Gratitude
Amidst Daily Challenges of
Living with
the Coronavirus Pandemic
in the
Greater New York City Area – Part I
Like the three hundred or more million
stars that shine during the fourth watch of the night, the deepest and darkest
period before dawn, gratitude illuminates my pathway as I live during the
coronavirus pandemic. Genuinely, I offer thanksgiving for the people within the
inner circles of my heart. I am grateful for the gift of life and the
activities and accessories that enrich my life. Moreover, I feel profound,
heartfelt and indescribable thanks for countless anonymous fellow citizens who
bear the daily burden of caring for other people as they risk their lives and
potentially jeopardize the lives of their spouses, children, extended family
and neighbors. As a society, we will
never be able to remit payment of the incalculable debt we owe health professionals
of any rank or position, first responders, law enforcement personnel, employees
of grocery stores, drug stores, gasoline stations and other workers whom the
state governments deem as essential during this crisis. Easily, anyone could take the opposite view.
Cynicism would be understandable given the colossal failure to prepare our
nation for this infectious disease and its deadly aftermath. Spurning any
naivete of assuming tunnel vision and a Pollyannaish outlook, I proactively
choose to respond with flint-like gratitude.
I believe individually and collectively
we will be a stronger society if we choose to harness the opportunities for
growth and advancement that coronavirus affords our nation. I give thanks as I
see countless chances for socially progressive development within American
society as we proceed toward mid-century demographical projections of the
“browning” of our citizenry. Globally, human geographers suspect the world’s
population to double thereby adding an additional person for each of the 7.8
billion people who already inhabit the Earth. As we surmount coronavirus, we
should do so as preparation for the population explosion and demographical
shifts in addition to prevention of future pandemics. Amid current chaos,
confusion, and challenge, we have glimpses of ways to create an even better and
just global village. This possibility compels my gratitude.
As I write, the infection rate for
coronavirus approaches three quarters of a million persons. Officially, nearly
forty thousand deaths have been reported. As testing remains a high hurdle and
many people still cannot get tested, I suspect the infection rate may be twice
to three times what officials are reporting. A possible more macabre statistic,
the death toll is probably twice. Anecdotally, my wife has a coworker whose
father is a superintendent of a building in the Bronx. Two weeks ago, he shared
with his daughter that seven bodies had been removed from his building. Chances
are those persons died of the virus but were not added to any official
accounting. They never went to the hospital and did not interact with any
healthcare professionals. I surmise there are thousands of such cases
throughout the five boroughs of New York City. Nevertheless, the numbers as
reported are staggering and emotionally paralyzing. Within two and a half
months, we have lost almost two-thirds of American casualties during the
Vietnam War with no foreseeable end. These sustained and horrific numbers symbolize the collective
grief of hundreds of thousands if not millions of persons who are bereaved. I
imagine their bewilderment as they are unable to observe any traditional and
religious burial rites due to the unquestioned necessity of social distancing.
I pray they will know God’s peace and be continual recipients of His grace as
they find a “new normal” and holistic healing within these bleak yet promising
days.
Marriages and families will be stronger
in response to social distancing and other constraints of the virus. Employing
biblical imagery, all of us are living within the valley of the shadow of
death. Mesmerizingly, a simple trip to a pharmacy, grocery store or gas station
could yield an infectious disease that may terminate your life. Couples and
families must band together to love, affirm, and support each other.
Selfishness threatens each person’s well-being and life. Hopefully, all of us
extend a greater sense of responsibility and consideration toward each other. I
think of healthcare workers, first responders, store employees and others who
risk their lives. Additionally, I think of postal workers, food delivery
people, remote government employees and persons at FedEx, UPS and Amazon who
are allowing some semblance of normalcy. As a beneficiary of their largesse, I
pray for them and hope they and their relatives remain well. At the end of each
purchase, I specifically thank these people for being there as they extend an
incredible labor of love to my family and me. I hope I continue to feel and
demonstrate this gratitude after we contain this virus and establish “a new
normal” for living in the twenty-first century global village.
Ironically, the coronavirus
irreversibly thrusts our nation and the world into a scientifically and
technologically based way of living. As it relates to questions of religion,
spirituality and science, a reasonable person must find a way to intellectually
blend these dimensions of human existence. As an ordained clergyperson of
thirty-two years inclusive of two pastoral stints, I am very disheartened by
the lack of intellectual respectability of certain religious leaders. It is
incredulous that some pastors would defy incontrovertible science and hold
services thereby encouraging congregants to play Russian roulette with their
lives and those of their relatives and neighbors. Social distancing works! New
York City is the epicenter of the virus accounting for nearly half of the
infections but only a quarter of deaths nationwide. The proactive response of
Governor Cuomo and New York State officials in employing a “stay at home” order
and implementing social distancing protocols for unavoidable interactions in
shopping, walking and allowable places of work demonstrate its efficacy. It is
infuriating and puzzling to observe pastors who have a responsibility to the
people whom they serve to defy the law and the best knowledge and
recommendations of healthcare professionals. Quoting a Bible verse will not
nullify the bacteria and other mechanisms through which an infectious disease
spread.
Indeed, “God has not given us a spirit
pf fear but love, power and a sound mind.”
We are not to live in fear nor are we to permit it to paralyze us.
However, God does not cancel the effects of science and natural law to appease
stupidity that masquerades as “real faith.”
Hopefully, this corona challenge will compel leaders and members of
faith communities to recalibrate the definitions and expressions of faith in
the twenty-first century. Christians faced this dilemma during the ascent of
the “Age of Reason” and Modernity. Theologians, pastors, and religious leaders
had to redress the elevation of science within industrialization, immigration,
and imperialism. More especially, the publication of Darwin’s Origin of
Species necessitated a paradigm shift in religion to accommodate science.
The coronavirus coerces us to reconfigure the previous century’s model. The
Church will be more effective and determinative in people’s daily choices and
lives if pastors return to formal theological training and education that
prioritizes pragmatism and human experience. I pray a renaissance of the local
church occurs and become the predominant means of Christian community. The
personality and celebrity driven megachurch model furthers lack of intellectual
respectability in religion. As it relates to issues of faith and public policy,
pastors must be conversant with the latest literature, data, statistics, and
research in addition to formal theological concepts. Karl Barth insists
disciples are to simultaneously read the Bible and newspaper (digital readers).
H. Richard Niebuhr’s compelling book, Christ, and Culture, endures. A
legitimate expression of faith and spirituality in this century demands
grappling with complexities borne of blending theology, ideology, public
policy, and the natural sciences.
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