Greetings!

It’s another Monday here in Jamaica and from video clips being posted on What’sApp, [the country is currently on the second of a three day lockdown] the lines within the precincts and on the road leading to the national stadium, where a vaccination blitz is in progress are, as one person puts it, longer than the final day of Boys & Girls Champs! Now any Jamaican, whether resident within or outside the country, will immediately grasp the significance of that imagery. The fact remains, however, it did not have to come to this!

Last evening, on the first of the lockdown days, I heard the squeals of a child at play and looked through my window, wondering from where such sounds could be coming. To my horror but not so much surprise, a mask-less little girl, of no more than about seven years, was being pushed on a little bicycle by a mask-less man, both seemingly oblivious to the fact that there are penalties for flouting the no-movement order. Earlier in the day, I had observed two mask-less men, one walking while the other was slowly pedaling a bicycle, both once again, seemingly uncaring of the fact that they were in breach of the order to stay at home. Then, early this morning as if on cue, two [different ones from the day before] mask-less young men were sighted walking towards who knows where, talking animatedly as if the country’s 51% Covid-19 infection rate has absolutely nothing to do with them. The title of Alan Paton’s novel has often escaped my lips, in an exasperated cry for understanding, especially because the evidence of lawlessness that pervades much of the response and reaction of too many in our country, defies logic or any kind of explanation. So, in desperation I often hear the words escaping on a sigh – Cry the Beloved Country!

When did we get here? When did our people become so callous and unfeeling – even with regard to their own safety and wellbeing? When did this land that set ablaze with longing, the heart of Claude McKay, as he thought of Poinsettias in warm December and children “all innocent of passion uncorrupt”, become a place where corruption and indiscipline seem to be the order of the day? When did this place of beauty unsurpassed, that made Errol Flynn liken it to an exquisitely beautiful woman…this country, for whose independence Norman Manley proudly and with erudite eloquence argued, become a place where those who hold political office seem more inclined toward their own popularity and the kind of nepotistic actions and activities that make a mockery of the spirit and soul of our national anthem and pledge?

Having accomplished the objective of self-government, which was his generation’s mission, N.W. Manley is said to have declared that succeeding generations should work towards “reconstructing the social and economic society and life in Jamaica.” When I think of the implications of that statement, which is akin to a father pronouncing a blessing upon his offspring, my eyes fill with tears; the lub-dub sound of my healthy heart, echoes noisily in my ears and from my lips come a labored sigh…Cry the Beloved Country!

In devotion this morning, I was reminded of a Psalm I have often quoted, in this differently difficult© season of our evolving as a people and nation. I have used it to console myself and others, albeit with not much depth of thought given to what vocalizing its words should affirm, with respect to the state of my heart. Well this morning, I did some stock taking. I thought long and hard about my beloved country because even though I do not like it very much at the present time, it is my home and like the current Governor General, I believe that whatever remains right about this place can, if not altogether, go a far way towards fixing what is wrong about it.

I thought too about myself and all of us who claim followership of The Way…of the cross: we who believe that as Christians, our ultimate hope cannot simplistically be for the salvation of our souls, apart from a deep and abiding desire for that of our nation…the whole creation [cf. Romans 8: 22 – 23]. I considered the implications thereof and in the process, I understood the veracity of what the elders would often say, in times of challenge and uncertainty… “Must Jesus bear the cross alone and all the world go free?” I understood, not for the first but perhaps the most jarringly poignant time, that in pledging the love and loyalty of my heart, the wisdom and courage of my mind and the strength and vigor of my body [such as it is now] in the service of my fellow citizens, I am, in the presence of God, committing to doing that which I know to be right, regardless of who is [not] standing with me. I came to the conclusion that doing right is not so much about being right as it is being convinced that anchored in the goodness of God, come what may, all is well and all manner of things will be well!  So, even when mountains of dreams fall around me and the flood of pain, sickness and death seem unending, I can experience shalom knowing I am not alone – that the Lord of host is with me; the God of Jacob, my refuge!

Am I perturbed about the situation in my country? You bet I am! Would I wish that people come to their senses and do what needs to be done to ensure that this Covid-19 scourge becomes history in the present – I certainly do! Will I continue to be upset about my people’s lawlessness? Maybe! Yet this one thing remains and therefore, I pray for strength and the courage to pursue it and that is to make my Cry for the Beloved Country be upheld by Hope, in the un-surpassing greatness of the Eternal Father, who still loves and longs to bless our land.

Until next week, please stay safe and well as you remain in His grip!

Grace+