A spiritual struggle
Published byĀ Dave HolmesĀ onĀ 17 September, 2021
Hey! Itās been quite a while since I have posted anything, and so if youāre reading this, welcome back and thanks for sticking with me! Things have changed for me; I now live in Lacombe Alberta, just north of Red Deer (loving it) and Iām still feeling like the New Guy at St. Andrewās United Church here in Lacombe (also loving it).
Iām thinking this morning about how the world seems to have gone bonkers. Weāre in the middle of the fourth wave of COVID, here in Alberta; our hospitals are pretty much full, our ICUās are pretty much full, mostly with unvaccinated COVID patients. Yes, there are a few who have been vaccinated ā but even though unvaccinated people are mercifully the minority here in Alberta, they are vastly in the majority in the ICU. And yetā¦ people are demonstrating outside hospitals against vaccinations, against the use of masks, berating the very exhausted health care workers who will, of necessity, serve them if and when they need care.
I was told of one person, whose job requires them to enforce a mask mandate in connection with our school system, who has received death threats simply because they are doing their job.
I have heard of others who argue that there is no real evidence that wearing masks is effective. Really? I mean, I genuinely canāt cite the specific studies, and I wonāt waste my time looking for them. Every one of these COVID waves has been knocked back by the use of masks and social distancing. We have used masks for over a hundred years to prevent infection. Would you prefer that a surgeon operating on a loved oneĀ didnātĀ scrub up and put on a mask? Of course thereās evidence masks work! Good grief!
Hereās what I see: people believing ludicrous things, and asserting their right to these beliefs and their right to follow these beliefs with action ā asserting these ārightsā with passion, with anger, with violence, with hate.
It certainly goes beyond the pandemic, though that is top of mind right now. Some of my Muslim friends have been at pains to say that violent, hateful groups (Taliban, ISIS) that do their atrocities in the name if Islam are not, in fact, faithful to Islam. I see that! And I look at a good portion of evangelical Christianity, especially in (but not limited to) the US, and know that the Trump-style racism, xenophobia, patriarchy, and violence have little or nothing in common with Jesus Christ. (Yes I know, itās not just evangelical Christianity that is in difficulty; almost this whole blog is about how mainline Christianity must change.) Itās like a huge number of people have, like those who flew off to fight for ISIS, been radicalized. They are passionately, violently committed to something that seems right to them, and false and hateful to everyone else.
This is a spiritual issue. I donāt think itās about policy, or law, or even public health, though of course all these things matter right now. This stuff goes all the way down to identity, ethics, the fundamentals of human community. Itās about love and fear, insecurity and community. Itās about authority and truth. Itās about arrogance and humility. Itās about connection ā to people, to the earth, and itās about reverence. Or the lack thereof.
Because itās a spiritual matter, churches matter. Some seem to be driving the hate, the misinformation, and the tribalism. Especially because of that, the rest of us need to be in this struggle, this struggle for the soul of society. Will we be a people fragmented, drawing lines of division and hating those on the other side? Or will we seek connection, respect, unity? Will we be violently protective of whatever privilege we think we have? Or will we seek the common good? Will we listen for wisdom? Or will we doggedly defend our own viewpoint?
It is tempting, but not good enough, to rail against the irrationalities and the violence and the hatred of those who would tear this society apart. That puts us on the other side of the debate,Ā but adopts the same spirituality as those we oppose.Ā I believe we need to embody an entirely different spirituality ā to reject the worse by living out the better.
Iām proud of the way my United Church colleagues, the people of our churches, and our denomination has worked through this pandemic. But I think we do well to remember that these big issues we face ā pandemic, climate change, racism, colonialism ā these are spiritual issues. Itās not just political or economic. Itās a soul thing, individual and collective, and requires conversion, repentance, the announcement of good news. Itās covenant, commitment, a matter of love and whom we choose to serve.
Iād say, āthis is our fight,ā but itās not aĀ fight.Ā Thatās exactly the wrong spirituality here. Itās a life-and-death struggle waged with love. Does that make sense? But itās definitely our struggle. Itās aboutĀ soul,Ā andĀ spirituality.Ā This is our strength, and the world needs us.
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