Disciple: We Are Here

At the beginning of the pandemic, some 15 months ago, there was a meme making the rounds on social media. It was a visual of intersecting circles, like a Venn diagram. Each circle was labeled with the title of a book or movie, or both, with an apocalyptic theme. It included classics such as 1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, The Matrix, Lord of the Flies and A Handmaid’s Tale. And at the center of the Venn diagram, where all the circles intersect, were the words “You are here.”

At first, I found this funny and even oddly comforting. But as the pandemic wore on, and the reality of all we were experiencing began to take hold, what had seemed like humorous hyperbole began to feel more like heavy and, sometimes, brutal reality. For me, the image became disturbing and, at times, depressing.

Thanks be to God, that is not where we find ourselves today!

HOPE ABOUNDS

As we look around today, there are signs that carry a different message. Like the banners around Holy Trinity, Greensboro, and spilling over into the neighborhood that point us in a better direction: Hope abounds!

More and more people are now fully vaccinated. As of this writing, the percentage is more than 40% nationwide. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper have relaxed or removed restrictions on masks and social distancing for people who are fully vaccinated. Even the guidance from your sometimes cautious bishops has become less directive and more suggestive, allowing local leadership to determine what is right for their context and community.

As we adjust to living in our diocesan Stage 3, there is a sense we are moving forward again, that this summer will look and feel more like the summer of 2019 than the summer of 2020. Our mobility, and our opportunities for in-person social gatherings and face-to-face human contact, are on the rise. While globally we still have much more work to do, there is a sense within our own country that we are finally moving past the worst of this pandemic. It feels different, and better, and more hopeful. To be able to preach and celebrate the Eucharist without wearing a mask has been an especially welcome and hopeful sign.

For this reason, I find myself drawn to Paul’s letter to the people of Corinth, to a reading that is hopeful, upbeat and full of promise. Listen to these words from St. Paul: “[W]e also believe…because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus…. Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:13–15)

This image of grace, extending to more and more people, is a bit like what I imagine when I hear public health officials talk about herd immunity. As more and more people are vaccinated and/or carrying the antibodies, the virus is slowly, steadily, and more and more swept away. This is a movement, and a momentum, that gives us hope.

FEELING GRATEFUL

Gratitude is another theme in the reading from 2 Corinthians. Which brings us back to St. Paul: “So that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God.”

Gratitude is front and center for me these days—not only for the ways we have weathered the storm of this pandemic together, as a diocese, but also as I enter this next chapter of my journey in life and in faith as your bishop.

A couple of weeks ago, I was part of a Zoom gathering for our retired clergy. At this virtual gathering, a video was shared of a TedTalk by Jane Fonda. Her theme was about how she would spend what she called the “third act” of her life. Her talk was addressed to people 60 and older. And having just turned 62, myself, I have been thinking and praying about my own focus. How shall I spend this third act?

The word that keeps coming back to me is gratitude—what Paul describes as “thanksgiving to the Glory of God.” Gratitude is what keeps me grounded these days, focused on God as the source of countless gifts and blessings. In spite of the hard times we have endured, and even in and through them, this gratitude leaves me feeling energized, excited, renewed and full of hope.

Gratitude draws us closer to God and draws us more and more into the people we are called to become. A thankful heart is a heart open to grace, possibility, wonder and curiosity. A grateful heart has room within it to hold those who are hurting and strength to stand with those who are suffering. Gratitude opens our eyes to the hand of God at work in the world and in us.

If you have been disillusioned, disoriented or even devastated by the pandemic and the way it has impacted us all, St. Paul reminds us that hope abounds, grace abounds, that more and more we are becoming who we are called to be, through the gift of our beloved community, the Church.

INTERSECTING HEARTS

“So we do not lose heart. Even though the outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16)

More and more as bishop, I speak those words in the prayer for confirmation. And when I do, I make the sign of the cross on the person’s head as I speak them. They are a reminder of our baptism, a reconnection to those promises, a reorientation to where we find ourselves, and one another, today, in this expanding beloved community of hope.

I encourage you to envision an image at the heart of our life together. It is a sharp contrast to the meme with which I began. It is a different image of intersecting circles. It is God’s promise, our mission. It is the original beloved community: the Holy Trinity.

It is that place where the love of God, the grace of Jesus and the movement of the Holy Spirit all intersect. It is our holy sweet spot.

You are here! We are here! Thanks be to God!