Love in the Time of Corona
Voices ring out across the dark, barren streets of Siena, Italy. They rise and fall in unison, blending like a banner of hope over a scared and shuttered nation. The video documenting the song of quarantined Italians has moved many of us to tears. And there are more. Sicily, Naples, Rome, Salerno, Turin … these cities bear witness to Italians who are taking to their balconies, using song to weave a thread of hope through quarantined communities ravaged by Coronavirus.
It is a strange time, indeed. Across the globe, fear and paranoia permeate the news and social media. We hear it in people’s voices and see it etched across their faces … caution, weariness, frustration, distance. This disease that just a few months ago was virtually unheard of is now disrupting lives across the world. It’s changing families, impacting cultures, destroying economies. For some it’s tearing away a sense of safety and security. For others, it’s tearing away the veil between this life and the next.
It’s natural to be fearful. Sometimes the fear is manageable. Other times, it feels stifling. The questions echo: Will my husband be ok? Will my kids be ok? Will my parents be ok? Will my neighbors be ok? Will our economy be ok? Will our schools be ok? When this virus ebbs and this experience becomes part of our historical fabric … will we be ok?
We can’t answer those questions just yet. This is uncharted territory and so much is unknown. But here’s what I do know … in these days of uncertainty, we have two choices: we can be victims to the fear, or we can be victors over the fear.
Philippians 4:6-7 says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
This passage reveals the way to triumph over fear … and it isn’t what we would expect. Our victory doesn’t come through battle. We don’t fight through fear and emerge victorious. Rather we triumph over fear through submission. We take our fear and we present it to He who calmed the wind and the waves with a word. We crawl to the cross, so close we can feel the jagged wood splintering beneath our touch, and we lay our fear at His nail-scarred feet. We submit it to Him … all our trembling, all our trepidation, all our frightened imaginings and our fearful what-ifs … we lay it all before Him.
And when we let go, when we relinquish our grip on the fear that ensnares us, we find that He picks it up and replaces it with a peace that passes understanding. This is what it means to lay our fears before Jesus … it’s not that we simply lose our fear, but that we find something so much better in return. There is an exchange. There is always an exchange at the cross. Fear for peace. Condemnation for freedom. Death for life.
This is good news for us all. And it’s good news for a world that so desperately needs it right now.
So what does that look like in an age of social distancing? How do we take this good news to the fearful and the frightened? How do we express peace when the world feels chaotic?
Pastor Scott Saul put it succinctly when he said: “In a time like now, Christian neighboring looks less like fearful self-preservation and more like servanthood toward the elderly, those with HIV, autoimmune disease, or no healthcare, fatigued and under-resourced healthcare workers, etc. Wash hands, for sure. Then, wash feet.”
In other words … heed the experts’ recommendations. Wash your hands. Keep your distance. Stay home if you can. But do so while responsibly loving and serving others. Order groceries for a single-parent family. Offer to pick up a prescription for your elderly neighbor. Send cards to the seniors in the nearby nursing home. Ask a stretched-thin healthcare worker how you can support them. Wash hands, then wash feet.
In Matthew 5:14, Jesus told his followers, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
I don’t know that we’ve ever needed to let our light shine more than we need to now. These next few weeks and months won’t be easy. We will be stretched. Our resolve will be tested. We will be tempted to fall victim to fear. But we aren’t victims. We are victorious because Jesus is our victor.
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10
Let us take our fear, lay it fully at the cross, and exchange it for the peace that passes understanding. Then out of the overflow of that peace, let us respond to our communities in love and sacrificial service. Be empathetic. Love your neighbor as yourself. Find safe ways to serve those in need. Offer the hope you have in Christ to others. And pray … pray for the virus to be eliminated, for the sick to be healed, for fear to be shackled, for peace to be loosed, for hearts to be ransomed.
And maybe … like those songs ringing out from Italian balconies in an act of defiance against this disease that we all fear … maybe our good news will ring out louder than the fear that threatens to paralyze us.
Friends, this could be our finest hour. The question remains: victim or victor? What will you choose? I pray we choose victor. I pray we choose to let this be a time when history looks back and remembers not the fear and panic of a pandemic, but rather love in the time of corona.
Like what you see here? Then you’ll love my first-ever children’s book, Bruce the Brave.
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