A Not-So-Nice Teacher

Scripture

Romans 12:1-2
12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.    (NRSV)

Devotion

 I have to admit that I didn't come up with the idea for this devotion on my own.  It came when I watched this video shared by Rev. Melanie Hardison of Village Presbyterian Church in Kansas City.

Rev. Hardison's statement that all of our hearts and minds have been infected by the COVID crisis really speaks to me.  Anxiety, uncertainty, fear, and anger hang in the air like a toxic cloud.  These emotions are spreading from person to person and setting up house in people's spirits.  Some of the symptoms of this infection are obvious.  Just think of all the empty store shelves and short tempers and people who cry at the drop of a hat.  Other symptoms are harder to notice.   They can appear as the desire to go to buy just a little more than we logically need or a fixation on protecting our stockpile of a certain item. For me, it's a feeling of heaviness that sits on my chest and tempts me to work without ceasing.  Some deep part of me is convinced that if I just work hard enough, then the heaviness will go away and everything will suddenly get better.
  
One symptom that really bothers me is our tendency to describe the current situation is a violent conflict between enemies.  First, it was a fight.  Then a battle.  Now it's war.  This kind of language ratchets up people's anxiety and leaves many feeling like we are in an all-or-nothing situation.  We become convinced that if we don't immediately destroy all trace of the virus and get back to life as usual, then everything we know and love will fall apart.  From this perspective, it is hard not to feel desperate and defeated as COVID-19 continues to spread. 

Maybe what we need is for the Holy Spirit to renew our minds and give us a fresh outlook on the whole thing.  What might happen if instead of conforming to the world's description of the virus as an enemy out to destroy our way of life, we accept that things are going to be different for a while and ask God to transform our perceptions? Would we be able to handle the crisis any better?

I am not ready to think about COVID-19 as a companion like Rev. Hardison is, but I can look at it as a kind of teacher...one of those ones that students dread, because they have high standards and show little mercy when you don't meet them.  When I ask God to help me look at COVID in that light, I begin to see that this crisis, horrible though it is, might help us learn a great deal:

• Maybe it will teach us how important people are to us so that we will be kinder to them.
•  Maybe it will teach us new ways of connecting with one another and inspire to make maintaining those connections a normal part of our lives.
• Maybe it will teach us ways of offering practical help to our friends, family members, and neighbors.
• Maybe it will teach us to recognize when someone is falling through the cracks in our systems and motivate us to help fill those cracks.
•  Maybe it will teach us methods of supporting and improving our healthcare system. 
• Maybe it will teach us to respect and support wage-earners in places like stores, gas stations, and fast food establishments.
• Maybe it will teach society to honor people's requests to learn or work from home, which would benefit those with disabilities, chronic health conditions, and family needs.
• Maybe it will teach churches how to use technology and think creatively about how we engage with the world.
•  Maybe it will teach Christians what it really means when we say that the Church isn't a building but a collection of people called by Christ to share God's light with others.  Maybe it will even help us live into that statement.

I pray that when the COVID-19 cases subside, life won't simply continue as it was before.  I want this experience to teach us how to make our homes, communities, and society better and more Christ-like than ever before.  This pandemic  may require us to learn some hard lessons, but Jesus is still our ultimate Teacher.  And I trust that if we put our trust in him, he will help guide us on how to respond to the challenges ahead.

Prayer

Lord of all Conscience, you are our constant guide and friend.  Transform our hearts and minds so that we can learn your will and discern how to move forward during this time of anxiety.  May our thoughts, words, and deeds be a living sacrifice that it acceptable to you.  We ask this in the name of our great Teacher, Jesus Christ.  Amen.