Psalm-light for the Fourth Sunday of Easter

Psalm 23

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil for though art with me.” (v.4 KJV).

The whole human family has been walking through the “valley of the shadow of death,” for more than a year. COVID-19 has killed three million people worldwide, including over 23,000 Canadians. Ontario is now in a deadly third wave of the pandemic with highly contagious variants filling our hospitals.

If COVID wasn’t enough, the people of St. Vincent are living through the continuing eruption of La Soufiere volcano. Maria and I have been privileged to visit St. Vincent and other islands in the Grenadines on several occasions. St. Vincent is a land of mountains and valleys. The once lush hillsides are now shrouded in grey ash, killing crops and fruit trees, along with a large portion of the economy. Livelihoods, hopes and dreams have been smashed by pyroclastic flows and smothered by ash from the repeated eruptions.

St. Vincent and many other disasters and problems in the world can seem far away. Where do we begin to heal and mend the planet? A lawyer once asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbour?” Our Lord answered with one of his best know and best loved parables, commonly referred to as “The Good Samaritan” (Luke 10: 25-37). The lawyer himself completed the answer; the one who was neighbour to the person in need, was the one who showed mercy. It is human need and our willingness to respond, and not proximity, which makes us neighbours.

Our Parish of the St. Lawrence is uniquely placed to see Vincentians as our neighbours, as Gregory and Verbina Gonsalves, members of Christ Church-Seaway, live both in St. Vincent and in Canada. At present they are in their island home and they are safe and coping. Donations to the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF) take us to where we cannot go, and will relieve suffering and help restore both lives and hope.

Walking in the light:
Is there someone you know who is “walking through a valley of shadow” who needs to know that they are not walking alone? It could be someone struggling with personal or financial problems; or someone working in a hospital, caring for COVID positive patients; or a grocery store cashier who is yet to be vaccinated, but has been there for you since the beginning of the pandemic; or the people of St. Vincent. Remember them in your prayers, and ask God to show you how your prayer can bear the fruits of action.

 Submitted by Archdeacon Peter Crosby