual-care-at-a-distance-masked-chaplains-during-covid-19
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