Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Wow! Is there some divine conspiracy afloat that this gospel should appear today? The world, and the United States in particular, was caught by surprise like a trap by the appearance of a new, unprecedented virus. In less than a year, an unknown illness has swept the Earth and swept away over a million lives. While some might argue they died of "other causes including old age," there are always other causes when someone dies. People die of "complications due to" cancer. A gunshot will kill you if it hits certain organs; and not if it doesn't.
This virus hit us when we were not prepared; in the United States when both major parties were preoccupied with an empeachment effort. Had it not failed we might be better off. The vice-president doesn't appear as incompetent, though he has not proven otherwise.
The virus has revealed what everyone should have known and competent authorities have been saying -- that health care in the United States has been overstressed and underfunded for several years. Given our dread of taxes and our love of diversion, we are not willing to pay the cost of caring for one another. We're not committed to maintaining anyone's health. We can't afford our own medicine.
And many are eager to risk their health on insane habits like smoking, drinking, eating, and inertia. It's as if they are daring the snake to bite and the mine to explode. Meanwhile, their loved ones -- spouses, children, siblings -- watch helplessly as they wait for the fools to beg for help.
The Gospel often invites us to be prepared, pay attention, maintain situational awareness, and standard precautions. The Old and New Testaments are profoundly aware of the cost of foolishness, what we might call stupidity.
Will we learn anything from the experience?
Our religion offers an answer:
Unless the LORD build the house,
they labor in vain who build.
Unless the LORD guard the city,
in vain does the guard keep watch.
It is vain for you to rise early
and put off your rest at night,
To eat bread earned by hard toil—
all this God gives to his beloved in sleep. Psalm 127
Recovering from Covid-19 and four years of the Trump administration means returning to the Lord. Human wisdom will never know enough or be clever enough to navigate the perils of human existence. We're not designed for that. As we enter the Season of Advent, we prepare for the Coming of the Lord. We must welcome him to take charge of our desires, urges, and preferences. We must wait upon him to show us where we go from here.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.