2nd Sunday of Lent 8/3/2020 (A) Cobh Cathedral
+ Wm. Crean
Corona Virus and the Spirit
My friends,
Covid 19, as the virus is called, has jolted us all out of our complacency. We now have something to be really concerned about. Suddenly, we realise the extent of the global village, that is, the world in which we live. While we in Ireland are still at the containment stage, its spread across the world so quickly has rattled every human activity. All that we take for granted by way of travel, entertainment, sports, commerce and health care itself are derailed by the severity of the virus and the spread of its transmission.
The overall experience makes people anxious and fearful. It also can make people selfish and uncaring. This virus has begun to generate an uncertainty that is global / world-wide. What makes us anxious is our lack of control – our not knowing where it will surface next.
Gathering in prayer on this 2nd Sunday of Lent the Gospel recalls the Transfiguration experience of Peter, James and John. This mountain top toward, which they were guided by Jesus was a privileged moment in their lives. Peter, ever the spokesman, wanted to let this movement linger by offering to build tents in order to stay there. It was not to be – it could not be. Life called them to return. But not before Jesus reassured them “not to be afraid”.
To live without fear and anxiety is a great blessing – it is the blessing of peace.
Abraham, often referred to as “our father in faith” because of his trust in the promise and blessing of the Lord – so he lived in hope of its fulfilment.
“May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in You” is the response to the Psalm to-day.
It is a clear, heartfelt expression of our trust in God, a trust which is the foundation of our hope, that the Lord will “bear us up” like eagle’s wings in our time of trial. A time of trial comes to everyone at some point in life. What makes this time different is that we all face this together. The only thing that compares with it is war when all normal functioning of society is suspended until peace is re-established.
As we journey through this crisis, we will have questions / wondering – Is this a man-made affliction? Is it the result of systems that we put in place that fails to respect the patterns of nature? And some will wonder if this is a curse from God for our sinful pride and arrogance?
Right now, we must deal with the reality that a deadly virus lurks in our midst. Together we need to exercise responsibility. Ignorance cannot be an excuse. While using our natural prudence and judgement, we must pray for the protection of wise and discerning medical experts. We pray for their efforts to quickly find a vaccine that will inhibit its spread.
If the projections are anyway accurate, we need to brace ourselves for potential great loss of life and the sadness that it will bring.
Like Peter, James and John had the extraordinary blessing of the moment of the Transfiguration Jesus reassured them not to fear as they returned to the valley of daily life. So too we seek the reassurance of the Lord at this time – “May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in You”
