Early this morning as I scanned the Sunday Morning Briefing of the New York Times (March 15, 2020), I came across an article entitled “Italians Find ‘a Moment of Joy in This Moment of Anxiety’.” The summary under the title was “Under lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, song breaks out from rooftops, balconies and windows.” In this article, Jason Horowitz described how on Friday, March 13 the people of Italy joined together to sing, play musical instruments and “clang pots,” to declare their solidarity and on Saturday, March 14 to thank their health professionals “on the medical front lines fighting the spread” of the virus outbreak. The article included videos from across Italy of people singing, clanging their pots and playing their instruments with gusto. Although the streets of Italy are empty, the people are there, quarantined in their homes, sharing joy and hope and spreading light during very dark times. The images of all these people singing gave me a tremendous sense of hopefulness.
Right now, our whole world is going through very dark times. And we in the USA are not exempt. Our lives are disrupted. Our televisions are filled with scenes of panic and fear as people scramble to gather the goods they believe they’ll need to survive COVID-19. There are people preying on these fears by price gouging scarce resources. People fear that our healthcare system will be overwhelmed. And people fear they or their family members will get sick and possibly die.
The people presented to us in today’s scripture readings were also going through dark and difficult times. Samuel feared for his life as he sought a new king for Israel, Paul was in prison and the Jews were attempting to trap and kill Jesus. Yet, overcoming their fears and the obstacles put in their way, Samuel, Paul and Jesus each managed to fulfill their earthly mission. Their faith in the Lord gave them the strength and courage to forge ahead. So, Samuel did find David and anoint him King of Israel. While incarcerated Paul wrote four epistles: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. And Jesus continued his ministry of preaching, teaching and healing.
At the beginning of the 5th Chapter of Ephesians Paul implores us to “be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us….” He continues by reminding us that we “were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth (Eph 5:1, 8). In today’s gospel, John 9:1-41, Jesus told the disciples and he tells us, "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world" (9:5). Today Jesus is a very real presence in our world. And those of us who follow Jesus are challenged to be "the light of [our] world" (Matt. 5:14).
Sisters and brothers, there is light in our world. In the midst of all the fear that surrounds us, there are people who genuinely care about us and our well being and are trying their best to help. All our first responders are still on the job. All our healthcare professionals are still on the job. Our elected officials are still on the job. The people who run our supermarkets are still on the job. All the priests in the Archdiocese of Atlanta are still on the job. And while many people are working from home, they are still on the job. Teachers are working, IT people are working, plumbers are working, electricians are working. And we are working on being “imitators of God,” living “in love as Christ loved us” and spreading the light of Christ within our families, our neighborhood, our city, our state, our nation and our world.
Father of light,
you close the eyes of those who think they see
because they rely only on their own insights;
and you let your Son open the eyes
of those eager for your light.
Let Jesus, the light of the world,
heal us and give us faith and understanding.
Let Jesus restore our sight
that we may see the way
that leads to you,
and at the end of our road
we may see you, our God forever .
Amen.
