Going into the fourth Sunday of Lent—Laetare Sunday—it is hard to think of rejoicing while the world is enduring a pandemic. Along with illness and grief, fear seems so rampant. With daily routines, and ways of living and interacting with each other, changing so suddenly and so drastically, new and different pressures arise creating unrest of one kind or another, sometimes more.

Alongside the very wise steps and attempts toward caution that are being taken in different parts of the world over the past weeks, hearing and seeing so much about Coronavirus (COVID-19), the loss of life, and the widespread panic that it is creating can be intimidating, scary, and unsettling. However, we cannot allow it, or anything else, to make us shrink, and fall away from being what is best about being human—the ability to be humane.

With all that is happening across the globe, it can seem like too much at times, and it is. Trying to manage the demands of this “new” world requires more, but that is okay because we are capable of more. Although we may need to keep at a distance, we are not alone.

Oftentimes, looking to see, “What’s the humane thing to do?” invites the grace of God to shine, reminding us in times like these, that through goodwill toward one another, which is always possible, and faith in God, we can help each other to hold it together, without falling apart. That, is how we can rejoice.

I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life. – John 8:12

Lord, as we walk through each day, help us to know, and to live, what is good and true, in the joyful as well as the difficult and challenging. Help us to take all to prayer, to see with grateful hearts, and to join forces with your glory in all things. For this, we pray…  

Lord, hear our prayer.