Loading...Just before CoVid-19 became a fact of life for us in the US
(bless our hearts with our exceptionalist blinders on!),
and “pandemic”, “social distancing”, and “wash your hands” became part of our daily parlance
(wait, “wash your hands” wasn’t before?!?),
I read an article from the Smithsonian about the 1918 flu pandemic in the US, an article published in the fall of 2017.
The article was full of all kinds of interesting bits of information that I kind of knew, but hadn’t put together. For example, one reason that the flu spread so quickly in the US was because young men who had signed up to serve in the Great War (as it was known at that time) were in close quarters in barracks and on troop ships.
I learned new things, such as the influenza virus most likely started at some pig farms in the flight path of migratory birds in southwest Kansas, and was originally a bird flu that jumped biological carriers from birds to pigs to humans.
I also learned that, by Fall and the second wave of infections, community morale and trust were deeply eroded because
on the one hand media and government officials said
that nothing was wrong,
that this disease was just the same ol’, same ol’ “laGrippe”
that happened every year.
And, on the other hand,
people could SEE in their communities that
over half the population was sick and
many of those people died;
that there weren’t enough coffins for all who died;
that it was not uncommon for people to get sick and
die a horrible death within hours.
Society began to disintegrate.
Rather than coming together in a crises, communities broke apart.
People were so afraid,
they didn’t volunteer to care for those who were sick,
or to take in children whose parents were both sick,
or even to bring food over to neighbors, or family members, who were sick.
What saddened me terribly was that not everyone who died died because of the flu, directly. Some died because of social isolation by the community and hunger and starvation:
those who were well refused to come near
anyone who was sick to bring food or supplies.
You see, in the days before the social media, the internet, and even telephones, reliable news was hard to come by
(oh wait! That’s still kind of true today.....).
It didn’t help that the news that was given was actually false.
No one knew what to think or who to trust.
Fear was rampant and spread even more quickly than did the virus.
What do we trust?
In whom can we put our trust?
What’s reliable information?
How do we not fall, not to “LaGrippe”, but not into the grip of fear?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not questions just for our ancestors to ask of themselves,
but for us as well.
We’re in the midst of a pandemic. What will happen?
Will there be a second and then third wave?
Schools and churches are essentially closed —
yay for the possibilities given via the internet! —
The tapestry of our society is fraying.
Inequalities and brokenness are coming into ever sharper focus.
The blame game, conspiracy theories, and ugliness is showing itself.
~~~
We are called to trust, first and foremost, the One who loves you:
“I will not leave you orphaned!”
I am with you and will come again to you.
God will give you the Spirit, the Advocate, whom you will know because the Spirit will abide with you.
Of course, we also turn TOWARD one another. We love each other; we heed Jesus’ call — to love one another.
We also trust well-done science and the people who say the hard thing and the difficult truth.
We reach out and connect, share, love, and have compassion —
even for, especially for,
those who live in fear and act out of that fear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As I imagine what it might have been like to live during the 1918 Influenza pandemic, I think about the loss of relationship and connection.
There would be, and was, great sadness and grief because of the death of loved ones — family members and friends.
But, the grief of the loss of connection brought on by fear, distance, and disease....I can’t fully imagine.
True, we live separated from one another right now,
but it’s nothing like 1918
or what refugees who have had to leave family and community because of war or violence or economic chaos go through.
In our life together as followers of Jesus,
We are NOT alone —
we have each other, the community of faith
we are beloved of God our creator
we are given the way of life in Christ Jesus
and we have the Spirit, the Advocate, abiding within.
Be not afraid,
live with courage and compassion for this world
which is hurting and fraying.
Be the bonds which knit God’s whole world together.
We are so much more than the fear that is all around us right now.
We are the beloved of God,
living in this love for the world.
Amen
