The Revs. Smiths’ Message for August 2, 2020

Major League Baseball has finally started up and the first pitch thrown, about four months late.

The Blue Jays’ home field this season is in Buffalo.  And worst of all, they lost their season opener.  What is wrong with this picture?

As Hamlet said, “the times are out of joint.”

There is a lot that feels out of joint these days, and it goes far deeper than baseball.  There is our isolation in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly difficult for the church where so much focus is placed on the community of faith.

There is our impatience regarding when we will be given the green light to move back toward “normal,” along with our fear that the loosening of restrictions will bring on a second wave, threatening us or our loved ones.  It can leave us wondering:  Where do we go? What can we do?

I have always loved the hope and confidence of Isaiah 40:31:

“Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

It’s not easy to wait, but pausing, reflecting, focussing on God and the Word, can give us some perspective, remind us of how God has guided us in the past, and assure us that we are not alone as we move through these out-of-joint times. May the peace of God be with you.

Rev. Bob Smith

This message first appeared in the August 1, 2020, edition of Tidbits.