麻豆社

Good Morning.

After many weeks of wondering if the time would ever arrive 鈥� here we are on what the tabloids have dubbed Super Saturday. Like many of you, no doubt, I鈥檝e been wondering about how the new normal might look in local cafes, restaurants, hairdressers and, of course, pubs. As a church, we鈥檝e also been sending out similar guidance ourselves as the faithful prepare to return to places of worship from this weekend.

Is now the right time? Should I wait? Should I just turn up? Judging exactly when is the right time to do anything is not easy.

The general consensus of many experts seems to be that we should not all rush back to what we were doing before the lockdown began but take our time and act sensibly, thereby keeping others and ourselves as safe as possible. Critically, of course, we also want to support millions of jobs that have so far been affected by the pandemic. It鈥檚 a fine balancing act.

So when is the right time?

Isaac Watts beautiful poem O God our help in ages past is a testimony to the effects of the passing of time on an individual soul in the face of eternity. Watts describes time as 鈥渓ike an ever rolling stream鈥� twisting and turning, carrying us along 鈥� but like a dream which ends suddenly when we wake up from sleep all of a sudden and realise that all the pressures and issues of our life are much the same as they were yesterday. I know what that feels like!

How we make key decisions every day about when is the best or right time for anything is best summed up in New Testament theology by one word: preparedness. It鈥檚 a theme Jesus returns to often, especially in the parables: be prepared; be as ready as you can be, because you never know what is round the corner.

We certainly didn鈥檛 know what was round the corner just a few months ago. And events continue to be life-changing for the wellbeing of millions of people: only time will enable us to fully absorb what has happened. But it is already clear that constantly re-evaluating our sense of preparedness, especially on days like today as the so called new normal comes into focus, makes absolute sense to me.

I don鈥檛 know about you, but I feel pretty cautious about today. But I also know that we do now need to be well prepared for every eventuality and that there is absolutely nothing wrong with careful caution as we chart a way forward.

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