Blog

So, who have you called in the past few days?  I reference a blog I posted last week suggesting a reworking of the title “social distancing”, that a far better choice of words might be “physical distancing”.  We must increase our physical distance, yet simultaneously decrease our social distance.  Call.  Text.  FaceTime.  Skype. Zoom. There is nothing more reassuring than contact from someone who shows that they care about you during a challenging period in your life such as now.  Thus my opening question: Who have you called in the past few days?

A friend of mine called me later that day after reading my blog.  A congregant texted me the other day asking how I was doing.  It felt good to know that they cared enough to spend a few minutes of their day with me.  I would suppose that an out-of-the-blue communication from someone in your life will be uplifting to you.  Assuming that to be true, just imagine how your out-of-the-blue telephone call will be received?

All systems operate optimally when there is good communication; poor communication is a sign of trouble. The human body works that way. Traffic controllers work that way. An ant colony and a bee hive work that way. So does human society. The free flow of information and timely communication matters. While the root words have different origins, notice the similarities between the words “communication” and “community”? In a sort of play on words based upon sound only, it’s about what is “common”. A community that finds communication in common is an effective community. When we communicate, we create community. I do not think that anyone would disagree that we need good community at this time.

History will write our story of how we responded to COVID-19. Part of the story will be what our doctors and scientists do and say.  Part of the story will be our response.  Each of us will be asked to justify our response by our Maker one day.  What will your history say?