I read an insightful notation in my daily reflection this week… “the drought had struck…, (and) as the water in a large reservoir evaporated, the shape of a 400-year-old church began to emerge…”
A question surfaced in my heart: what is emerging in our current COVID-19 reality?
Despite very real emergencies and ever-growing hardships, above all of this has been a wonderfully mounting focus on helping each other, being globally responsible, and indeed, loving the hard way…
A conversation in our household offered me further insight.
Years ago, for the religious education volunteers at a parish in Buffalo, one of the highlights was the sharing and growth that came about after the classes, as people ‘hung back to hang out’ in an informal non-scheduled debriefing. Often, this was where most of the community building happened, and out of this emerged the development of a between-religious-education-seasons (fall/spring)-series of mini courses, offered to the entire parish. The mini-series both highlighted the gifts of the parishioners themselves and provided a faith environment for all parishioners to explore and deepen their beliefs, nurturing both personal and communal growth.
It was a big success!
But in the end, what was discovered was that the informal faith sharing that had originally ignited this idea, got lost as everyone was involved in the courses.
No situation will ever meet the needs of everyone. Each church program had a purpose and a time… time to offer its participants a chance to grow in faith and fellowship…
It is not in the comparing, but rather in the observing, where I believe true growth and rebirth comes. The reservoir offered the people of Mexico water for a needed period, just as the church was built for the people of another era.
The ruins that have been excavated over time in Greece tell of a civilization full of brilliance and wonder. Stories abound of caring communities that lived as a unit, with a focus on collaboration and equity.
Today, as ‘our life as we knew it’ is behind us, and ‘our new norm’ is emerging at a tsunami rate, I cannot help but ponder:
What is being flooded over?
What is evaporating?
And what is emerging…?
Check out the link below, to read about and see images of the Church: https://time.com/4079456/ancient-mexican-temple-reappears-as-water-levels-drop/