This pandemic is
getting old. The novelty of the “stay-at-home” order is wearing thin. I don’t
know about the coronavirus, but my curve is flattened. Don’t get me wrong. I am
grateful that this pestilence has bypassed my family so far. And I pray for
those I know who have been stricken with coronavirus and for those who are
feeling the financial effects of the economic lockdown much more than I am.
I know that for many people this is a life and death situation.
This virus is killing tens of thousands of Americans, like the Influenza
Epidemic in the year my parents were born. As the Surgeon General said, it is
this generation's 9/11 or Pearl Harbor. In fact more Americans have died of COVID just in New
York City than died on 9/11 and at Pearl Harbor combined, and this attack is
nowhere near to being over. But for me this pandemic has been more of a live television
event than a firsthand crisis in real life.
For the first few weeks it was exciting. It was like I was
an actor in my own dystopian action film. “Pandemic” – starring Marshall Davis with
everyone else as supporting actors. That is the way the ego works – it is all
about how it affects “me.” No matter how much we try to make it about our
neighbors, we live every day with our own egotistical thoughts and feelings.
And my ego thought it was exciting at first. Now it says it has had enough.
I see the same attitude in others. People are tired of this.
Especially those with children and those who have lost jobs. It is like cabin
fever on steroids. It does not help that here in New Hampshire it came on the
heels of our regular cabin fever. People want their regular lives back. They
want what we call "normalcy," although I suspect it will never really get back to
normal. It will be more like a “new normal.”
I see people relaxing their restrictions on social
distancing. They are less vigilant about wearing masks or keeping their
distance. “It won’t matter just this once,” we think. “Maybe strict measures
are necessary in national ‘hot spots’ but not in our little neck of the woods,”
we reason. “Social distancing doesn’t apply to me or this friend or that family
member,” we tell ourselves. That is bad reasoning.
I can only imagine the tense atmosphere in the White House. I
understand the desire of our president to want this to stop soon. We all do. The
problem is he thinks he can decide when this crisis ends. He believes he has
the power and authority to get the nation – and especially the economy - back
to normal. I wish that were true. But it is out of his control. It has nothing
to do with his – or our - feelings or desires. It will be over when it’s over.
There is nothing we can do - except to keep on keeping on.
There is a parallel here with the spiritual life. Some
people think the spiritual life is about what we do and don’t do. It’s not. It
is about what we cannot do. The spiritual life is about grace. It is about patience
and perseverance and hope. There is very little – if anything – about the
spiritual life that is under our control. We do not become more spiritual by
our efforts or desires. Even spiritual disciplines do not accomplish anything. They
are simply what we do. They do not bring us any closer to God. It is all grace.
In one of his early letters, the apostle Paul wrote, “And
let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we
do not lose heart.” It is a matter of not losing heart while we do what is
right. It is easy to lose heart during this pandemic. I see the heart loss in
myself and others. It is not pretty. This is one of the greatest spiritual dangers
of this pandemic.
But it is also one of the greatest opportunities of this
pandemic. We can learn patience. We can keep the faith. We can hope. We can love
– which means keeping our social distance, not for ourselves but for others. It
is not about us. We wear masks for our neighbors – not ourselves. They are a
badge of our love.
If we persevere, we shall reap, the apostle says. Reap what?
The reward will be the quickest end to this national health crisis with the
fewest possible deaths. There is also a spiritual reward. A few verses earlier
he lists the harvest. He calls them the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. That sounds like
a plentiful harvest. And it is ours to taste in due season by the grace of God…
if we do not lose heart.
NOTE TO READERS: A subscriber emailed me and asked me why I have
so few blog posts during this pandemic. It is because I have been spending my
time recording video and audio devotions, entitled “Devotions for a Pandemic.” If
you are interested, you can access those here:
YouTube devotions:
Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/290971
Posts
