This is a post in a series of reflections during the COVID-19 pandemic. To read other reflections, please go to the Pandemic Reflections page.
I’ve been hit by a wave of sadness. At our church, we see our elderly members of the Korean-Speaking Ministry (KSM) in isolation. Some have fallen ill during this time, left to struggle mainly on their own, as they must remain separated from their families and loved ones. Others stay confined to their apartment units, fearful of going out and catching the virus.
My heart becomes heavy as I think of them. They’ve been through so much in life: the last period of Japanese colonization, the Korean War and its difficult aftermath, the toil and hardships of immigrant life, and raising kids in a foreign culture and land. At this point, they’ve finished their labours and were supposed to enjoy their remaining years in peace.
But then this pandemic hit. It has revealed so much about our society. Those of us able to adapt to current technologies carry on: we work from home, we keep ourselves entertained, we take full advantage of all the resources that the internet and technology provide us. But for our most elderly, it’s like the world has left them behind. The world has changed so much throughout their lives, and this is like one final arrow that life has thrown them.
Is this the way things end? Do they just fade from view and life? Does life just go on for everyone else?
In our own church, that was the generation that built up this church. They poured out their time, tears and resources to build up this community of faith. The church gave them a community. It gave them a sense of meaning for life in this crazy world. Now many of them feel the absence of the community in their lives. Their eyes well up with tears when they receive calls from our ministers. They miss the church so dearly.
Why did this generation have to endure and go through so much? Why were their lives so difficult? Why can’t they just enjoy peace and rest?
I don’t know why.
All I can do right is to shed tears: in sorrow for all that they’ve endured and continue to, in gratitude for their sacrifices and love, and in honouring their memory.
What we can best do to honour them is to remember them. The writer of Hebrews recounts the heroes of faith that laid the path for his generation of followers. His recounting culminated in this bold declaration: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)
We did not arise out of a vacuum. We are who we are because of the love of those who raised us and paved the way for us. Our St. Timothy community has indeed enjoyed this blessing of community because of that “great cloud of witnesses” in our first generation. Therefore, let us also lay aside every weight and run the race that is set before us. Let us honour the difficult choices they made in coming here by living the best lives we can. Let us continue the work of building up this community of faith that can be a blessing for the world.
Let us remember the hope that kept them going through the most difficult moments in life. May that hope be their legacy for us. May that hope be our own strength to press forward in this life.
During this time of pandemic, I pray that our faith and hope may be refined like fire, and that we emerge from this time even stronger as people rooted in faith, hope, and love.
This is a post in a series of reflections during the COVID-19 pandemic. To read other reflections, please go to the Pandemic Reflections page.
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