"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these."
- Matthew 6:25-29 (NRSV)
While living in Boston, I would often find myself wandering down Newbury Street. This cornucopia of shopping is a great place to watch people as they engaged with their daily lives. For, it is nestled one block away from the public library and the subway, an area where many people who are homeless reside. On the other side were the wealthy homes, brownstone apartments, and grassy medians of Commonwealth Avenue. In other words, Newbury Street is a physical line between the “haves and have not's,” a place which caters to people with disposable income.
Sadly, this breath of shopping revealed what our society values, over and over. I witnessed shoppers rush past people who are homeless on the way to purchase their next smart phone; people rushing past a friend wanting to talk because they had to “wolf” down lunch before another meeting; people rushing past street artists just so they could find themselves in another corporate store buying a mass produced print of an artist who they can find online for free.
I found myself asking, “why are we always rushing” as I wandered those lonely congested streets.
Then, I returned to Maine and remembered that life does not have to be that way. The worry for the latest and greatest is not what life is about and not what we need. I saw the birds singing in the morning as they enjoyed their God-provided breakfast. I witnessed the lilies drink in the sunlight as they sat listlessly in the field. I engaged beautiful conversations with my community who had enough time to talk. This life in Maine seems to be what we really need. Still, people rushed around seeking only the things they want.
Now, we are experiencing the great pause button, a time of self-isolation, when we are forced to stop rushing around and see the beauty of this world. Perhaps, this trying time is a gift reminding us of what brings us life in this world and not just the toys which we are told we must have. Perhaps, this time may be a gift from God reminding us that what we really need is to take care of one another, to enjoy the sunshine, and not worry for God will provide.
- May this great pause button be our wake-up call to what we really need to live, those gifts which God provides. May these words and your meditations always be pleasing to God. Amen.