The Novel Coronavirus and the Book of Revelation-2020

It just so happens that at this horrific, historic time, when the novel coronavirus pandemic is raging through the world, my parish Bible study group, (meeting now on Zoom), is studying the Book of Revelation. This book is considered apocalyptic, meaning "unveiling." Right there in the last book of the Christian Bible, in the New Testament, are signs we are living through this modern day apocalypse, that was prophesied about over 2,000 years ago. As crazy as it sounds, this might be a taste of what the apocalypse would be like. I seriously don't think it will be the end of the world and certainly things are improving everyday, but I do think our lives will be changed for a long time, because of this unpredictable, evil-like virus. And for some sadly and unfortunately, the worst case scenario did happen and will happen. Too many needless deaths, premature and lonely deaths, because of humankind's carelessness and lack of respect for the natural world.
Perhaps people of other faiths with knowledge of Sacred Scripture are thinking this as well...but when we were not allowed to worship in Church on Easter Sunday and other horrific things happened that holy day, I said to myself, "Something is out of whack."
A few days ago while studying the Book, with Church friends in our Bible study group, these words jumped out at me (the living Word of God), "You have limited strength and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name" (Rev. 3:8).
Yes we all do have limited strength at this difficult and confusing time and we have to rely on the advice of medical experts and trust in God to see us through.
Also, "Because you have kept my message of endurance, I will keep you safe in the time of trial that is going to come to the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.  I am coming quickly. Hold fast to what you have so that no one may take your crown" (Rev. 3:10-11)
The word "endurance" appears 7 times in the Book of Revelation. We have to endure, have faith and trust in God and the experts and we will see this pass. This too shall pass and just perhaps, maybe?, could be?, we lived through the prophecy from the Book of Revelation.
Stay Well!
NJA

We've Lost Too Many Good New Yorkers To The Pandemic

How sad this pandemic is....so many lost lives, so much tragedy...good, decent people dying alone, away from their loved ones...Please God end this awful pandemic.
Not only New Yorkers, throughout the United States, all over the world, brave health care workers, essential workers, and others, just doing their job, trying to stay faithful to their jobs and dying from this awful, deadly virus. So many innocent people, trying to live and having their lives cut short.
Let's hope lessons are learned by the world community. Let's hope this never happens again and people are held accountable, so that this never happens again.
Wherever this virus came from, we are smarter than this. To be outsmarted by a virus, in this day and time, with so much advanced technology is absurd.
I hope and pray this never happens again.
Too much loss, so much pain. Good, decent people dying.
I never thought I would live through an experience like this. No one could have imagined this. Well, some people did but not enough attention was paid to them.
I pray the statistics and data continues to improve, the world gets back to normal soon and this is just a bad memory.
Please God saves us from ourselves.
NJA

"The World Kissing Its Own Darkness"- The Pandemic Continues Into Holy Week

"He said, write down the vision you had, and I wrote what I saw.
I saw the world kissing its own darkness.
It happened thus: I rose to meet the sunrise and suddenly over the hill
a horde appeared dragging a huge tarpaulin.
They covered unwary land and hapless city and all sweet water and fields.
And there was no surprise....."
Jessica Powers

When I read the poem, "The Vision" by Jessica Powers, I thought of the strange image I saw on TV of a temporary hospital that was set up in Central Park in NYC, to help treat coronavirus patients. Somehow the words, "I saw the world kissing its own darkness," and "a horde appeared dragging a huge tarpaulin," seemed to fit the scene in some absurd way.

These are trying times. A Holy Week to remember or maybe to forget. So much pain and suffering, loss, disappointment and death. No one deserves what happened. Families torn apart, people dying alone. Warrior-like doctors and nurses doing their best, in disbelief of what they're seeing and dealing with. Little did we know, when Lent began, that in this year 2020, there would be an assault from a deadly, evil, sneaky virus.
Will humankind learn from their errors? Will wet markets, throughout the world be closed to prevent future deadly viruses from leaping from animals to humans and causing havoc? I hope so. I pray this all ends soon and the world recovers and the world learns.
The economic fall out will be great, world economies may never look the same.
Uncharted territory.
As Christians, we have to maintain hope. In the Northeast, it is Spring.
NJA