Of Lenten spirituality and the coronavirus – Jamaica Observer

RaulstonNembhard

Wednesday, March 04, 2020

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Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten period has dawned this year within the context of one of the most dreaded epidemics (or pandemics) that has confronted the world in recent times. The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is not only infecting and killing people, but poses an existential threat to a globalised world economy that has begun to experience fallouts from its effects.

In the space of one week alone, trillions of dollars have been shaved from global gross domestic product (GDP). Stock markets have experienced precipitous declines, and there is every indication that this will continue, and even get worse, as the virus infects and kills more people around the world.

The worst things that can be done with any infection of this magnitude is to politicise it. Yet this is what some countries, noticeably the United States, seems to be doing with its own response to the crisis. Its president, Donald Trump; members of his Administration, and other Republicans have been seeing this as a political hoax intended to bring down the presidency; an act, in their view, no less egregious than the recent impeachment of him in the House of Representatives. It is clear that this is not true.

The nature and spread of the virus bears its own integrity outside of what human beings may think or devise. Therefore, any orchestrated attempt to tamp down the severity of its threat, not to be transparent and truthful about it or to demonstrate incompetence for purely political outcomes, will not change the trajectory of the virus. These things will, in fact, make things worse.

As I pondered Lent and the threat of this virus, I considered how humble we ought to be in the face of things we cannot see and control. Yes, we have had worse epidemics in the history of the world. This present threat too will pass. And, others in the future will arise. My hope is that we will be more prepared to confront them. But I cannot help but wonder silently at how one virus or strain of a virus could cause such perplexity and anxiety around the world; how a microscopic agent could cause such serious disruptions to our lives by its dislocation of the global economy. This could, in the end, bring economic powerhouses crashing into the dust.

My mind went to how fragile life is and how much we take things for granted until personal or collective crises roll around. It is then that we realise how powerless we can be against insignificant forces that might present an existential threat to our well-being. So, while we may strut in arrogance on the corridors of power, and believe in our invincibility because of the size of our bank accounts, we get reminded, as Jesus did the devil, that man cannot live by bread alone. That loyalty to the material things around is not sufficient to guarantee a life of peace and happiness. That there are far more enduring virtues to which we have to subscribe if life is to be enjoyed to its fullest, whatever that is.

In this Lenten season we are once again reminded of the fragility of life. That, indeed, we are but dust and to dust we shall return; that in Isaiah's rather gloomy assessment of the human condition, all flesh is grass which grows up and fades (Isaiah 40:6). Or, as the psalmist opines in an equally gloomy rendition, we are like new grass that grows up in the morning but is dried and withered by evening (Psalm 90:5-6).

This should encourage the discerning introspection and self-examination which is what Lent is really about. It is confronting life at a point at which we are afraid to look at the besetting sins that haunt us and the devastating habits that we indulge that we know we should really part company with. It is reassessing our significant relationships, especially our relationship with God.

It is a time when we realise that we are not sufficient to ourselves, but we dwell on a planet with other people to whom, too, we should be accountable. We are a society given to rampant hedonism and materialism at all costs, and often we trespass on the sacred spaces of other people, which is part of the violence that the society is experiencing.

So, there is a lot to consider this Lent. I will not encourage you to give up anything, but I urge you to take a second and more serious look at your life. Maybe there is something that you may just want to change; a habit that you know you really need to come to terms with; a family member whom you really need to make a phone call to and bury the hatchet of a too-prolonged animosity. Whatever it is, I do wish you a holy and peaceful Lenten season.

Dr Raulston Nembhard is a priest and social commentator. Send comments to the Observer or stead6655@aol.com.

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Of Lenten spirituality and the coronavirus - Jamaica Observer