Trust. It’s an overused word and an underutilized emotion. Over the past year Americans have lost their trust in the CDC because during the worst of the pandemic it was so heavily politicized, its employees and spokespersons being paraded out to quell fears of the virus and censored in their comments over the dangers.
We have this myth about science, that it always knows the answers to our questions. As children we were told that science is certain but, of course, science, or at least the knowledge we acquire from it, is developed from a series of hypotheses that are tested.
When scientific inquiry becomes politicized as it was in 2020, we lose faith in it and now wonder whether CDC guidance is accurate. The latest statements are guarded with caveats regarding face coverings and gatherings. We should read them carefully and act appropriately so we do not rush headlong into a resurgence of the virus in our desire to live as we did in 2019.
Prayer for the Day
Frustrated and upset, we come to you, O Holy One,
For we often do not know where to place our trust;
Confused and bewildered, we seek answers
But we wonder what are the right questions to ask.
Forgive us the anger we often hide inside ourselves;
And open us to a new way of being in and caring for others.
In the name of him who cared for all,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
None of us knows what might happen even the next minute, yet still we go forward. Because we trust. Because we have Faith.
Paolo Coelho, Brazilian novelist and essayist
In the end, you have to choose whether or not to trust someone.
Sophie Kinsella, English novelist
We urgently wait for the Lord; our help and shield is God;
Our heart is glad in God because we trust in the Lord.
Let your kindness ever be on us, O Lord, even as we hope in you.
Psalm 33: 20-21