Luke 12.22-28
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, 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. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith!’
Reflection
The Covid pandemic was a time of worry for everyone. Some have never recovered fully from the onset of that anxiety. But others of us remember with fondness the times (an hour a day to start with) when we were able to go out. My wife and I were fortunate to discover a number of wildlife havens – some of which we had never previously visited – within walking distance of our home. With the traffic stopped, we could hear the birds singing, the sound of wind in the trees, and enjoy the peace, tranquillity and rest of nature. By contemplating nature, we could – at least some of the time – put our own worries into a different and healthier perspective. We know that those who were not within easy reach of such spaces suffered more than we did.
For a short while, there were great hopes that these experiences for so many people would lead to those in power having a greater appreciation of the need to protect and care for nature, both for its own sake and for the sake of humans who clearly need it to survive emergencies and ameliorate worries.
Sadly, however, our reaction as humans to the end of the pandemic has not been to learn these positive lessons. Quite the opposite. Across the world, governments have called ‘Drill, baby, drill’ and ‘Build, baby, build’, to catch up with lost time in our despoilation of God’s Creation, undermining our chances of physical or emotional survival when the next pandemic comes.
One of the deficiencies of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry has been that this aspect of the pandemic’s legacy has barely been mentioned, still less highlighted. Surely we – like Jesus- should be remembering how we benefited from the rest of nature during the pandemic and learning from the experience.
Prayer
When through the woods and forest glades I wander,
and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
and hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze;
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art!
(R&S 117)