It seems to me that many people were hoping that when 2020 ended and 2021 began that things would begin to change for the better.  This was reinforced by the pre-Christmas news that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine had been approved closely followed by the Oxford/AstraZeneca one.  The end was in sight, or was it?  Just when we though that we had turned the corner, a new variant of Covid-19 had been discovered on our own doorstep and we could see ourselves   heading back down into another lockdown and here we are.

In today’s world, pandemics are thankfully very rare.  Most of us in our lifetime have not seen the likes of Covid-19 even though there have been a few in the last 100 years, but all have been mild by      comparison. We have got used to having the freedom to do mostly whatever we want to do, and we take travel between continents for granted.  The easier travel gets for us, the easier it gets for the virus.

Plagues, wars and disease have been central to our way of life for thousands of years, but we don’t usually get wrapped up in them      personally.  Covid-19 has been different because it has affected everyone, everywhere in the world.  The reason why we have passed through those times is because of HOPE.  This is a gift that God gave us in   creating us in his image, and faith is the path to HOPE:

Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

Romans 5:1 “Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

However we may be affected by the virus; however inconvenient it may be, we will win through.  God’s love for us will always triumph.  Yes, there is pain and loss for many, but God waits at the end to embrace us in his love and asks us through faith to live in hope for a better future.

Revd David Teece
St Peters Church, Stanley and St Paul’s, Alverthorpe.