This
article, written by Mario A Russo and Jonty Langley was originally posted on
the Premier Christianity website (https://www.premierchristianity.com/)
on 7 December 2020.
A vaccine is
the beginning, not the end of what needs to be done, say Mario A Russo and
Jonty Langley.
We’re all tired
of the restrictions. From Germany to Britain, the USA to South Africa,
lockdowns are still being implemented (to varying degrees). And we are all
tired. We miss hanging out with friends. We miss normal church services. We are
ready for the Covid restrictions to end. We are ready for the vaccine.
If we are
honest with ourselves, we don’t only want a vaccine only for the health and
protection of ourselves and loved ones. We also want to get back the routine
and predictability of life: meetings with friends, meals in restaurants,
talking to people without a mask or glass partition. We are looking for a
vaccine to signal the end of life as it is.
But maybe that
is asking too much of a vaccine. And maybe a return to “normal life” is impossible.
Maybe returning to normal life isn’t what is best for our world. Not everyone
will benefit from returning to the way things were. So perhaps it is better to
see this as an opportunity for change. Maybe a new way forward should be the
only way forward.
What we have
learned about the spiritual health of the world in the wake of the pandemic is
seriously concerning. It is something all of us, including the UK must deal
with. And as helpful as a vaccine will be in moving us forward, the world needs
more than a vaccine to save us.
A spiritual
awakening
A Covid-19
vaccine may bring the gift of immunity and a lifting of restrictions, but it
will not rescue us from the many social injustices and communal sins that seem
inevitable or before this virus. The world still needs a spiritual awakening.
Christians, now more than ever, should be loudly proclaiming that a better way
is possible – because this is one of those rare moments in history when moving
to a better way is a practical possibility.
The Corona
crisis proved to us that things that we took for granted can in fact change.
Renters were protected from eviction. Workers were saved from unemployment for
a while by furlough schemes. All of society showed that it was willing to
sacrifice comfort and convenience for the sake of protecting the most vulnerable.
In our haste to go back to ‘normal’ – to go to concerts and sporting events, to
shop when and where we want to, and even to join physically to worship – we should
not rush back to collective sin.
Let’s not go
back to a world where work-life balance is sacrificed to the idol of
productivity. Let’s use the advances in remote and flexible working that
lockdown proved were possible to entrench a culture that values family at least
as much as profit. (And Christian companies, we’re looking at you: can
you lead the way in the flexibility we now know to be possible?)
Let’s not go
back to a world where markets rule over us – so many economic ‘laws’ have been
suspended during lockdown that they have been proven to be a choice, not laws
at all. We’ve seen our own government do wonderful things like the furlough system,
mortgage holidays and eviction amnesties. We’ve seen that we can find
extra money to help people (and not just for wars), so let’s keep doing that.
Let’s have Christians calling for a war on poverty and suffering, setting aside
fake ‘laws’ imposed by markets because we now know that in an emergency they
can be set aside. And when one child in a country as rich as this goes hungry,
when one mum who works two jobs still can’t afford heating and rent – an emergency
is what it is.
Let’s confront
our own sins of indifference, selfishness and pride. Let’s keep pushing our
government to give foreign aid in the Jesus way of helping – without strings
attached, aimed only at helping the poor. Let’s donate our time and wealth to
charities making a difference. But let’s also challenge our own prideful resentment
of mercy that doesn’t come with a personal thank you letter from a sponsored
child. Let’s pay taxes willingly and let’s push for them to be used to help
everyone – not just those we judge to be ‘deserving.’ Let’s stop seeing some
human beings as less than images of God – be they immigrants, heretics,
addicts, sinners, Muslims, conservatives or children. And let’s work towards a
world that treats them with the love that God wants lavished on them.
Let’s push back
to everything that was good about the world pre-Covid when it’s safe to do so.
A world where we hug and gather en masse and move away from our screens
more. But if the world we return to is as unjust as it was before, Christians
will have failed to be Christ’s hands and feet.
A Covid-19
vaccine may save us from physical disease, but it won’t change what the
pandemic revealed about our world’s spiritual state. Our inherent condition to
rebel against truth, justice and mercy, and to propagate rather than fight
injustice, is not the result of a virus, but a sinful condition – the only
remedy for which is Jesus Christ. Fortunately, his remedy for our sin was
provided a long time ago. The question is, how will we respond to Him?
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