Convalescence in chaos

Convalescence is a word that comes to us from an earlier version of the French language. It came down to middle French from Latin. This word that means the time taken to recover from an illness has the same root as the word “valor,” which of course we often take to mean bravery or spiritual strength. To convalesce is to gather strength.

I thought that was interesting to think about in our current age.

Because of Covid19, many of us, perhaps even our family members, friends, and neighbors are convalescing, or recently have. Let me ask, how is your strength?

We need strength, because we live in an age of fear. I recently saw a social media post that referred to the confirmation hearing of our newest Supreme Court nominee as a “war.” As I listen to our modern political discourse it would seem that many American Citizens are under the impression that we are at war with one another.

Conservatives are afraid of liberals taking away their freedoms. Liberals are afraid of conservatives taking away their health care (and by the way, their freedoms). Perhaps these are valid fears. Perhaps they are not. I really don’t know. But of this much I am certain. Somebody somewhere is trying to destroy hope, beauty, and goodness. This may be a reason to fear.

Those of us that believe the Bible reflects the truth of the universe believe there is a spiritual force at work seeking to destroy truth, beauty, and goodness. But even those who don’t believe that the Bible reflects the truth are witnessing first hand the efforts on the part of human creatures to destroy truth, beauty, and goodness. Just turn on any news station and you will see lies, ugliness, and anger. What are these if not the destruction of truth, beauty, and goodness?

It is time that we gather our strength. It is a time to convalesce. Whether our fears are of a Covid19 outbreak, personally getting it ourselves, one of the various political factions that continue to be at work in our society, or simply the dark shadows that lurk behind every corner of this world. There is still hope for us.

First, let’s think about truth. I keep hearing people say things like “wearing a mask won’t protect you from Covid19.” That may be true, however, when I hear the public health officials advocate masks, they aren’t talking about protecting yourself, they seem to be talking about protecting other people. That’s an interesting thought to me, because it also seems to be about goodness. In a world where the majority of people seem to be primarily driven by self interest, the mask argument always seems to boil down to others. It would seem that there are misstatements and lies at every corner.

I also keep hearing that the vast majority of people who die from Covid19 actually die from some other disease. That may be true. I really don’t know. But I just read in a local newspaper that hospitals in our area are nearly overwhelmed. I’m not sure if that’s because people are struggling from Covid19 or from some other disease. But it would seem that Covid19 is at the very least exasperating the effects of other diseases. I wonder if we can agree to say this much? And in pursuit of goodness I wonder if there is anything you and I might be able to do to mitigate those effects?

Much of the fear driven debate that I continue to hear circulating in our society has infected those who call themselves Christians. That should be no surprise. We are as susceptible as anyone to the marketing strategies, the rhetoric, and the false narratives that stream constantly through our screens and our speakers. However, we have one thing that many others don’t have. We have a king who tells us he rules the universe.

The Senate Judiciary Committee, the president, the protestors, the Supreme Court, the police, and elected officials at all levels of government and from every party and ideological view are flawed. We believe every human creature and indeed the systems that they create are imperfect, touched by the fall and prone to failures and injustices. We also believe that there is a perfect King who rules over them all.

I recently heard someone say that often hope looks more like a flickering candle than a spotlight. To me that is a beautiful thought. Where are the flickering candles in your life? Where are the places that this king is revealing truth, beauty, and goodness in your life?

And then let me ask you this, where are the candles that you can hold up for others? You and I are called to be candle holders. Far too often instead of holding candles up, we go around blowing them out. We refer to what once was considered “civil discourse” as “war.” We shout angry words at one another. Some of us simply cover our eyes and ears and insist that the word has no darkness in it. None of these are the actions of a candle holder. A candle holder has gathered the strength to stand straight and strong in the darkness, fearlessly holding up a flickering speck of light in a dark and ugly place.

Are you a candle holder?