Today Chicago Public health announced that the city recorded its highest number of new Covid infections since the pandemic began with over 168 deaths in the state. This troubles me. I worry about so many people who are being exposed to this disease and who are dying. I wonder why it is so hard for some people to wear masks to protect themselves and others and reduce the spread. I pray that each of us here in Chicago and everywhere in the world could make the necessary sacrifice to stay safe and well and to prevent the spread of this disease.
As we wait for the vaccines, may we not develop a Covid fatigue and let down our guards even in those places like Africa where the incidence rate is lower than the projections and models. We have survived to this point; may we hold on until this destructive plague is vanquished. Please do not lose hope; do not give up particularly if you feel isolated, lonely, helpless, and down.
Thinking of the many men and women who are on the frontlines fighting this disease, I cannot but glorify the Lord for the spirit of sacrifice that God has given to our world. May this spirit of sacrifice which makes so many go the extra mile to fight this disease in hospitals, labs, and in many sites where love is winning, continue to heal our wounded and divided world. This is the kind of sacrifice that should define our faith.
Authentic religion should move our will to live for others, to give away our clinging to power, self, possessions, and even our presumed certainty about the rightness of our creeds and ways of life; it should make us humble and to understand that life is short and that our true happiness does not lie in how much pleasure we have, and how much happiness we have for ourselves, but rather that happiness comes from living like Jesus through a life lived with and for others.
Authentic Christianity should make us see every human being as our brother or sister. It is because of my desire to see this kind of religion come alive every day in my life and in the lives of others that I am so happy to be in the party of Jesus and to be his employee because I am sure that his pay package can only be prized and not priced. In these challenging times, when we are seeing a new spike in the rate of infection, may not lose hope, but hold on to love and life by making the right choices that will save lives and protect us all.
Lord, renew in us a deep sense of hope. May we say to the darkness of despair: I will trust in the Lord. May we be open to your grace working in us and granting us the resilience to bounce back when we are down and to resist any negative sentiments that rob us of joy, hope, and courage. May we hold each other in the warmth of love and care; and hold on to the life that lives and speaks in us.
-Stan Chu Ilo
