A Sign for Our Times

 

KCCO, the abbreviation for ‘keep calm and carry on’ a phrase from posters used in England during WWII to help keep morale up and more recently amended with the putative ‘chive on’. A sign for our times.

In the face of uncertainty and bad news, let alone the worrying and unfortunate ‘social distancing’, we do need to be reminded of the importance of resilience, perseverance, hope and above all, as Apostle Paul reminds us in the conclusion to 1 Corinthians 13 – the love chapter – is charity or love. This isn’t some mewling, superficial, theological happy face, it is a full on, mature, and powerful acknowledgement of what we as believers are called to – above all.

In the midst of all the turmoil, doubt and anxiety that accompanies the ubiquitous, and dare I say iniquitous, ‘Covid News’, there are many examples of those who have looked past their own needs, stepped away from provocation and attended to both the material and spiritual needs of their neighbours. The question comes to each of us then, of how are we magnanimous, patient, tractable, hopeful or even calm in the face of these things? Those qualities are after all, not only what constitute love, but what holds to the very core of our faith. Faith that enables us to carry on.