Mr. John Henry was a plain-spoken, opinionated, and tight-fisted man who was a member of my first church. He was a faithful church member and became a good friend, but sometimes he would say things that would make me cringe.
He never had anything good to say about the government, civil rights, or equality and was generally opposed to any new, forward thinking idea. He longed for the “good old-days” which had become idealized in his selective memory. One of his favorite sayings was, “What this country needs is a good depression!”
I didn’t challenge Mr. John Henry very often, primarily because he was much older and his mind was always closed, not to mention the fact he refused to listen to other views. But one day I said, “Mr. John Henry, you know you don’t mean that. You really don’t think a depression would be a good thing.”
I must have caught him off guard, because he paused and gave it some serious thought. Then he surprised me with his thoughtful response. “No, I know we don’t need a depression. But there were a lot of good things that came out of the depression that we could use right now.”
The last thing this country needed was the Coronavirus Pandemic, but I believe there are some good things that will come out of this that will make us better people. In a strange way, social distancing and “stay at home” has brought us closer together. We realize how much we need each other and we are all finding ways to connect either through social media or an old-fashioned telephone call.
Last Sunday, Easter Sunday morning, I stood in the pulpit of my church and looked out over an empty sanctuary. It was so very strange, and so very sad. I thought about Easter Sundays in the past when the sanctuary was full of faithful worshipers dressed in their Easter Sunday finest. I will be so thankful to actually see people gather for worship again and I think people will be anxious to get back to church for corporate worship.
I don’t know about you, but I am noticing the little things more. God has blessed us with a beautiful spring. The azaleas and dogwoods have been stunning in their beauty. We are watching Cardinals, Blue Birds, Gold Finches, Chickadees and Red Headed Woodpeckers visit our bird feeders. The Hummingbirds will be here soon. All of creation is celebrating the rebirth of nature and it reminds us that we will soon emerge from this “momentary affliction” to rejoice again in the goodness of God’s creation.
There have been other blessings as a result of this crisis. We are recognizing the sacrifice of our healthcare professionals who are serving on the front lines, putting their own health at risk to save others. We are reaching out to the most vulnerable in our communities. I applaud our school systems and the YMCA for finding ways to feed our children. Pollution is down and we are learning that there are many things we can actually live without.
Romans 8: 28 reads: “In all things God works together for good to those who love God.” It does not say that all things are good, but God can use any situation, even a Depression or a Coronavirus Pandemic to bring about good. When life is good, when we are healthy and the economy is strong, we fall into a false sense of security, believing that we are in control of our life. How suddenly it all can change.
The Apostle Paul stood on top of Mars Hill in ancient Athens and proclaimed, “The God who made the world gives everyone life and breath and everything else.” Yes, it is he who has made us and not we ourselves. “We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” We realize that truth now, more than ever.
No, we didn’t need a Global Pandemic, but God is working for good in the midst of this.
