God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble. Therefore we will not fear…Psalm 46:1-2 “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” -1 John 5:14
“Immanuel” means “God is with us.” We have to admit that Covid-19 pandemic brought with it worldwide health crises and troubling times. It has invaded almost every nation of the world and caused toll of death especially in America. Scientists and politicians have expressed different opinions and each attempting to justify their position. Both sound positive but none knows the solution. The future is bleak and no one has the cure. According to Anne Ferrell Tata, on God is with us, “Times such as these are a great motivator to look back and remember how God always come through. The verse Isaiah 7:14 is a steadfast reminder of the love of God for His people everywhere. “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” – ESV. The prophesy came through Prophet Isaiah addressing King Ahaz of Judah when he faced a terrifying situation of invasion. King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah of Israel set out to invade Jerusalem, the capital of Judah. The two kings were mad because they wanted King Ahaz to join forces with them to fight the Assyrians. The Prophet Isaiah counseled King Ahaz to trust God and not align himself with foreign allies. The Lord revealed to Isaiah to inform King Ahaz to stop worrying because there shall be no invasion; as such he had nothing to fear. The Old Testament prophetic sign was given as an immediate assurance of God’s presence, protection and provision. Centuries later, it had a messianic fulfillment. In the Gospel of Matthew, (Matthew 1:21) clearly views Isaiah’s prophecy fulfilled in the birth of Jesus by the Virgin Mary.
According to Father John Acrea on GOD IS OUR HOPE IN THIS PANDEMIC, “This emerging coronasvirus pandemic has been likening to invasion of two kings that threatened the king of Judah. The coronasvirus threaten, they kill, they multiply, and they spread across the world. Every weapon we have is useless in the fight against it. The only natural defense we have is to hide in our homes, close schools, shutter most businesses, wash our hands, wear a face mask, observe social distancing and isolate. But, even if we don’t get sick, the side effects of this coronavirus invasion extend far beyond the devastating physical sickness it causes.” Emotionally and spiritually, it causes havoc in our lives. The situations brought forth by COVID-19 coronavirus are creating anxiety and worry for the future and human well-being.
During this time of fear and uncertainty, let us refuse to worry or be afraid, and instead, ponder on the greatest gift ever given and rejoice! What Prophet Isaiah announces, “Look!” He is saying something wonderful is about to happen! Something extraordinary! ‘God with us’ is a declaration of His presence. The declaration is as much for us today as it was for King Ahaz and as it was for the early Christians. While we are prone to worry, let us try not to. When we are tempted to be afraid, let us remember the promise: Jesus is Immanuel: God with us! He is our hope in the midst of adversity. He is our comforter. He is our Shalom. He loves us. He forgives us. He guides us. He is our rock and our shield. Immanuel, God with Us, is the best gift ever! With His presence, we are never alone.
As we experience the pandemic, many of us are tempted to ask: Why is this happening? How long will it last? Where is God in all of this? Not much to worry about, since it is human nature to wonder: What the hell is happening? It has now been months since the COVID-19 pandemic spread rapidly and noticeably across the United States and still spreading. With many of our plans canceled, our schedules cleared, friends and family members distanced from us, we may have found ourselves forced to confront a slower pace. Where is God in this slower pace of life? The answer to this question is not farfetched. In the slowness, gradualness and perhaps even boredom, God is still with us. Though our lives might be primarily stripped of normality, God does not depart from us. God is also everywhere. So, what does it mean to say that God is everywhere? It means that we reframe our original question of “Where is God in this?” to the same question that the psalmist asks in Psalm 139: “Where can I go from your spirit? From your presence, where can I flee?” (Ps 139:7).
According to Knights of Columbus writing on You, God and the Pandemic, “Not only is God everywhere, but God also pursues us from every direction, inviting us to deeper relationship and communion. Most especially, God pursues us through the things that are most often right in front of us. God pursues us in creation. The Book of Proverbs speaks of wisdom, a biblical image for the triune God, as playing in creation (Prov 8:30). How often do we stop to ponder that God plays before us, like a trusting child before her mother, seeking our delight through the play of creation, of beautiful sunsets, fresh snowfall or the improbability of the sun shining through a rain shower? God also pursues us through other human beings, and in your friends, spouse, the marginalized or your children? Do you realize that Christ appears in their faces? Perhaps the invitation that the pandemic presents to us is to rediscover this fact: that God is everywhere. In other words, perhaps the pandemic gives us the time and space to develop sacramental vision: to glance more intensely, more lengthily, at the things in our everyday path and consider how God is pursuing us through them.
We shall consider the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. It provides a lesson for us, one that is especially helpful in these times. The lesson is this: God works in a way that we cannot always see. Only later — when we look back — do we recognize what he has been doing. These two disciples on the road to Emmaus could not understand the events of the crucifixion as anything but a tragedy. They didn’t know what to make of it. They didn’t even recognize Jesus when he was walking on the road beside them. Only later, after the “breaking of the bread” with Jesus, did they recognize him. Only then did Jesus’s words make sense. They then said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us?” (Luke 24:31-32). This happened to all the disciples. Think of Peter, who was completely befuddled when Jesus stooped to wash his feet. Jesus said to him, “What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later” (John 13:7).
God’s plan and presence is not always clear until later. As it was with the disciples, so is it for us. For reasons that are too deep to fully comprehend, God’s plan for our lives is not always clear. This time of pandemic is such a moment. It is hard to see what God’s plan is in the midst of these trials. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we may be discouraged and perplexed; we may be anxious and fearful, because we do not understand why he is allowing this. We do not see how a global pandemic could fit into the plans of a good and gracious Lord. But one thing we do know: God is active in our lives, and he is even now walking next to us. We are not alone.
Principles and reflections in the midst of the Global Pandemic.
Octavio Javier Esqueda, Ph.D. Talbot School of Theology at Biola University writes, “The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 has been transforming the lives of millions of people in an unimaginable way for most of us just a few weeks or even days ago. The changes have been taking place so quickly that most of the world’s populations have been caught off guard. . We are all trying to adapt to this new reality in the hope that the pandemic will end soon, although it is impossible to predict how long it will last and what consequences it will have for all. As the crises persist and home conferment still in place I have been meditating on different principles on my perspective as a follower of Jesus Christ.”
- Live is short and human beings are fragile: The global pandemic reminds us that we are all fragile and susceptible to getting sick and even dying suddenly. Human beings make plans for the future thinking that we are in control of our lives, but a small virus, a microorganism that we cannot even see, is enough to completely alter our routines and destroy our plans; thereby causing untold sickness and untimely death.
- We are all the same: Diseases and crises do not make a distinction between people but affect everyone equally. Human beings try to distinguish economic, social or cultural differences, but COVID-19 reminds us that we all can get sick and that we are all interconnected and need each other. No matter what country we live in, how old we are or what we do, we are all important and necessary in this world. The spread of the virus can only be stopped with the fraternal collaboration of all.
- Every life is important. All human beings are created in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:27). The image of God is the fundamental basis for the value and dignity of absolutely all people. The Bible teaches that God is the giver of life, so from conception to the grave we must protect and value everyone’s life. Human life is priceless and no matter the economic consequences that a catastrophe like the one we face brings, we must fight at all costs to care for the lives of all. Any call to “sacrifice” some people for the good of others is despicable and contrary to the dignity given by God to all human beings.
- God is close and is our refuge in the midst of the storms and catastrophes that we face: It doesn’t matter if the problems are small or big or if the consequences seem impossible to bear, our God is the only source of true security and we can trust Him. God cares for us as mentioned in Psalm 121 and we can corroborate it throughout all of Scripture and many of us have experienced it throughout our lives. Christians suffer like everyone else, but we can do it with the peace that God gives us knowing that our Heavenly Father is watching over us. This crises has brought with it fears, depression and insecurities as well as uncertainties. However, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-control (2 Tim. 1: 7) that enables us to face circumstances with confidence and in complete peace (Isaiah 26: 3)
- Love of neighbor is the fundamental evidence of our faith: Doug McClinsey writing on LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOR IN THE MIDST OF A PANDEMIC opines, “The COVID-19 crisis provides a unique opportunity for our church and ministries to be Christ’s witnesses to Western New York. As Christ’s disciples, our calling to the lost around us is two-fold: proclaim the gospel with our lips and practice good works of service and love. Evangelism and neighbor-love go together, and like two-sides of a coin, they shouldn’t be separated. This present crisis is a time for us to be good neighbors and meet other’s needs in Jesus’ name.” Jesus clearly stated in John 13:13: “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” In times of crisis, our genuine love for others is the light to a world darkened by problems. This love is concrete and has as its maximum example the love that Jesus showed us by dying for us on the cross (John 13:34). This practice seems simple, but difficult at a time we keep our “healthy distance” from others. Our perspective and mission must be the common good and we need to do what is necessary to protect the well-being of others. This world health crisis by COVID-19 has shown enormous social and economic inequality in all countries, and most clearly evident in developing countries. Sadly, the poor suffers the greatest impact of this global pandemic, and we all have a responsibility to help those most in need and fight to rebuild a world where there is more justice and equity.
- Complete peace and final redemption are yet to come. Christians live with the hope of a better future. This does not mean that in the present we do not worry about having a better world for all, but that we do the best that we can in the present, but we also wait for the second coming of Jesus where we will finally enjoy the fullness of life that God desires for all of us. Brian Dailey aptly defined eschatology or the doctrine about the future in this way: “Eschatology is the hope of believing people that the incompleteness of their present experience of God will be resolved, their present thirst for God fulfilled, their present need for release and salvation realized.” The three Christian virtues are faith, love and hope. Our faith in Christ sustains us, our love for God and for others defines us and our hope encourages us to move forward in the midst of difficulties. In the circumstances that we face these days, I encourage you to join together in the cry of the apostle John in receiving the promise of Jesus at the end of the Scriptures: “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20)