Greetings!

Here I am, on another lovely Monday, judging from the lush greenery outside my window, courtesy of the bougainvillea, mango and soursop trees. I am, along with the entire country, enduring another mandated lockdown, as the Covid-19 infection rate continues to baffle an already overwhelmed health and wellness system. I find myself allowing my imagination to run rampant, envisioning a post-pandemic season in which despairing cries have given way to joy-filled laughter and tears of sorrow, to the liquid evidence of euphoric mirth, in celebration of new life and renewed hope. I am allowing my imagination to become untethered because while it is not always possible to see/experience the physical evidence of what is captured therein, I am believing with the writer of the letter to the Hebrews that because ‘faith is the substance of things hoped for and evidence of things not seen’ [Hebrews 11:1] then Barbara Johnson’s quote that “Faith is seeing light with the heart where all your eyes see is darkness” is a reality to be affirmed.

I am tempted to stop here but in fairness to today’s theme, there yet remains a question to be answered, particularly in light of its genesis and hence its challenge for such a time as this. The story, according to the Apocryphal Acts of Peter, is that upon fleeing Roman persecution, along the Appian Way [seen in the picture], the apostle has a vision of the risen Christ and in bewilderment, asks, Domine, Quo Vadis, [Lord, where are you going?]to which Jesus responds, Romam eo iterum crucifigi [I am going to Rome to be crucified again]. Needless to say [as the story goes], upon hearing his Lord and Master declare his willingness to die again, in the stead of those being persecuted, Peter’s strength and courage are revived and returning from whence he had fled, faced the enemies of persecution and death, trusting the One in and by whom he had experienced the light of God’s loving presence, amidst the surrounding darkness.

As this pandemic continues to wreak havoc, inflicting sickness and death upon all who are within striking distance of its all-pervading reach, I am tempted to ask the same question Peter did but with a slightly different twist. Where are you going Lord therefore becomes: What are you doing, Lord? In his vision, Peter seemed to have been struck by the fact that his Lord and master would consider putting himself at risk once again, that he would be willing to enter the fray of the world’s degradation, in order to redeem and pull it back from implosion. It is there, in that thought might I add, that I perceive my own challenge and hence response.

The history of our world’s evolving, seen through the lens of our Judeo-Christian heritage, is one that speaks of dis-ease, dislocation and displacement in every generation. It speaks also of a creating and sustaining God, who never abandons His people but through a variety of agents and agencies, seeks to win their trust, while inspiring them towards commitment, as co-creators with Him, of the kind of world John the divine sought valiantly in Revelation chapter 21, to describe.

My question to God therefore, regarding the path chosen and with it, his modus operandi, has in effect been answered. It is the path of love that is perfected and illuminated in the fire of tribulation. It is the way of self – giving and self – sacrifice, here and now, that is upheld by the sure knowledge that the rod and staff of divine enabling, will comfort and inspire courageous endurance. This is the path of knowing that although this life is all we know and therefore, would want to cling to, we must hear Jesus’ words to Mary Magdalene for ourselves …“Do not cling to me!” In other words and this being my interpretation – there is much more to the experience of life more abundant, than what we have already experienced. We are being encouraged in these differently difficult© times therefore, to release our hold on current experiences, so that we can be open to receiving and experiencing deeper and ever deepening levels of knowing God, that will enable us amidst life’s darkest valleys, to perceive and become reflectors of the illuminating light of the Divine.

So, in this pandemic season [just now while writing, I received news of the passing of another relatively young lady, who has succumbed to the virus] as I ask the question where are you going/what are you doing Lord, it seems His response is that He has gone ahead and is preparing the path that I must follow. He says, it will be a path that is sometimes difficult, treacherous and seemingly unbearable, but one nonetheless, along which glimpses of the heaven of God’s presence, can be seen and experienced. He is encouraging me [and you therefore,] not to lose heart, for since He is The Way and Emmanuel, I am [you are] in good company.

Until next week then, stay safe and well as you follow the path and remain in His grip.

Grace+