Pause for Thought - Remembrance
Remembrance
Pause for Thought November 2019 spoke of the need to reach out and connect across divides, be they religious, political, cultural or social. In the year since that page was written, we have had a brutal reminder of humanity’s interconnectedness. The pandemic has been compared to the World Wars and that comparison may be made again in this month of remembrance. But the analogy only goes so far…
The present “enemy” threatens all humankind and is invisible – though its effects are not. Our response is also different. We marvel at the fortitude and fellowship of preceding generations who endured years of war when we – I – yearn to see the back of the virus after a few months. Yet this is not a “snowflake generation” – as attested by the actions of the entire community earlier in the year. If called upon, we would do the same again. There is solidarity, but maybe it is difficult to feel it in part because we cannot touch one another. A simple handshake between acquaintances is prohibited, let alone embracing some of our nearest and dearest. Grandparents fear hugging their grandchildren, with only partial understanding of the risks in the very young and perhaps too much understanding in the old.
Where is God in the midst of these threats and fears? For many, God may be even more invisible than the virus, and more untouchable than we are to each other currently.
My own path to Christianity was tortuous, but involved the heart and feelings, as well as the head. At a time of personal loss and grief, I was aware of Jesus’ arm around my shoulders. Psychological trickery, I hear you say. Maybe. But for me it was evidence of a God who touches our lives:
“…in the boredom and the pain…no less than in the excitement and gladness…” (Frederick Buechner)
a God who is not limited by the months and years:
“And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
Lionel Ginsberg
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