The Paradigm Shift
A COLLECT FOR SABBATH REST
Saturday
Almighty God,
who after the creation of the world rested from all your works and sanctified a
day of rest for all your creatures: Grant that we, putting away all earthly
anxieties, may be duly prepared for the service of your sanctuary, and that our
rest here upon earth may be a preparation for the eternal rest promised to your
people in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. [ACNA BCP 2019]
The
world has been topsy-turvy for the past ninety days or so. The nature of our
world in the twenty-first century, regardless of this current crisis, is one of
global interconnectedness and fast-paced striving. There is no slowing of
the pace; no down-shifting. It is more and more, faster and faster – or so we thought.
Covid-19
and the world’s reaction to its expanding, deadly threat, is producing a “gear
shift” in leaders and governments around the globe.
“Stop!
Slow down! Consider every action you take. A wrong decision could cause more death.”
This is the theme driving drastic action in the hope of curbing this threat
by the Coronavirus.
Imagine
the supernatural, our Creator, who is saying to creation, “Now you must slow
down. You have no choice.”
We
are experiencing what some call a paradigm shift. No one knows its outcome. How it unfolds is unknown. No
one can predict our future near term or long. It may take the passing of a
generation or two before the effects of this paradigm shift are noticed.
Consider
the Israelite people who wandered for forty years.
“I am the Lord your
God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
Exodus 20:2
Consider this period that we are now experiencing a sanctified day of rest.
Reflect. Repent. Renew.
