The Bible was written in an agricultural culture. The language used by farmers, ranchers and people who worked the land is used with frequency. The Bible speaks often about sheep and goats.

     Thirty-eight years ago, I traveled by bus from Fort Dix, New Jersey to Fort Devins, Massachusetts. Interstate Ninety-five passes within a short distance of Liberty State Park from which the Statue of Liberty can be seen. I had dreamed of seeing Lady Liberty since I was a boy.

     About nine years ago, my wife and I visited her daughter and son in law in Washington D. C. One of the take a ways from that visit was an opportunity to visit the National Bureau of Archives. The Bureau houses many historical documents and among them were: The Magna Carta, The Federalist Papers, The Gettysburg Address and the Summa Theologica. The One that made a profound impression on me was the United States Declaration of Independence.

     “Oh that life was like it used to be, like the days when God watched over me; when his lamp shone on my head, I walked by his light in the dark” (Job 29:1-3, CEB). Job’s words echo how many people are feeling these days. The Covid-19 pandemic has left a lot of folks wondering if, like Elvis, God has left the building. I understand their lament.

Difficult circumstances can cast a shadow over the human heart and obscure one’s ability to perceive God’s presence.