Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

These days, face masks are not all that easy to come by. With the call for everyone to wear one when they are in a public space, we have all been scrambling to find them online or to make our own. At first Kim made a couple out of fabric that she had in the house. They were ok, but so thick I could hardly breathe! Then we were able to order a few washable ones online. I thought they were just a plain black color, but when they came, we realized they had a little bunny on them—complete with a little fuzzy, pink tail! Well, they were perfect for Easter!  Then, a friend of ours from New York gifted us some disposable ones to have on hand. They seem to work the best. Whatever the case, at this point Kim and I are thankful to have some face masks on hand for when we do need to go out. In fact, I usually keep some in the car so that they are always available.   Me with my "bunny" face mask! Yet, to be honest, I hardly find the wearing of a face mask a pleasant and comforta...

As of a couple of weeks ago, here in New Jersey all of the state and county parks were closed to promote social distancing (which as you may know from an earlier post, I prefer to call “physical distancing”). Following the state’s lead, most of the municipal parks have been shut down as well. In fact, the town I live in, Eatontown, had already closed all parks that had playgrounds in them. However, one park has remained open; it is an arboretum that is somewhat behind the neighborhood in which I live. It is simply a small set of woods with some trails that weave through the trees and even over a brook.  Since my options as to where I can run have become quite limited, I have now been doing all of my runs from my house, up the block behind me, and into the arboretum. Most of the time I run on my own, sometimes I take our dog Sadie with me. It’s actually a very pleasant place to run since the ground is mostly soft on the knees, the trees protect from too much sun and wind, and t...

For sure this Resurrection Sunday is going to be quite different. No packed sanctuary. No church Easter breakfast. No buzz and excitement as everyone shows up to church dressed in their Easter best, ready to worship the Risen Christ. Instead, congregations will be separated into their own homes. Most people will be with their immediate family. Some may be alone. In either case, we’re all kind of locked down and locked up this Easter as we continue to fight the spread of this virus. In actuality, we will be experiencing Resurrection Sunday much the way the first disciples did. The Bible tells us that on that first Easter, “… the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders….” (John 20:19 – NIV) That’s right, the tomb was empty, but the small band of disciples, not realizing what had happened, were locked behind closed doors.  No big celebration. No parade. No sounds of rejoicing.  Rather, on that very first Easter Sunday, in spite of an e...

This past Monday was my nephew Andrew’s 23 rd birthday. With all the social distancing rules in place, we of course couldn’t get together as a family to celebrate with him. That doesn’t mean however, we didn’t get together and celebrate. Rather, about ten of us got online via Zoom and had a virtual birthday celebration!  Kim held up signs that said, “Happy Birthday Andrew” and “We love you!” My sister brought out a cake and we all sang the birthday song and then cheered as Andrew blew out the candles.  And, for the next hour we all chatted, joked, and laughed. Although we couldn’t be together in the same room, it felt good to see each other’s faces and spend at least some virtual time together.  (We joked that it looked like the introduction to the Brady Bunch!) As you are well aware, this has become our new norm, at least for the time being.   Like many of you, all of my meetings recently have been held online. Although it’s not like being together in the sa...

While attending Fordham University for my junior and senior years of college, I lived with my Greek grandmother, aunt, and uncle in the Bronx. Every morning, as I left the apartment building to head for the bus stop, my grandmother (my “yaiyai”) would lean her head out of the sixth floor window that overlooked the street and yell one word reminders to me in her mixed English and Greek: “hat,” “umbrella,” “banana,” etc.  Then the very last thing she would yell down to me (in Greek) was, “Watch and pray!”  That’s right, the very last words I heard from her each and every morning were Jesus’ words to his disciples, “Watch and pray!” As we consider all that is happening in our world today because of the spread of this COVID-19 virus, many of us are trying to figure out what to do and how to respond. As we find ourselves cut off from the normal routines of our lives and almost forced to stay in our homes; as we read the news of overflowing hospitals, mounting deaths, as well a...

This morning I went to our local bagel shop. Less than a week ago, they were allowing two people at the counter at a time. Now, one can only order via phone, pay by credit card (over the phone and with a $10 minimum), and have your order brought out to your car.  I ended up standing outside the door of the store, calling in my order, fumbling for my credit card, having to order more than I wanted to order, and having to give my numbers twice since I read one of the numbers wrong the first time through. By the time my order was brought out to my car, I felt rattled. But I think we’re all used to be rattled these days! Life has really changed in the last couple of weeks—and most especially the last few days!  Who would have thought that a virus that we once read about on the other side of the world, would cause the shutdown of our schools, force thousands to work from home, and cause us to have church services on-line?  Restaurants are empty with only take-out being of...

Yesterday afternoon I stepped into a local supermarket to simply pick up a few things—just part of my normal routine. When I entered, I found no baskets or carts available and shelves that were nearly bear.  I couldn’t believe it. I looked around. People were buying up groceries as if it was their last opportunity to ever again shop for groceries.  On the other side of the spectrum, when I had arrived at the gym, just a couple hours earlier, the parking lot was empty, and half the normal crowd was there. Apparently, everyone who was normally working out was shopping—or, so it seemed! The empty shelves of a Walmart! Most of us have never seen anything like this before, but it almost seems like our world is coming to a screeching halt amid efforts to contain or “flatten the curve” of the coronavirus.   After all, except for a temporary cancellation, when have we ever seen all professional sporting events cancelled at once? Colleges, universities, and local schools ...