This article first appeared on the Jesus Creed Blog at Christianity Today.
As images of the quarantined passengers and crew aboard the cruise ship Diamond Princess filled our living room television in February 2020, I experienced a feeling of nebulous foreboding. I distinctly remember saying aloud to my family, “This is either going to be the most important story of the year or a minor piece of forgettable trivia.” Over the next several weeks we learned just how life altering COVID-19 really is. New vocabulary like Social distancing, PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), and live streaming infused themselves into our daily lives. The most vulnerable among us suffered exponentially more pain and chaos.
Times of crisis reveal what dwells deep within our souls. The ongoing crisis of COVID-19 has shined an uncomfortable light upon our private and communal lives, putting our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual competencies on trial. When communal calamities occur, our weaknesses are exposed, and long ignored wounds surface. Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, Stop AAPI Hate, gun control, immigration, voting access, creation care, and other failings are symptoms of much deeper issues. Our collective response becomes a gauge for our social and moral health. As with all such crucibles we discover a mix-bag of fellowship and division, hope and horror, and anxieties and affirmations.
To help parse out the holy from the malevolent we need help of our communities. We need the help of our brothers and sisters in Christ because we are naturally tempted to retreat to our silos to fuel our anger, minimize our complicity, or wallow in self-loathing. This type of retreat only entrenches us further and prevents the sacred work of reconciliation, restoration, healing, and hope from taking root….
To read the full article visit the Jesus Creed blog at Christianity Today. https://www.christianitytoday.com/scot-mcknight/2021/june/table-in-crisis.html