Be Not Afraid

Have you ever though "how sterile is my church?"I must admit this is something I've never thought about.But many churches are doing just that.
While reading the newspaper today there was an article about how many of the churches are handling things like receiving communion and shaking each others hands during service.I tend to feel that God would not ask us to do things he knew would cause us sickness,Isn't that what faith is all about.
Is this fear founded or just an over reaction on our part? We as humans have a need to control things.But much as we like to control things it does not mean we will not come in contact with sickness,its part of life.
Why so much fear over the flu? Here in New England we have flu every winter and most of us do just fine,Of course if you are an infant,elderly or have a compromised immunity you need to be careful.
Today the paper talked about Catholic Priest and Eucharistic ministers and the importance of using hand sanitizers before giving communion,Ah there's nothing like the smell of rubbing alcohol with your bread and wine at the most blessed part of the service.Parishioners taking communion are told they do not need to sip from the communal chalice to get the full spiritual benefits of the Eucharist,So much for the body and "Blood" of Jesus.Parishioners are reminded that if they are ill they are under no obligation to attend Sunday Service,now that one actually makes sense.
Its not just the Catholic churches but also other religions are banning holding each others hands during prayer,Now there's a show of faith,and One Methodist church is distributing individual wrapped wafers and wine from sealed juice containers,Something just doesn't seem right to me about that one,here's the body and blood of Christ,please distribute your wrappers and juice containers in the trash on your way out remember were trying to stay sterile you know.
I'm all for cleanliness but I can tell you most hospitals are the cleanest places you can imagine.They use sterile procedures,wash with disinfectants and have the highest rates of germs you can imagine,Want a super bug go to a hospital.
So what does that tell us? being clean is one thing but being sterile is another.Our bodies were made to come in contact with dirt and germs,how many of us as children did not eat a little dirt and drink filthy water,come on be honest,and guess what were still alive.We build immunity because we come in contact with things,that's the whole purpose of vaccinations.So what do we do? First don't panic its only the flu and second us common sense and the rest is up to God,that's the faith part.By the way were all going to die from something so go ahead and live,thats why you were created.