2. Key Questions and a Plea

In the style of Coles' Notes, what follows is a brief outline of the forthcoming "plot" of this blog...

“Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the Lord brought you out from this place. Exodus 13:3

In North America, most people have short memories – and even shorter attention-spans! (For the latter, I blame Sesame Street!) We don't expect people to remember much or for long.

The Bible, on the other hand, places a great deal of value, and of emphasis, on remembering. The “Header Verse” above is but one example of this, among many found in scripture. And remembering is important when it comes to the Church’s experiences with various responses to Covid.

While posts that re coming will range far-and-wide in the topics it considers, I want to organize the opening series of posts around a Church-related theme of remembering the recent past: What lessons should the Church learn from the ways in which people and governments responded to Covid?

With that in mind, here is a short list of key questions…

Was the Church ready for Covid? The answer is “No.”

I say this as an observation about the Church, not as a statement passing judgment.

The default reaction to the onset of Covid was one of widespread hysteria and panic. Remember? Many far-reaching decisions were made – remember the “run” on toilet paper? – driven by hysteria and panic.

When people are panicked, do they make good decisions? Wise decisions? Again, the answer is “No.”

This means that mistakes were made. Surely, it is necessary to remember and to ask: What were the mistakes, and what are the negative outcomes? How should we then learn/adapt so that these mistakes are not repeated in the future?

Was the level of hysteria and panic much different between those who are not Christian and those who are? Once again, the answer is “No.” (I have a little anecdotal evidence to support this view: having asked a number of Christians this question, I have not found anyone yet who has answered “Yes.”)

I ask these questions in support of a plea to the Church: Now that the crisis has past, and in light of the certainty of mistakes, may churches not fail to take the time and make the effort to remember what we have been through, and to examine how we have glorified God and how we may have failed to glorify God.

In days when short memories and attention-spans are the rule, this will be a challenge, even for the Church. And we can add to that residual(?)pride that makes it difficult to confess mistakes – and sins. (Of the pride problem, I speak from abundant lived experience!)

Our path of reflection begins with attention of a great scriptural theme: idolatry. What are the idols to which people turned during Covid? We will look at several, starting with the next post.