Good Shepherd Lutheran Church / Wednesday, November 25, 2020 / Categories: Publications, Daily Devotions Daily Devotion Tres Kutcher “Beware the Ides of March!” a soothsayer allegedly warned Julius Caesar in 44 AD. But this being 2020, the Ides came early: two days early for me. Friday, March 13th was when things really started going south. There’d been talk of a pandemic, but few Americans had yet died. You could count the Covid-19 cases in Ohio on one hand. Spring Break for UC was just beginning. Still, there was enough concern that we already knew we weren’t coming back to campus the following week; we just didn’t imagine how long it would last. The past 206 days (as of this writing; not that I’m counting) have been difficult in many ways. Collectively we’ve lost friends and family; there are loved ones we haven’t hugged or even touched since it began. Some people have lost jobs while others are working harder than ever, but working alone. Routines that gave us balance and joy – a cup of coffee at Starbucks or a sporting event... or a Sunday church service – just disappeared. For me, it’s been a time of challenged faith. Not challenged by wondering where God is or asking how a loving God could allow so much misery. The challenge has been to stay in communion. Communion is a sacrament, an act of sharing; it is also community. To be in communion, in community, with God and with each other seems to be one of the highest ideals of scripture. And yet it’s been one of the toughest... these past 206 days. Several weeks back, in late August, the Edge House held the first Nosh of the academic year. I volunteered to cook but I don’t remember what I made. What I remember is spreading out under a large white tent in the front yard of the house, eating and talking about... well, I don’t remember specifically what we talked about either, but we talked. It was good to be in communion again, and to take communion again. A few great-grandfathers back, on my mother’s side, was a Pastor of a Friends (Quaker) Church. I have from him a small framed calling card that reads: “To every Stranger, Friend and Member, we extend a most cordial welcome to the Sanctuary of our God. Come thou with us and we will do thee good.” We were, on the front lawn of the Edge House that Sunday, in the Sanctuary of our God – and it did me good. Previous Article Daily Devotion Next Article Daily Devotion Print 7607 Rate this article: 5.0 Leave a comment Name: Please enter a name. Email: Please enter an email address. Please enter a valid email address. Comment: Please enter comment. I agree This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data. You must read and accept this rules. Add comment