If we were prisoners incarcerated for a punishable deed, we would likely be marking each day awaiting return to home or to normalcy. When I think about what it might be like to be in jail, I think to myself, “well, that’s not so bad.”  I would read books, meditate, pray, draw, etc.

The truth is that we are now in a kind of incarceration. So, I ask myself, why am I not calmly counting days reading, praying etc.?  The truth is when we are ‘counting days’, we often get caught in focusing on getting back to normal life… to home… to whatever we ‘used to do’.

One of the hardest tasks of Christian life is to recognize the presence of God in our lives, in our homes, and in our hearts.  The Holy Spirit lives in and around us, not out there in the future.  Today our physical situation (except for those essential workers who are incredibly busy and stressed) is one of ‘stasis’ – static – the same day after day.

Looking to the future is natural. We want things to return to normal. Yet while thinking ahead is good, it is also not very satisfying.  So, we are waiting for a return to normal. While waiting, however, we are missing the present.

We find God in the PRESENT. The Holy Spirit does not come as a future but as a present reality.  Our task as Christians is to focus on what is here and now. What are we waiting for? The answer is that life is happening now.  Right here, inside our hearts and minds — inside our houses and our families and our solitude.

So, instead of counting down, we are called to count up!  Let us count up our blessings, count up our family and friends and count on the Spirit that remains with us, faithfully through all that is happening now.

We can be ready by counting up— ready for the new “opening.”  The opening of our communities and also the opening of ourselves to the presence of God in the world.

The new re-opening means moving together in lock step with the God who is here now sustaining us.

Peace,

The Rev. Joyce Caggiano