As followers of Jesus, what do we value most, the lives of people or the strength of the economy? Do we value only what a person can produce, or do we value the life of that person? The question is central to our faith – are we important to God for what we do, or for who we are as persons created in the image of God?

There is a Christian tendency to speed right through the crucifixion to the resurrection of Christ. I confess my own proclivity to do such a thing: to cut grief and tears short with a reminder that death is not final. In this way, we avoid the uncomfortable feelings of sadness, of loss, and of powerlessness. This is not always healthy.

What does it mean to rest in hope, or, as some translations state this passage, to live in hope? And how do we do this especially when the world around us feels so hopeless?

A daily prayer for March 31, 2020.

Like the setting of the sun, the coronavirus gradually spread its darkness from east to west. Now, it seems as if the whole world has entered a time of darkness. As the darkness deepens, Psalm 130 gives voice to the despair we may feel, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice!”

A daily prayer for March 30, 2020.