Saturday 28 March 2020

COVID-19, March 28


Dear Church Family,

My granddaughter Kayla, made the observation that if you take out the middle of the word, “pandemic,” you get “panic”.  Which led us to wondering about the etymology of the word, pandemic.  Kayla’s mom has the girls doing some journaling and this was part of that discussion.

I looked up the word origins of “pandemic” and it was pretty simple.  Pan, means “all” and demic is from “demos”, as in democracy, so, “people.”  All- people. The COVID-19 virus then, is spreading to all people, all around the world.  The way it has spread so fast and so far continues to amaze me.  From one person, to another, to another, and so on and so on.  Highly contagious, highly infectious – “added to their numbers daily.”

That line is also found in the Bible – added to their numbers daily.  It’s in Acts 2.  But there it’s talking about people who were being saved by Jesus.  “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

I had a neighbour.  Her name is Catherine.  I talked to her about Jesus, and she got to know him better.  She told her husband Ken and their daughter Emily. And they talked to Tim and Stacey. And they told Evan and Paige and Abigail.  And so on, and so on.

After Paul and Silas escape from prison, the jailer comes to believe in Jesus and then we read this (Act 16:34): “The jailer brought [Paul and Silas] into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to  believe in God – he and his whole household.”
Yes, his whole household.  That’s because being a Christian is highly contagious. In the first century, Christianity spread because of the diaspora. Wherever people went, they spread the good news. It happens today too.

Wouldn’t it be great to see the love of Jesus and love for Jesus spread as fast as the Corona Virus?  Let’s be infectious Christians.
Pastor Rita

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