LENT AND COVID 19
LENT AND COVID 19
Lent, launched on Ash Wednesday with the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return,” is a reminder of our mortality. Now, as if to underline this point, a worldwide pandemic called Covid-19, or the “Coronavirus” is bringing the nations to a standstill. In spite of remarkable advances in science and medicine, Covid-19 marches unrelentingly throughout the world, and the best we can do is to find measures to moderate its spread and manage the symptoms. There is no vaccine, nor is there a cure, and by the time one is found, it will have already wreaked its havoc on our social and economic lives. Tragically many have and will die. The elderly and those with pre-existing conditions are the most vulnerable. Entire developed nations are in lockdown with schools, businesses, sports events, and restaurants closed.
So, in keeping with this season of Lent, Covid-19 underscores our mortality, vulnerability, and utter dependency on God. We are reminded of the importance of stopping, and particularly, how difficult it is to stop. We are a restless culture, ceaselessly pursuing and chasing, driven by a severely low boredom threshold, having so many means at our disposal to entertain and stimulate us.
Lent and New Birth
Our Lent Gospel this past week reminded us of our need for new birth. I know, we’ve all heard that phrase so frequently, it has lost its meaning. We’ve reduced it to saying the “sinner’s prayer,” or believing the right things. Yet, only God can bring new birth. “The wind blows where it wants to” Jesus said, and “… so is everyone born of the Spirit.” [1]
This “new birth” has to be ongoing, like breathing. The word for “wind” is the same Greek word as “breath” and “Spirit…” We are dependent on this breath for life. The moment we are born, we take our first breath, and, the moment we stop breathing, we die. Richard Rohr asserts that breathing – exhaling and inhaling - is the proper pronunciation of God’s name, “YHWH,”[2] which the Jews regarded as unpronounceable. If that is true, the moment we take our first breath, we say God’s name and it’s the last thing we say when we die. This underscores our common humanity. Rohr reminds us that there is no Islamic, Christian, or Jewish way of breathing; neither African, American, rich or poor way of breathing. The playing field is utterly levelled.[3]
Lent and Covid-19 also remind us of this level playing field and our common humanity. As of this morning, the Prime Minister’s wife, and other high ranking political leaders in our country are self-isolating over concerns of having contracted the disease. Covid-19 has no respect of borders, class, wealth, or office.
An Invitation to Stop and to See
So, are we powerless in the face of this pandemic? Do we do nothing? Of course, we need to take the wise council of our public health authorities. Spiritually, of course we can pray, and in this strange season of our lives, in the midst of quarantines, social distancing, and excessive handwashing, we are invited to see.
Jesus said, “As the serpent was raised in the wilderness, so the Son of Man will be lifted up…,” referring to the familiar story in the Book of Numbers[4] where the Israelites, on the route between their slavery in Egypt through the desert became frustrated and bored. They began to grumble and complain, wishing impulsively for a return to slavery in Egypt where at least the menu would be more exciting! As a consequence, poisonous snakes were unleashed into the camp, and many of the Israelites became sick and some died.
When the people cried out for mercy, God provided a remedy. Moses was instructed to erect a bronze serpent on a pole, and all anyone who had been bitten had to do was look at the serpent and see provision for their healing, and they would live.
All they had to do was look and see. That’s all! It required them to take their eyes off their own snake bites. Their slate was clean and all barriers were removed. So it is with us. God invites us to see his love for us in the giving of his Son, who was “lifted up” on the cross – a love for the whole world that is extravagant and indiscriminate, with all barriers removed. “There is no Jew, Gentile, male, female, slave or free,”[5] Paul wrote, and we can add, “gay or straight, rich or poor,” and so on, for we are all one as children of God. Nothing we’ve done or has been done to us can stand in the way. No “should haves,” “could haves,” “would haves.” No regrets. No barriers. Our times require this kind of seeing.
So, as tragic as the consequences are, perhaps Covid-19 can also be a gift to help us stop and to see - firstly, how loved we are, and to see those around us in that same light in our common humanity; to see how vulnerable and interdependent we all are, reminded of our mortality, regardless of who we are; to see afresh what is really important; to be grateful to our Creator for our beautiful world, for the gift of life, and for our breath.
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[1] John 3:8
[2] Richard Rohr, The Naked Now, Crossroad Publishing, 2009, 25-26
[3] Ibid. 26
[4] Numbers 21:4-9
[5] Galatians 3:28