Dear Cornerstone Family,
“People don't talk much about the Spanish Influenza, but that was a terrible thing... It was like a war. It really was. One funeral after another, right here in Iowa. We lost so many of the young people. And we got off pretty lightly.
People came to church wearing masks, if they came at all. They’d sit as far from each other as they could. There was talk that the Germans had caused it with some sort of secret weapon, and I think people wanted to believe that, because it saved them from reflecting on what other meaning it might have.” (p. 41)
The lines above are from Marilynne Robinson’s novel, Gilead. Written in 2004, Robinson could not have known that in 2020 we would be facing a pandemic complete with mask wearing and international drama regarding who’s to blame. But as the ole saying goes: the more things change, the more they stay the same.
History is a great teacher. By knowing history and the nature of things, Robinson wrote a piece of historical fiction that mirrored the future, which reminds us that our time is not nearly as unique as we think it is.
“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”—Ecclesiastes 1:9
What struck me most about Robinson’s lines this time (I’ve read the book three times) was how we search for explanations and people to blame when tragedy happens. It’s only natural. When a crime is committed, family members want to find out who did it and why. They want a face, name, and explanation. They want to know who is at fault. They want them to pay. To have these things will bring about some peace they suppose.
We’re no different when big tragedies strike. Just watch the news: “COVID-19 is an attack by China! Dr. Fauci and the CDC have made things worse! Trump mishandled the virus. He is to blame!”
Robinson suggests a better way. Instead of grasping for human explanations and pinning blame, let’s consider “what other meaning it might have.” For it might be that COVID-19 is the instrument of Someone who is mightily at work in a mysterious way (Isaiah 55:8-9), who is ordering all of human existence according to His good and sovereign will (Ephesians 1:11) for the good of His people (Romans 8:28) and the glory of His name (Romans 11:36).
In the final analysis, COVID-19 is God’s virus, and He will do with it exactly what He determines to do with it. Thankfully, He’s clear in the Scripture on exactly the kind of things He’s determined to do—we’re not left in the dark during tragedy. So, let’s move from finger pointing to raised palms and begin tracing this tragedy to the purposes of God revealed in Scripture. For the sooner we do, the sooner our minds and hearts have the chance to see “what other meaning” is afoot.
Your servant,
