by Germain Clerveau, S.J., Jesuit Fellow
One year since the Covid-19 pandemic began, we have all lived moments of fear, grief, anguish; but of questioning God’s presence. Humanity is sick, and in the grip of the forces of evil and death. Yet God, I believe is rich in mercy, and great in love. So why doesn’t God protect humanity from all the heartbreak and destruction? Why didn’t God protect our world from Covid-19?
The answer to these questions is that the good Lord does not want to destroy people, nor does Lord allow disease and suffering for the sake of hurting people. Instead, God seeks a cure. God is willing to use the pain of humans in order to save them. God is also willing to use his suffering, the suffering of his beloved Son, Jesus, to save our humanity. John’s Gospel (3:16): says that God gave his beloved Son in order to save the world. There is another force, a force of life that unites rather than divides, soothes instead of creates anguish, heals rather than hurts. This force, Christians, like me, believe, is Jesus, who invites us to live lives full of greater justice, peace, connection, and love.
God does not want to do anything without our collaboration. The God we meet in Jesus Christ respects our own free will. In his work of salvation, Jesus hopes we will respond to his call, and collaborate with him bringing back those who are far from the will of God. In this sense, the apostle Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians, tells us that we are Christ’s ambassadors, and through us, it is God who addresses a call to others. Paul asks us to be reconciled to God. And since we are working with God, Paul invites us not to let the grace we have received from God go unheeded (2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2). The effect of God’s grace should lead us to live like righteous people.
In the Old Testament, the prophet Jeremiah (31:31-34) announces that God promises to make a new covenant with all Israel’s people. This covenant will be new, different, and will lead to life. The covenant’s newness remains because it will be written in hearts, through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The emphasis here is on interiority.
The Covid-19 pandemic forced us to stay home. We lived lives without travel, tourism, the festival, as usual. Perhaps this experience of pandemic is an invitation for us to learn something about being more contemplative, and taming our inner lives. Perhaps, God wants a new covenant with our generation in order to save our planet. If we look back since the pandemic began, there are lessons to learn. Perhaps reflection over our experience in an inner silence will allow us discover God’s tenderness for us. Perhaps looking back over our lives and events will allow us to discover the beauty of sharing, prayer, and fasting.
Our humanity faces a great and constant temptation to turn to other gods, such as money and power. Covid-19 shows us that our wealth and power cannot help us in all situations. Events, catastrophes, or pandemic like Covid-19 continually send us back to the essential things: The Lord will put God’s law within us. It is by turning to God as the Catholic tradition invites us to do during Lenten season, that we will find true happiness which we celebrate in Easter. Only the Spirit of God can inspire each person with the appropriate response to God’s infinite love to save our humanity.
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