Saw You

5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:5-6

Easter has passed and it was different for most of us, whether we have children or are part of an extended family. There were no Easter Egg Hunts, no dressing up in our Sunday Go To Meeting finest, no Family Dinner; none of that was on the menu for those of us following the rules. In fact, most of America was locked up tight with whomever they are isolated in place. Some were fortunate, isolated at home with those they loved, healthy and with plenty. Others were not so lucky as these, a host of things come to mind as to the circumstances that might be in play.

• They are members of the healthcare community
• They are members of the retail services community
• They are aged and their families left them where they were
• They are isolated alone, by choice or not

Then some chose to flaunt the rules intended to keep us all safe. Those who loudly proclaim God will protect them and their flock from the virus. My question to them, ‘who

will protect the rest of us from you?’ I frankly watched in horror as some Pastors flung open their doors and led their parishioners into the church to celebrate Easter, shoulder to shoulder, hugs and hand-holding all around. Adults, young and old, children running through the sanctuary as if it is a day of play rather than a day of plague. Of course, children will be children and they don’t know what their parents have led them into.

I am stunned by the level of idiocy and greed it must require on the parts of those who would encourage this behavior and those who would mindlessly place themselves and their families at risk. The Pastors who did this were not leading their flocks in good faith; in truth, some said they were making political statements, were willing to fight to the end for their First Amendment Rights of Religion, Free Speech and to Peaceably Assemble. Pastor Tony Spell said;

“True Christians do not mind dying, they fear living in fear. People that can prefer tyranny over freedom do not deserve freedom”.

Other Far-Right Evangelical Preachers have had dreams and spoken prophecies of the Devil and his minions trying to usurp the chosen one from his place at the top of the GOP and this nation.  Using the Hoax of the global pandemic, the Devil is working his will to turn the world against the Chosen One and his mission. They march to a different drummer, that is all I can say. On the one hand, they sell miracle cures and prayers; on the other, they sell a constant stream of demonic intrigue, deep state conspiracy theory and fear-mongering piped into the homes of millions of devoted followers, daily.

There is a constant hum of discontent across the nation now. Perhaps it is the 5g towers, intended to boost our communications, now the source of conspiracy theory and more idiocy. This discontent can be viewed in glorious ignorance across the web from people from all walks of life. My assumption, they have nothing to occupy their minds. Then some simply cannot be still. Those who can’t wrap their minds into acceptance of a global pandemic of this magnitude. Those people who insist this is instead a grand conspiracy to damage the re-election of the grand poo-bah currently delivering a daily banquet of self-aggrandization and lies to the world.

Finally, perhaps the saddest of all are those who are incapable of understanding or complying with the rules, those we all see each time we must go out for essential items. Those who not only place us all at risk but place themselves and their families at risk.

Have you guessed yet? Yes, it is those who see a trip to the store as a family outing, mom, dad and all the off-spring out for a day at Walmart as if it were Wally World. Worse, mom and dad with masks and gloves while the children have not a lick of protection; baby chewing on the cart to calm their teething gums and two others running through the aisles touching everything in sight. Meanwhile, the teenager is texting and loudly smacking gum while disrespectfully glaring at you when you ask it to move so you can reach what you need off the shelf. I get it; everyone is stir crazy. So am I. But you just brought yourself and your brood to the second most dangerous places to be right now, second only to the emergency room of any hospital.

We are all afraid, I know. Many of us are lonely, staring down financial ruin and future loss while we sit in our homes alone and terrified. Many have learned hard lessons during this isolation, who their friends are, who can be counted on and who was only there for the good times but quickly turned tail when the going wasn’t quite so easy. Yes, this is a scary time for all of us. Nevertheless, we will get through it, this isn’t forever and it isn’t the end of times either.

Eventually, if we all work towards the common goal of flattening the curve, we will open our society again. Ultimately, we will fling our doors open again who and what stands on the other side will be up to us, individually and together.