Our Insurance

Good Friday

John 8:1-19:42

One of the businesses that has been especially affected by the COVID-19 crisis is professional sports. Throughout the world, leagues have had their seasons suspended, postponed or cancelled. The Summer Olympics in Tokyo were postponed for one year. The NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS seasons have all been disrupted. The financial losses for everyone from players to gamblers, from concession workers to neighboring bars and restaurants, will be tens of billions of dollars.  

The Wimbledon tennis tournament has been cancelled. However, the All England Club will not suffer much financially. Seventeen years ago, they took out an insurance policy that covered losses due to a pandemic. The premiums were steep: $2 million per year. Now, after paying $34M in premiums, they stand to make $141M from insurance proceeds.  

Today Christians throughout the world remember an even greater benefit: eternal life. The premiums were paid once for all by Jesus. When we look to the cross and venerate it, we are reminded of the gift of our salvation and its cost. Just as one cannot receive the benefits of an insurance policy without following the required procedures, we need to live in ways that enable us to lay claim to our salvation. May the prayer, fasting and works of charity and justice we did during Lent and the changes we have made in our lives help us to grow in our ability—always with God’s grace—to do just that. 

In tennis scoring, “love” means zero, nothing. When we look to the cross, we are reminded that love means everything. –jc