The Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas

Lectionary: 204

But you have the anointing that comes from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you not because you do not know the truth but because you do, and because every lie is alien to the truth.

"On 31 December 2019, the WHO China Country Office was informed of cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology (unknown cause) detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. As of 3 January 2020, a total of 44 patients with pneumonia of unknown etiology have been reported to WHO by the national authorities in China. Of the 44 cases reported, 11 are severely ill, while the remaining 33 patients are in stable condition. According to media reports, the concerned market in Wuhan was closed on 1 January 2020 for environmental sanitation and disinfection. WHO website

"And the rest is (still unfolding) history." Like many histories, we don't know how it will end. Some of us will meet the end before it ends. 

This has been a difficult year for the world. When AIDS came to India in th 1980's, public health officials were not greatly concerned. They cared about dying people, of course, but they were preoccupied with several other public health issues like cholera and diptheria, which were more contagious and more immediately harmful. When Covid-19 arrived in 2020 only the most foolish nations ignored it. 

In the middle of a terrifying story, we wonder who's in charge. We might pause to blame the apparently responsible parties; but as we learn more about a pandemic, the blame seems to spread like the disease itself, until it doesn't really matter. 

Some caregivers blame themselves for allowing the vulnerable to become sick, but their remorse doesn't help and isn't necessary. A highly contagious virus, like wind, water, and the Holy Spirit, goes where it wants to go. 

Many nations have invested much in pursuit of a vaccine for the illness, but there is no cure for a virus. There are only treatments as we wait for the body's immune system to get the upper hand. 

Some people believe the virus leapt from another species to the human, like the bird virus of several years ago. Those fiends are particularly nasty. And there are other species everywhere!

As I write this I am reading a headline, "Britain tightens lockdowns over virus mutation with 'signficantly faster" transmissions rates." Oh great! Does everyone feel vulnerable yet? Is there anyone not worried? 

If the Gospel means anything it begins with, 

"Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth." (Ps 124)

and

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. (Ps 127)

With all due respect to human engenuity and cleverness, we must beg God for mercy because hope begins in God. If we have any part in the story of deliverance it begins with our willingness to follow the lead, inspiration, and wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Acting or thinking as if we don't need God, and we're perfectly capable of handling this ourselves is utter foolishness, a trait routinely condemned in the Bible. Stupid is no excuse. Arrogance is not an asset. 

As 2020 ends we beg God for mercy. Parce Domine; parce populo tuo, ne in aeternum irascaris nobis. Spare us, O Lord, spare us your people. Lest in eternity, you be angry forever with us.