"Holy Covid"

Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’” Luke 4:23 (NIV)

And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!”

Luke 23:35 (NRSV)

Each Lenten period in the Christian liturgical year brings a reckoning on “How Shall We Live”.  This has been the title of a Lenten book study at Brownson Memorial Presbyterian Church.  It has been a wonderful way to hear individual stories of suffering and healing in this community of faith.

In the middle of Holy Week, after finishing the book study, a cough appeared that seemed like my typical exacerbation of seasonal allergies.  The other event were reports of an “outbreak” of Covid in our community, so I performed my Covid Home testing which returned positive in a few seconds.  I was quickly evaluated, the test confirmed and treatment initiated.  

What is interesting is the context of pandemic fatigue with relaxation of masking and social distancing.  There seems to be an effort of “active forgetting” the reality of our recent history of global suffering.  We all are desperately seeking healing.

For me, the intersection of Covid in the middle of Holy Week is another reminder of our human fragility.  This is the mystery of healing that we will celebrate.

Thanks be to God for this Good Friday and Holy Week.

Marvin

References

Bowler, K; Powery LA Living and leading from our mortality.

Christian Century, September 29, 2021.  

Bowler, K. (2021). No Cure for Being Human. Random House.

Hage, M. L. (2011). The Mystery of Healing

http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2011/04/mystery-of-healing.html

Hage, M. L. (2021). Promised Healing.

http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2021/03/promised-healing.html