Pastor's Pondering
Read Lead Pastor Duane Mabee's weekly Pastor's Ponderings here!
...Exposed...
by Duane Mabee on September 15, 2020I received the poem …Exposed… by Sarah Bournes from a new acquaintance. He wrote that he and his wife have referred to it often, because it touches on some things we should all take time to consider.
As I have said often, I believe God has a lot that He wants to teach us – especially His Church – through all that has happened in 2020. He put the entire world in time out and on notice for a reason. May God show us, and may He work in us and through us everything He desires during this time.
I hope you enjoy the poem. I hope you find it meaningful.
…Exposed…
We’ve all been exposed.
Not necessarily to the virus
(maybe...who even knows)
We’ve all been exposed BY the virus.
Corona is exposing us.
Exposing our weak sides.
Exposing our dark sides.
Exposing what normally lays far beneath the surface of our souls,
hidden by the invisible masks we wear.
Now exposed by the paper masks we can’t hide far enough behind.
Corona is exposing our addiction to comfort.
Our obsession with control.
Our compulsion to hoard.
Our protection of self.
Corona is peeling back our layers.
Tearing down our walls.
Revealing our illusions.
Leveling our best-laid plans.
Corona is exposing the gods we worship:
Our health
Our hurry
Our sense of security.
Our favorite lies
Our secret lusts
Our misplaced trust.
Corona is calling everything into question:
What is the church without a building?
What is my worth without an income?
How do we plan without certainty?
How do we love despite risk?
Corona is exposing me.
My mindless numbing
My endless scrolling
My careless words
My fragile nerves.
We’ve all been exposed.
Our junk laid bare.
Our fears made known.
The band-aid torn.
The masquerade done.
So, what now? What’s left?
Clean hands
Clear eyes
Tender hearts.
What Corona reveals, God can heal.
Come Lord Jesus.
Have mercy on us.