Love in a time of fear - responding as a church to COVID 19
Mike Flynn (Vicar)
In 1 John 4:18 the apostle writes: "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."
John has been very careful to define what he means by love in the preceding verses. Even how we know that God himself is love. Love is a sacrifice that atones, he writes, and that is the model for how followers of Jesus are to love (1 John 4:11,12).
This explains why Christians in the past faced disease and plague with sacrificial love and great courage rather than being dominated by fear. It was not that they were foolhardy or took unnecessary risks or ignored wise precautions but it was a mark of their witness that they founded hospitals and orphanages, food relief, catacombs for the burial of poor and homes for those dying homeless. It was costly, sometimes very costly, but that is the love that filled them - a sacrifice that makes people one with each other and with God in Jesus Christ.
Fear drives us into self focus that ultimately stops us acting well. The love of Jesus builds hospitals, searches for cures and treatments, even risks its own life for the sake of other lives.
Live in fear or live in this love - is what John wrote to the early church.
As our country rolls out measures to help slow the spread of COVID 19 at St. Columb's we will wash our hands, sanitise our hard surfaces, reduce our public events in the service of love, not fear.
Our parish council will meet early next week (16/3) to discuss changes we need to make in circumstance that are changing quickly. We will keep all our members up to date through regular emails and posting on social media and our web site.
In the meantime, until our Diocese or governments tell us otherwise, we will continue to worship together the God who sent his one and only Son into the world so we might know we are loved and we might be given the courage to learn how to love.