The Remedy

 "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.'" Matthew 9: 36, 37

    "Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest." - Jesus, as recorded in John 4:35

    At work, my manager sometimes jokes, "I can't hear with my mask on!" Funny, but oddly true, because these masks inhibit our full social engagement. We give others a wide berth as we walk along with bent heads, trying to navigate an icy sidewalk with a mask riding up over our eyes while breathing laboriously. It's all so tiresome, and I'm sure that sneaky foe, Satan, is having a field day over our predicament since it inhibits our interactions. Take a year's worth of worldwide pandemic, stir in a peck of economic and political woes and it produces a people steeped in loneliness, "harassed and helpless."

    Jesus implored us to "open our eyes!" Now, more than ever, the fields are ripe with sore hearts, suspicious minds, illness and death without funerals. The landscape in which we live is rife with houses built on sand, treacherously nailed together with deceit, false religion and hopeless dreams. We, as temples of the Holy Spirit, have the remedy! We have the true vaccination to share with those who are sin-sick and misled. But, how will they heal if we keep it to ourselves? 

    If you buy clothes, these days, often the dressing rooms are closed. At Goodwill, I was holding up pairs of jeans, trying to determine their fit, when I saw a woman nearby doing the same thing. So, I ventured to speak to her and was so glad I did. The eyes above her mask bore the visage of fatigue and frustration that had more to do with the virus than the jeans in her hand. There we stood, as the shopping scene around us faded into the background, and I listened with my heart as she poured hers out to me. Though I did not even learn her name, the communion we shared fed our souls as we ended our brief visit with a hug and a hearty smile that crinkled our eyes. 

    The word "Christian" means "little Christs." If you profess to be one, then you must not remain silent. Be strong and courageous! The Lord our God has promised to be with us to the very end of the age.  

"Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman's testimony." John 4:39