Let’s be clear, I am in no way saying that some Divine Force sent us the coronavirus and the pandemic that has resulted. This being said, I proceed.
I have had a hard time imagining how a Holy Force could touch each of our lives, given how many of us there are in the world. Yet, if a virus can do it, why not God?
What has happened with the coronavirus has given me an insight into a new way of perceiving God.
What if God is a Creative Power, pervasive enough to touch lives all across the globe, invisible as a virus? I can imagine the Holy Spirit set free, touching all of the created world, bringing us together, stopping us in our tracks, causing us to pay attention, to listen for guidance, to help each other out, to care for creation, all for the common good.
In the morning, the silver orb sitting on a table in our window, projects sunstars on the ceiling. There is a crystal in the window that sends rainbows across the room and sparkling fragments of light. God is shining like that across our world, in our lives. Holiness shining and sending rays of hope in the midst of fear and depression.
What if we could imagine God showing up like the sun or a tiny particle? For healing the world and spreading light?
This virus, changing our lives, wreaking havoc with our health, our jobs, our money, causing social isolation, has showed us, in the most incredible ways that we are one world. It has also revealed injustices and environmental issues needing to be addressed.
If we are in a war against this virus, it is a new kind of warfare. All of our other wars have pitted us against one another. This, so called war, is challenging us to help one another across all boundaries. It has brought out the heroic in so many of us. The creativity too. And, of course, as always, there are some outliers trying to use these confusing times for their own greedy ends.
It is like other wars in that it causes death.
Dealing with this virus is essential business for everyone of us. Finding healing and prevention is up to medical teams and scientists and even the politicians whom we elect. Applying the lessons we learned from this pandemic for the common good is up to each of us.
No, God is not a virus, or like a virus. Or the cause of viruses. God can, however, permeate the world in a universal way. Goodness can spread from person to person. It is contagious. Goodness doesn’t seem to get enough attention though. We often seem fascinated with evil.
Maybe when we can finally take off our protective masks, we can reveal our true selves to one another. We are created in God’s image. We can be creators of a resilient and loving world. Human connections matter. God is with us for good. And in this Easter season we are reminded that death does not have the last word.