Journey to an Unknown Land

As we continue to watch the news and follow the global pandemic, it feels like we are journeying to an unknown land. Social practices and norms are changing and we are all trying to learn how to live in this new reality. If you are a parent or caregiver of children it can be additionally stressful as we try to teach them these new practices that we ourselves are trying to grasp. 
 
As a mother, I frequently think about how our Mother Mary would deal with a parenting situation and ask for her guidance.  So I wonder if Mary and Joseph ever faced a situation like the one we are facing now?  As first century Jews, my guess is that they faced many great hardships and difficult situations beyond the ones recorded in the Bible.  Although they may not have faced a global pandemic they did have to journey to a land that was unknown to them.  When Jesus was just a babe, Joseph got message from God in a dream that he would be unable to take his family home to the land he knew.  Instead he had to immediately take his wife and child to Egypt, an unknown land.  They would have had no idea of what situations they would encounter, how long they would be gone, nor if they will ever be able to return home.  They just had to rely on God and have faith that God would lead them and care for them.
 
Although we are not going on a physical journey—quite the opposite—we are taking a journey into an unknown land. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but what we do know is that God will see us through and once we reach the end of our journey into this unknown land our faith and relationship with God will be stronger.
 
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph we ask that you pray for us. Just as you faith in God’s plan when you journeyed to Egypt, we pray that we may have that same faith in God’s plan for us as we journey into this unknown land. Amen
 
 Please pray for each other, for the sick, those that have died, those that have lost jobs, those that feel alone, our healthcare workers, our parish, and our world.
 
Please practice social distancing, but don’t let it become relationship distancing.
 
~Jolaine Liupakka, Director of Pastoral Care