VICAR
Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You are well and that Your families are healthy too. I hope that You have had a good week and are planning to put Your feet up for at least some time this Sunday.
Sometimes people ask me what my job entails. I mostly reply to them that my job is to make people pray. To stop looking at their phones for a while. To think of their fellow human beings and the other creatures that walk with us on this earth.
The first part of my job is made somewhat easier this week. Liverpool lost a game of football and showed they are human. Meanwhile Coronavirus is turning masses of disbelievers to prayer, as if some alien invasion were upon us. As for atheists in planes falling from the sky – there seems little alternative but to give prayer a chance. That reminds me – wash Your hands for 20 seconds or more when You can. While prayer is helpful, so is washing Your hands at opportune times and You can pray while You do so.
I apologise in advance. This week I will sell You the cold. There will be no prayer. I want You to think. To imagine. I want you to think of the consequences of the following statement, which is one of the worst case scenarios out there, presuming no cure is found for Coronavirus.
How might Your life change with Death causing havoc in Your family? Would You help Your neighbours if they get struck down with the illness or will You protect Your own? How will You behave if You are made to feel human, for perhaps the first time in Your adult life? If You get Coronavirus and are hospitalised, what regrets will You have in Your mind as You fight the illness?
Of course, I wish You all well. I do not wish to scare You. Indeed, let us pray that Coronavirus has a far lesser effect than is expected and evaporates like SARS. All Christians should be optimists in faith and hope and love and let us pray that We escape the worst predictions. However let us use this time to feel human before God as, in many ways, life is all about preparing oneself and loved ones around You for death.
God bless You all.
“Virologists and epidemiologists anticipate an overall infection rate of 60% in any given country which in the UK translates to between 39 and 48 million cases dependent on whose population figures you believe. The more concerning figure is that 10% to 15% of cases will require some level of serious medical intervention which if we use the lower percentage means that up to 5.8 million people will require oxygen and or intensive care and 2% to 4% will pass away. There are only 4,900 beds available in hospitals for such cases. All the other data is immaterial so far as the disease goes. Of course, the economic (and security) fallout is going to be huge.”
A useful link.