May 15th, 2020

Daily Lectionary Reading for Year A

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/daily.php?year=A

As of this morning, the numbers of people who have become sick or died due to the coronavirus are staggering. In just two months this pandemic has unleashed a wave of suffering and death.

United States Confirmed Cases of Covid-19 As Of May 15, 2020:
1,450,000 cases
235,000 recovered
86,571 deaths

Worldwide Confirmed Cases of Covid-19 As Of May 15, 2020:
4,440,000 cases
1,590,000 recovered
302,000 deaths

To put the US death total into perspective, that is equivalent to the entire population of the City of Wyoming dying over the course of eight weeks, plus 10,751 additional people.

It is no wonder that people throughout our faith history have tried to make sense out of times of great loss and strife. The Genesis text considers the massive loss of life from a flood. The hope they discover is in God’s desire to save humans and all animal species. As we look back and tell the story of God With Us during these days of struggle, I hope we will find God in the compassion shown to one another. We are living in a time that requires us to love our neighbor as ourselves. God is present now just as God has always been present. Watch for the ways God is revealed through the care one shows for another.

Be safe. Stay home. Love one another.

Peace,
Dean