Just Kamping

Throughout history, the church and the broader world have faced pandemics that led to devasting effects. One example is the Cyprian Plague (249-262 AD) in which 5000 people died per day in the city of Rome. Another would be the “Black Death” (1346-1353) a bubonic plague that terrorized Europe, Africa, and Asia. Some have estimated that the plague was responsible for over 200 million deaths. 

There are also pandemics more relevant to our era, such as the Flu Pandemic of 1918, where the world witnessed over 500 million people infected and 25 million dying in the first 25 weeks alone. Consider that, 1 million people, per week, for 25 weeks. 

In the midst of these terrible outbreaks was the Church. A Church that faced loss with the rest of the world, a Church that wrestled through life’s insecurity and recognized their own vulnerability. The Church and the world together, as a collective of individuals, had to face their own mortality and the mortality of those they loved. 

Right now, COVID-19 is spreading. There are many questions: “What are the long term effects of this disease?”, “Are my family and I safe?”, “Will I miss work?”, “Will I be able to provide?”, “Who will watch my children while they’re home from school?”, and many more. Couple these with a current death rate of 7% (as of 14Mar on Worldometer) and the reality that you are not ultimately in control of your life or the lives of your loved ones begins to weigh a bit heavier than usual.

The world is responding and so is the Church within. Both are responding well and terribly. I could spend another 500 words describing the fright fest taking place in the news media. For business conglomerates that thrive financially on hysteria, panic and outrage, now is their moment. I could write another 500 words about the public responses of Christians, many criticizing the manic among them, downplaying others’ fears. Some have been kind enough to offer hope in the scriptures, yet much is misapplied and offering a hope that doesn’t exist. God has not promised that you will be safe from COVID-19. God has promised to be your God and faithful to you no matter your health status…I just want to get that out of the way. 

Now just as this moment is made perfect for those who profit off the misery, it’s also a moment for the Church. A moment to respond as Jesus’ body, and therefore to respond as Christ in the world. How does the Church do this? Controversially. In an age where self-preservation and the preservation of our loved ones comes before any obligation to our neighbors, the early church displays a different witness. Writing of the believers in Rome during the Cyprian Plague, Bishop Dionysus writes:

“Most of our brother-Christians showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of one another. Heedless of the danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need and ministering to them in Christ, and with them departed this life serenely happy; for they were infected by others with the disease, drawing on themselves the sickness of their neighbors and cheerfully accepting their pains.”

Many Christians died next to their pagan neighbors. But what was the witness of the world around them? At the beginning of the plague, the pagans of Rome ran indoors and their wealthy fled the city. The sick and deathly ill were thrown in the street and kept without shelter to die a painful death. Yet, it was the Church, at full sacrifice to themselves who sought to care for “the least of these”. 

Today, in the West, our sick are getting care. The same can’t be said outside of most modern countries. The call for the believers without resources will be graver than those surrounded by great medical care who can trust the professionals to treat their sick neighbors.   

But if you find yourself wondering how you as a Christian can shine your light to a world in panic, I offer two suggestions: present the hope of the gospel and seek to alleviate the burdens of those in need.

1. The gospel: If COVID-19 doesn’t do you in, something else will. Whether your day to pass is today, tomorrow, easy, or horribly painful…the hope you have in Christ is significant. It’s the hope of resurrection and new creation. That is what keeps the child of God from mania in the midst of pandemics, it’s what keeps the child of God serving their neighbor at risk to his or herself, and it’s what keeps the hope burning in the generations of people who will see, read, or hear of that witness. It’s a witness the world is dying to see. 
2. Seek to alleviate burdens: If you find yourself in a place financially to help those who may have to miss a paycheck and will not be reimbursed, please help where you can. If childcare is needed for neighbors because parents have to work (I understand this is controversial), babysit if you can. If children are missing meals because schools are closing, find a way to get them meals. If your elderly neighbor cannot go to the grocery store because there is a significant risk to their health, go grocery shopping for them. 

Love your neighbor. Display the hope you have in Christ. 

-Kyle