Experiencing God in the Midst of a Pandemic
Many of us have found ourselves in touch with old friends and relations this last month and a half. No doubt this is a side of effect of being stuck at home; we have all picked up the phone and called (or scheduled a video call with) a relative or friend. And inevitably you, too, have received this question: “how are you in the midst of all this?”
By now, you may have grown weary trying to give an authentic and serious answer to this question. I know I have.
But it’s a good question. And a truthful answer is always the best one.
How are you? Really.
Are you tired or worn out? Are you sad or depressed? Are you feeling lethargic or disconnected? Maybe a bit of all of these?
How many of us can say during all this that we’re happy?
I know it sounds pollyannaish to try to be happy when the latest reports suggest that 100,000 people in the United States will die by June 1 from the CoronaVirus, when over 20 million people have lost their jobs, when the character of our lives has been changed beyond recognition. How can anyone possibly be happy when facts and statistics such as these shape our individual and collective experience?
The theologian, Ellen Charry, who was also my guest on Ask a Theologian last week, reminded me that God wants us to be happy. In fact, happiness is an art that Christians (and before them the Jewish people) have for a long time believed that we should cultivate. Happiness is essential to the Christian life.
But how to cultivate happiness as God intends it during a pandemic?
It starts with changing our focus, and stories can be helpful here. Life in the middle of a pandemic or war seems unbearable, but stories about those who survived such experiences are cherished and even foster clarity, courage, and perseverance to those who read or hear them. What stories are you drawing from in this time? Who are your role models? How are you changing your focus?
Cultivating happiness also requires that we consider God’s focus? Is God calling you to something new? Is God challenging you to see or act differently? And if God is, are you able to hear the call or challenge?
And hearing God requires drawing close to God 1) in prayer, 2) through reading Scripture, and 3) in opening yourself up to the wisdom of the Christian community.
Think about the quality of your prayer. When and how are you drawing near to God in prayer?
Think about your experiences of reading Scripture over the last month and a half. Are you reading Scripture and how often (occasionally, weekly, daily)? What stories or words are standing out to you? Ask God why those passages are jumping out at you. Use that as an opportunity to draw close to God.
And finally, think about your experiences of Christian community. Have you been in touch with other Christians during this time? What kinds of conversations are you having? Have you moved on from surface-level conversations about Coronavirus and engaged in the deeper discussions about your emotional and spiritual well-being? Are you asking for help? Are you giving help? How? Are you letting yourself be challenged to go deeper by other mature Christians, and are you challenging others yourself?
God promises to be with us at all times, in the good and the bad. God promises to give us grace, even the grace that is God the Holy Spirit. But it is our job to practice and deepen our awareness of God’s presence through prayer, Scripture, and community (the Church). And it’s in doing this, in immersing ourselves in these essentials of the Christian life that we’ll begin to experience not fleeting moments of delight or material comfort, but God’s lasting happiness. And God’s happiness comes when we are in solidarity with God’s work in the world and the ways that God has called us, too, to that work.
As Jesus preaches in the Sermon on the Mount, we are blessed (or happy) when we follow God, even into the wilderness, as risky and unpredictable and full of disappointment as it is.
Saint Francis in Prayer
Caravaggio (c. 1606)