GRACE UNDER PRESSURE
By Dr. Don Ashburn
Ernest Hemingway was asked for his definition of “guts,” or courage. And he famously responded that it’s “grace under pressure.” As I write, Alameda County has just called us to “stay in place” for a few weeks to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. And, as you know, we’ve taken some extraordinary measures here at Piedmont Church in an effort to keep our community safe.
Some of them may even seem to go against what we thought, or were taught, about the church as a sanctuary – as a safe place in a
sometimes-scary world.
It remains that way, I assure you. But, for now, the Church must recapture its core identity as people who live together in Christ, whether or not we meet together in the same building.
So, in a time of social distancing, as Christians, we’re called to exhibit grace under pressure. In that light, church member Suzanne Latham shared a poem with me by Lynn Unger, titled Pandemic.
I share it with you; as a way to reconnect us to God who is ever-present, and who calls each of us to be present as well – even, and especially, in times such as these.
What if you thought of it
as the Jews consider the Sabbath—
the most sacred of times?
Cease from travel.
Cease from buying and selling.
Give up, just for now,
on trying to make the world
different than it is.
Sing. Pray. Touch only those
to whom you commit your life.
Center down.
And when your body has become still,
reach out with your heart.
Know that we are connected
in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.
(You could hardly deny it now.)
Know that our lives
are in one another’s hands.
(Surely, that has come clear.)
Do not reach out your hands.
Reach out your heart.
Reach out your words.
Reach out all the tendrils
of compassion that move, invisibly,
where we cannot touch.
Promise this world your love–
for better or for worse,
in sickness and in health,
so long as we all shall live.
