Sunday Meditation July 18 Ano 2 The Beatitudes, The Virus, Reflections as an American Christian

 Sunday Meditation

June 17th, 2

 

cog·ni·tive dis·so·nance

/ˈkäɡnədiv ˈdisənəns/

noun PSYCHOLOGY

the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change.

Definition from Oxford Languages.

 

I'm not sure how to approach this subject, so I'll just kinda throw the bloody carcass on the table and see who grabs a steak knife;

In business, periodically The Company sits down and asks itself, "What are we doing right, what are we doing wrong, what are we not seeing?"

I think the American christian churches should consider doing the same.  The pandemic is in its second year, and while many consider the battle won, I am aware God has a fondness of forever tinkering with the genes of all living things and I don't dismiss the possibility of a more virulent form showing up.  That said, enough time has passed, we have enough data points we can sit down and look at how we played the cards God dealt us and how we could have "dun better".

 

I freely admit, I'm biased toward the negative.  I see the glass half empty.  I spend little time on the positive--what I got right.  I want to dig into what I got wrong...where could I have done better?  Where did I blow opportunities where God sent me floaters right over home plate, and I bunted instead of swinging for the friggin' fence???  Maybe I’m just into self-flagellation, I dunno.  I know that I hate letting opportunities slip through my fingers.  It just kills me.

 

So when I look at how the American church reacted to the pandemic, I struggle to see any water in the glass at all.  That’s a bit of an overstatement, but not by much.  Here’s some questions I have been asking myself;

 

Did the Liberal press accurately portray us?

Did the Conservative press accurately portray us?

Did we blow the biggest chance in the century to be the poster children of Where the Beatitudes Meet the Pavement?

 

I never saw any of the following headlines, did I just miss them???

“Fundamentalists Christians ask the CDC, “How can we help?”

“Churches lead the way in setting examples of modifying tradition-laden behaviours to help combat the pandemic”.

“Our singin’ ain’t what it used to be, but I’m pretty sure God can make out the words despite  masks”, a rural church song-leader is quoted on the universal adoption of masks.

“Evangelicals join Fundamentalists in redirecting church funds to assisting in fighting the pandemic impact on it’s victims; regardless of race, creed or orientation”.

“In a grassroots movement seemingly spread by word of mouth, the Sunday schools of America are found going door-to-door in an attempt to identify residents who have prescribed medicines they can’t afford”.  It appears the kids intend to assist in covering the costs of these medicines until their funds run dry, “...Then we rake more leaves and mow more yards”.

“Small rural churches across the midwest are found to be sending funds to unaffiliated churches in the inner-city of nearby metro areas as word spreads of the virus overwhelming metro social services.”

“Church members offer to be guinea pigs for vaccine testing”, “Yes it is scary, and yes, I’m scared.  But I’m at peace this is my role to play” one member replied as to why she is volunteering.

 

I am not throwing stones from within a glass-house.  I failed most, if not all the above.  When the pandemic hit, I didn’t retreat to my hermitage, I couldn't, because I had never ventured off it to begin with.  It’s no coincidence I hate dusk-to-dawn security lights, I honestly prefer being alone in the dark.  I’m going to meditate on the Jungian aspect of that and consider if that also isn’t my reluctance to let my spiritual light shine on a hill.  I think the pandemic offered the churches of America a floater right across home plate.  It was a no-brainer, lean into it, and send that baby out of the ballpark.  Instead we (I) chose to turn to the umpire and whine about our Constitutional rights being violated, defend the validity of pseudoscience found on the internet, complain the press was being mean to us and in the course of doing that validated many, if not all the suspicions the secular world holds concerning the American church goer.

 

To be fair, there were believers (church term; remnant) that never took their eye off the ball (church term; refused to bow down to Baal), who kept the Main Thingy, The Main Thingy and swung for the fence...and they connected.  Maybe not in the ways I listed above, but in ways they felt led to follow in being a shining example of being made in the image of their God.

 

bobb