February Waves of Faith

When Peggy and I visited the churches of Paul in Greece, our tour included the site of an

ancient spa. It is an archeological dig that’s uncovering an ancient spa named for Aesculapius, the ancient Roman god of Medicine. 3000 years ago people believed that health was nurtured by the arts, by music and theatre as well as through physical treatments and good counsel. This place was an eye-opener. So many centuries ago when people got sick they went to this rehab for your body and soul. In this strange and wonderful place there are remnants of a healing community complete with a large theatre, rooms for treatments, dwelling places for patients, gardens and a large kitchen where they seemed to cater good food. The trip to Aesculapius is one I’ll never forget. It spoke of a holistic approach to

healing.

In a pandemic we are all worried about our health. Flu symptoms send us rushing for a COVID test. Children with a fever are quarantined at home and tested. This week the talk is all about how to find a site to get a vaccine, when the opportunity arises. In a pandemic your personal health is everybody’s business. Why? Because we all feel so vulnerable. But I believe that this experience of COVID 19 has affected us all more significantly than we realized. We are fearful, cautious, and concerned much of the time. We all have a long prayer list, these days. This Lent we mark one year since we shut our church and retired to our houses, limiting our exposure to the coronavirus by forging life patterns that involve less and less contact with strangers and one another. We have PODS for safety and community but many of our interactions now are not in person or indoors. Our worship theme for Lent will be “Healing.” The Bible is full of stories about healing, from the Old and New Testaments. Each has its own wonderful story about people who were stuck or lost or suffering in ways they could not figure out. The Bible stories contain lots of encouragement for us today because they are not simplistic or even old fashioned, so they have a lot to teach us. Rev. Susan