Today’s Bible readings can
be found at this link: Proverbs
16:1-16 & Romans 13:1-14
Romans 13:10 Love
does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.
(NIV)
For many months, I have
been strongly advocating the wearing of masks in public places in order to
diminish the impact of the present pandemic. By wearing a mask, I am, like
millions of others, trying to keep the number of contagions down so that our
hospitals do not get overwhelmed with emergency cases. At the moment, we are in
the most dangerous phase of the pandemic, so hopefully more people will
graciously adhere to the wise safety precautions that our best medical people
are encouraging us to practice.
Some folks I know question
these precautions because it offends their self-dignity and personal liberty. I
must admit that I don’t understand this because freedom always entails community
responsibilities for the common good of the whole people. Also, from a Biblical
point of view, we are commanded by Jesus to love one another and, in today’s
highlighted verse, the Apostle Paul endorses that by informing the Christian
church in Rome that love does no harm to a neighbor and is, indeed, the
fulfillment of God’s law. So, because of this, I wear a mask and encourage
others to do the same. As a Christian, I see no other way of respecting and fulfilling
Christ’s command to love my neighbor.
The good news about
wearing masks and following safety precautions is that we have actually
diminished flu around the globe. Usually at this time, the flu season deeply impacts
our communities, but because more folks have been vaccinated and are following
the 5 core safety precautions, the annual flu is having a tough time of being
transmitted. So, the side effect of all our precautions is that flu cases are
very low. Isn’t that wonderful?
May God bless you and keep
you all safe from this pandemic. May you all do your part in fulfilling God’s
law by keeping the precautions and showing Christ’s love by doing no harm to
your neighbors. Wear a mask, please. 😊
Prayer: Lord Jesus,
help us to be free from our fears by graciously accepting the God-given wisdom
of our health and medical professionals. Keep them safe, too, as they
constantly seek to help those who are the worst affected by this pandemic. May
our loving actions and compassionate responsibility successfully diminish this
contagion. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.
Pastor John
Erin Presbyterian Church,
Knoxville, Tennessee.
www.erinpres.org
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