Dear Church Family,
We are so happy and relieved for those of you in our church community who have successfully received (or even just scheduled) a covid vaccine… whether it is because of your age, your occupation, or your medical needs. Huzzah! What joy! There are so many of you now joining this lucky club, and hearing each person’s news is a big prayer of thanksgiving.
This is a hard time, spiritually speaking, as Ben addressed in his sermon this week. On one hand we would like to relax, but we need to stay vigilant (still avoiding crowds and travel, still wearing masks and washing our hands). Similarly, we would like to share wholehearted joy with those who have received this life-saving vaccine, but simultaneously we still have fear and concern for those who may not receive it for some time. We know that vaccine rollout is slow in many at-risk neighborhoods and demographics (the same neighborhoods and demographics where covid has hit hardest). We know that the system is not truly fair, privileging those who have extensive time and energy to spend calling and going online until they get an appointment. And rollout is still based on age, when life expectancy varies by race and wealth. There is so much to rejoice about, and still so much to lament and mourn and fight. How can we hold these feelings and prayers, all at the same time?
We need to broaden our capacity to hold joy and pain in our hearts. And this seems to me to be the essence of the spiritual life: widening and deepening so that we can hold a range of things. It’s like a friend of mine who is able to have great joy for me in my pregnancy, while she holds deep sorrow for her infertility. I try to do the same for her — holding onto her deep sorrow while not abandoning my own joy — but I confess it is not easy. There is no quick solution to these kinds of dilemmas, but what I can say is this: it is all a matter of opening our hearts with love to one another, hearing each others’ stories with empathy, remembering those whose stories are silenced, and praying for the compassion to stay connected even when our experiences vary. We believe in a God who weeps with the mourners and rejoices with the glad: a God of empathy and kindness. May God’s grace be manifest in our ever-opening hearts, as we lament and rejoice.
Every Blessing,
Talitha