Help in the time of Coronavirus

Some things I've read or listened to that helped me when thinking of the coronavirus pandemic -- beyond information and instructions.

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Christianity Offers No Answers About the Coronavirus. It's Not Supposed To
This is one of my favorite things out of all I've read. I hate it when people, specifically Christians, talk about God causing this crisis in order to punish us, or as a wake-up call, and then go on to list all the sins we as a people have done, causing God -- supposedly -- to send this crisis to us. I think NT Wright writes a different, wise response. We don't know the answer, as the title says. We don't understand why this crisis happened.

"The mystery of the biblical story is that God also laments." What a comfort that brings me.

"It is no part of the Christian vocation, then, to be able to explain what’s happening and why. In fact, it is part of the Christian vocation not to be able to explain—and to lament instead."

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Blessings have been a real blessing to me lately (har har). This one by John O'Donohue speaks to me, and I think to all of us, as we shelter in place, often resulting in more time alone.

for solitude

by John O’Donohue

May you recognize in your life the presence,

Power and light of your soul.

May you realize that you are never alone,

That your soul in its brightness and belonging

Connects you intimately with the rhythm of the universe.

May you have respect for your individuality and difference.

May you realize that the shape of your soul is unique,

That you have a special destiny here,

That behind the façade of your life

There is something beautiful and eternal happening.

May you learn to see your self

With the same delight,

Pride and expectation

With which God sees you in every moment.

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"Be Not Afraid" by Nadia Bolz-WeberA Mini-Sermon on Fear, Love, and Kent Brockman

Well, today I started to think that maybe it’s not safety that keeps us from being afraid. Maybe it’s love.

Love that. God does not keep us safe. He loves us like a mother hen. Like Aslan - is he safe? No, but he is good. He is love! And the song by Anne Murray, "...on the other side of fear is love."

I like imagining Jesus saying, "Go and tell that fox..." :D

So true that hearing "Be not afraid" does not actually make me not afraid. I had never thought before of the perspective Nadia writes about with the story of God as a mother hen. 

But neither can I tell you that the Mother Hen thing means that God will protect you from Herod or that God is going to keep bad things from happening to you.

Because honestly, nothing actually keeps danger from being dangerous.

A mother hen cannot actually keep a determined fox from killing her chicks. 

and...

But Faith in God does not bring you safety.  

The fox still exists.  

Danger still exists.  

And by that I mean, danger is not optional, but fear is. 

Because maybe the opposite of fear isn't bravery. Maybe the opposite of fear is love. Paul tells us that perfect love casts out fear. So in the response to our own Herods, in response to the very real dangers of this world we have an invitation as people of faith: which is to respond by loving.

Reminds me of Aslan -- he is not safe, but he is good. He is love. Rather than fear, let us love.

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from  Letters to a Young Poet, by Rainer Maria Rilke
'So don't be frightened, dear friend, if a sadness confronts you larger than any you have ever known, casting its shadow over all you do. You must think that something is happening within you, and remember that life has not forgotten you; it holds you in its hand and will not let you fall. Why would you want to exclude from your life any uneasiness, any pain, any depression, since you don't know what work they are accomplishing within you?'"

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The Miracle of Morning by Amanda Morgan
Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman offers words of hope amid the pandemic. Amanda Gorman, the U.S.'s inaugural youth poet laureate, is offering Americans some words of inspiration to help get through this stressful time. In a performance for "CBS This Morning," Gorman recites one of her poems at the Los Angeles Central Public Library.April 17, 2020

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from an essay by Jeff Chu
Mystic Julian of Norwich does allow for different experiences of God. She knew that many of us endure seasons of spiritual lack. She reminded us that Jesus “did not say, ‘You will never have rough passage, you will never be over-strained, you will never feel uncomfortable.’ But she did say, ‘You will never be overcome.’” Elsewhere, she wrote, “Pray, even if you feel nothing, see nothing.” (emphasis mine)

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What Suffering Does by David Brooks
Written before the pandemic. Some of the redemption of suffering.

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A Liturgy for Those Who Weep Without Knowing Why

This title grabbed me -- it's how I've been feeling. I feel at the edge of crying much of the day, and of course, I know it has to do with the pandemic and my fears, but yet I feel like there are reasons I haven't figured out.

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Stations of the Cross A Reflection for Good Friday 2020 by Pádraig Ó Tuama.
Short reflections on the 14 stations of the cross. For each one, Padraig gives a "collect," which is a beautiful type of prayer. They're like a type of poetry.

A collect generally has five parts:

1. Invocation or address: indicating the person of Trinity addressed, usually God the Father, rarely God the Son
2. Acknowledgment: description of a divine attribute that relates to the petition (often qui ... - who ... )
3. Petition: "for one thing only and that in the tersest language"
4. Aspiration: The desired result (begins with the word ut - in order that) Indication of a further purpose of the petition
5. Pleading: Conclusion indicating the mediation of Jesus Christ. Response by the people: Amen

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Sorrows by Lucille Clifton

Read by Marilyn Nelson on Instagram. Marilyn says she picked this poem because everyone on the planet right now is praying, "Not me. Not my family. Not my loved ones..." A strange sad poem. Comforting.

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Coronavirus & Quarantine: What Big Questions Can We Be Asking?

"In this Virtual Veritas Forum we hear from a panel that includes Lydia Dugdale, MD and Director of Columbia Center for Clinical Medical Ethics; David Brooks, bestselling author and NYT cultural commentator; and Andy Crouch, former executive editor of Christianity Today, author, and partner at Praxis (praxislabs.org). Moderated by the executive director of The Veritas Forum, Andrew Schuman."

Recommended by a friend. This is rather long but full of deep, heartening thoughts.

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Songs played and sung by Philip and Anna Glenn (son-in-law & daughter of our friends)









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Songs of Comfort Spotify Playlist by Sandra McCracken. A beautiful collection of hymns and songs, recommended by Sarah Bessey.

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from Trauma is Self-Defined, a list of simple practices for "tending to the story told by the body, not the story told by the human using words" by Molly Caro May.

1) Orient. You can orient visually by moving your neck left to right slowly and noticing something pleasing in the room. This tells your lizard brain you are okay. You can orient through sound (I love to do that) as well. Taste and smell, too. It’s about the noticing: for example, “Here I am, in this moment, hearing the sound of the wind and a car driving by on the road, oh, and the buzz of the refrigerator, wow it’s so loud, I never noticed that.” It brings us into the present.

2) Self-touch. Embrace yourself, literally. Put one hand under your armpit and the other around it and just hold yourself. Or stroke down your legs. Or hand on heart. Pound gently on your legs and say, “These are my legs, these are my legs.”

3) Grounding. Feel your feet on the floor. Feel your butt on the chair, your back against the wall, your hand on the table. I’ve done this one a lot recently, especially intense argumentative moments with my husband.

4) Self-talk. Ask yourself, “Am I dying? Is this exact moment life-threatening?” Usually the answer is no. Then tell yourself, “I am okay.” That doesn't mean life isn’t hard. You can be struggling and in pain and still fundamentally okay.

5) Social engagement. This one is huge. It calms us right down to be socially engaged, to feel we belong to a person or a group. So whatever way you can be socially engaged during this time, do it!

6) Build capacity. With a hard sensation or emotion, imagine that you have a big torso. Feel your arm sockets and then your hips sockets and noticed the expansive space inside and allow that sensation or emotion to exist in there. If it gets really big, remind yourself that your torso is huge and then invite the sensation downward by stroking down your body and legs. There’s a chance you could get shaky or trembly. Allow that. That’s discharge and it’s a good thing.

7) Track sensations. This is an opportunity to really get into your sensate body. Play with noticing sensation over content or story. Instead of “I’m so scared because I might lose my job and my friend might be sick and ....” notice “My belly is tight and my legs feel limp and now there is a lot of heat coursing down my legs and my jaw is clamped.” And just hang with those sensations as best you can and notice what happens next. Nothing is static and they will shift into something else and then notice that.
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Tips From Someone With Nearly 50 Years Of Social Distancing Experience

Good tips from someone who could legitimately be called a hermit. Includes a link to his 357 top movies (rated). Nice resource in itself! I've been trying to think about what will I keep track of, which is one of his recommendations. I also like "Embrace the grumpiness."

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Psalm 22

Jesus quoted this Psalm from the cross. He lamented, too. He felt abandoned by God, too. And he redeemed his suffering -- and ours.

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Psalm 46

This has been a favorite Psalm of mine for several years. Now more than ever I feel it consoles and strengthens me. I was going to pick out a few verses to quote, but I can't narrow it down.

God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
    though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams
    make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields with fire.

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”
The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.