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Recently, just before COVID-19 turned all of our lives upside down, my dad and I were having a conversation about health and disease (not at all unusual given that my dad is a doctor). One of the things we discussed was how we need to move away from the idea of disease as a sign of divine punishment.
This discussion just so happens to be a key part of our Gospel reading today. At the very start, Jesus’ disciples ask Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus tells them “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s work might be revealed in him.”
Disease, illness, disability. These aren’t signs of God’s judgement upon us. They aren’t punishments. They are things that just sometimes happen in this world.
But healing reveals God’s working in the world. It is a sign of God’s love for us. It is a sign of God’s working among us to make us whole once again. That’s why Jesus came down here in the first place, to bring us back to God once again.
We are called not to shun those who are ill, or even those who were ill, as the Pharisees do with the formerly blind man Jesus heals. We’re not called to look down on the sick as being inferior or worse people. We are called to have compassion on them.
Part of that compassion right now is socially distancing ourselves. Doing so will ensure that we, who are healthy, don’t get sick and, more importantly, that we don’t pass on any illness to anyone else, especially those with weakened immune systems.
Part of that compassion is also not giving in to violence, fear, or racism at this time. Part of being in a global world means that we are all in this together, and we should treat one another as if we are in this all together.
Illness isn’t a sign of our own personal sin. It’s just a sign we live in a broken world. But through the power of healing, we can see God trying to mend our broken lives back together. We live in hope that we will one day live in a world where there is no more sickness or brokenness, but where we are all one with God and with each other.
The power of COVID-19 has uprooted our daily lives and structures. It can be tempting to mourn what we have lost, even if we don’t know anyone who has personally been affected by the virus. It can be easy to take out our frustrations on others, or even to collapse into despair. Our reading from 1 Samuel can help us here.
Samuel too was despondent over King Saul’s fall from grace. Samuel too was fearful for his life and what was to come next. But God called on Samuel to move forward. The old way of life was gone for Samuel, and for Israel. A new king needed to be chosen, so that’s what Samuel set out to do.
For the time being, our lives are going to be different. We can’t go out and do everything we want to do. We can’t enjoy everything we used to enjoy, and that is a sad thing.
But at the same time, there is a lot of hope. This time is the chance for us to take some real Sabbath rest and reconnect with God. It’s a time where we can see a lot of hope as people are turning to the church for creative solutions for how to live life in this uncertain time. It’s a chance for us to be a beacon of light leading back to God once again.
I can’t say what the world will be like when this pandemic is over, but I do think it can be for the better if only we can change for the better. Take this time. Turn closer to God. Let this be a time of healing in your soul, not one of disease and decay.