GOD, THE CHURCH, AND THE PANDEMIC | PART 1

[Warning: This blog entry features sizable quotations from N. T. Wright from two of his books: God and the Pandemic: A Christian Reflection on the Coronavirus and Its Aftermath and The Lord and His Prayer. Due to its length, I’ve decided to post in two consecutive entries.]

For further information, I encourage you to check out the video: A Christian Response To Coronavirus: A Virtual Event with N.T. Wright and Francis Collins

https://biologos.org/resources/a-christian-response-to-coronavirus-a-podcast-recording-with-n-t-wright-and-francis-collins/

About a week ago, Korea elevated COVID-19 restrictions to its highest level, 4, which means while restaurants and shops can be opened, the maximum number of people that can gather is limited up to 4 people until 6 pm. After 6 pm, the number is 2. This basically wipes out most of social gatherings while allowing the society to minimally function. I’ve been deeply impressed by how Koreans adhere to such protocol. Clearly, this is one of the benefits of an honor-shame society in operation. 99.99% of the percent of the people outside wear masks. I am probably the most disgruntled one amid heat and humidity. 

The Church views COVID-19 as a serious impediment and threat to the life and workings of Christianity since churches cannot meet for worship, convert others to Christianity, and further produce disciples. Without venturing into where the COVID virus originates from and how it “ingeniously” tweaks and develops several variants (this is certainly beyond my pay grade), the Church largely failed to engage and serve as healing hands and feet to those under pain and suffering. The Church largely views COVID as a significant nuisance and distraction away from what is most important, which is to rescue and save souls for eternity. 

N. Tom Wright, one of the leading New Testament scholars of our time, wrote a book, God and the Pandemic: A Christian Reflection on the Coronavirus and Its Aftermath. Wright untangles one of the most misunderstood scripture verses that Christians love to lean on especially during trying times. It is none other than Romans 8:28. 

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,[h] for those who are called according to his purpose. (ESV)

The version I grew up with basically says, “as long as I love God, God will cause all things to work together for good for me.” I am the beneficiary of goodness due to God’s workings on my behalf. So a translation during the pandemic goes something like, “God is going to cause all things even COVID-19 to work together for good eventually.” 

Wright breaks it down this way.

It’s very dense bit of Greek and when we look at it, actually God is the subject of the sentence—that’s the first thing—it’s God who will work all things together but then the “working together”—the verb Paul uses here—means that God is taking those whom God loves as His partners. . . and the previous two verses explain who those partners are. . . because when he says “those who love God” he is referring to these who are lamenting, who are groaning in the groaning of all creation (v. 26-27), who are resonating with the pain of the World, and Paul says that the Holy Spirit is indwelling them and the Spirit, too, is groaning with inarticulate yearning.

That means that something is going on here; that within the World there is the Church (and) there is the Spirit groaning. Those who are holding on to that in lament, Paul says they are the ones who love God, and somehow God uses that lament, that prayer which is often a wordless prayer, a cry of pain; of not understanding, God uses that within His purposes for good; for larger good to come to the World. Which, in the passage, is about the renewal of all Creation; the time when the whole Creation will be set free. . . 

. . . so it’s a very dense verse, and it is full of hope, but it doesn’t just mean we are passive and sitting back and saying, ‘well, this will all work out somehow’, but we are very much praying often in agony or in lament and we can be assured that God is working with us at those times. . . to bring good in the short and in the much longer term.

Two things stand out to me: first, those who love God are those who are able to lament and enter into wordless groanings. Wordless because it is beyond any reasonable articulation and it is quite “simply” mysterious. But while dwelling in mystery, we are still able to identify with those who are suffering without answers. Secondly, while why God chooses to partner with us remains a profound mystery, what we do know is that God invites us to partner or co-labor with God according to this passage. I would submit that a reason why God invites us is because we are to be united with God in being and doing. Union with God is not possible without co-laboring with God.