God’s First Covenant
I have set my rainbow in the clouds,
and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
Genesis 9:13 (NIV)
Staff of Aesculapius
The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.
Numbers 21:8-9 (NIV)
In a time of chaos and pandemics, we all are looking for either old or new prescriptions for healing. Where will we find relief? When will it end? Can images promise healing?
Walter Brueggemann and Thomas Wright present biblical responses to the current pandemic, but the threat is even bigger than just the disease! The economic and social effects are severe in their own dimensions. People around the world are frightened and grieving. I was left with the conclusion that the essence of the pandemic responses are ones of faith.
The added reality were the horrible images of death delivered by the hands of others. Those images seemed to change everything. Whole populations found something they were willing to die for and walls of separation and distance began to disappear.
Historically, we have seen the pentecostal moments of communities of faith (Azusa Street Revival) and it could be argued that we are seeing one again. The movement is still not completely defined, but there is no question it is a time of seismic shifts in our thinking.
Can we expect healing? My answer is “Yes” and one that has been promised to all of us. We have had to look hard at what has wounded us as communities and individuals. More importantly, we are faced with the question “Will we live into the healing promises of the images?” We have seen glimpses of a deeper healing that is more than just a cure for a viral infection.
Thanks be to the God who hears and sees the suffering of his children.
Marvin
References:
Brueggemann W (2020) Virus as a Summons to Faith: Biblical Reflections in a Times of Loss, Grief and Uncertainty. Cascade d
Wright, T (2020) God and the Pandemic. Zondervan
Brooks, D (2020) America is facing 5 Epic Crises All at Once
Hage, M. L. (2014). The Arc of Healing.
Azuza Street Revival
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azusa_Street_Revival
Hage, M. L. (2013). Reconciliation and Healing.
Shalal, A. After George Floyd's death, a groundswell of religious activism
