Hope you’re doing well.  Folks got together for worship in our sanctuary last Sunday, May 17th.  We wore our masks and observed social distancing.  We enjoyed seeing one another. [Look, but don’t touch!] We’ve had to see our world in a different light lately and to appreciate church activities in a different light as well.  We are called to pay attention, indeed, to focus our attention to protect our health and the health of others.  And the need to pay attention only goes on from there.

God calls us to pay attention, to focus; and Jesus was a good one for exercising excellent focus.  I can’t recall any stories of Jesus losing his concentration.  If something surprising came his way, it seems to me that his concentration became all the more focused.  People who were ill, hungry, and distracted needed the help of Jesus “back in the day.”  People who are ill, hungry, and distracted in our day and time have needs that are much the same.  The details may vary, but people who are hurting exist in every age; and Jesus calls us to be extensions of his love.  WWJD: What would Jesus Do?  It’s a very good question.  Will we focus our attention to make our answers in keeping with the will of God as seen in the life and teaching of Jesus?

There is no shortage of news items these days to cause us to lose our focus.  We would rather lose our attention than focus it upon the bad news that is so much a part of coronavirus life.  It’s easy to get out of practice.  But God will help us get back on track.  Ask.

Well, this brings me to nature—particularly a bird called the green heron.  I’ve seen a number of them in my lifetime. They demonstrate quite the level of focus.  Their eyes tell the tale, and their bodies follow along for the ride.  Let’s learn where we can, when we can, from whomever and whatever we can.  Shalom!  –Pastor Bill Charles–

Picture: green heron photographed at Sugar Hollow Park in Bristol, VA.  It was hungry and would not be denied.