Coronavirus and the Incarnation
Over the past few months we have all had a lot to think about. Few people alive today had experienced a global pandemic prior to this year. This is a new experience across the board. And for many years to come we will be debating the actions taken by our leaders at all levels. Blame will be leveled at any number of different persons and entities, from individuals to entire nations. In fact, much of that is already happening even though we do not yet know the full outcome. At this point I cannot deny that what we are in the midst of is very serious on many different levels. According to the CDC the 2019-2020 flu season has claimed 24,000 to 62,000 lives over a 7 month period. In contrast, COVID-19 illness has claimed over 68,000 lives in only about 3 months. (stats taken from cdc.gov on May 6, 2020) Looking in another direction, unemployment has skyrocketed over the last month, and many businesses and nonprofits are in dire financial circumstances.
Right in the middle of all of this we have the church, an entity that is unique in this broken world. You see, the church is the body of Jesus Christ, who is our head, and we are called to represent and serve Him here today. We have many admonitions of what the church is called to do as we await our Lord’s return: gather for worship, pray, fellowship, proclaim the Gospel, walk in the light, love one another, serve others, etc. As the government, at various levels, has called for us to remain home and not gather for worship, prayer, or Bible study physically, we have had to ask questions that most of us have either never thought of, or at least hoped were merely hypothetical. Must we meet physically? How often do we need to meet physically? What about communion? How do we best minister to one another? In what ways can we, and must we, continue to share the love of Christ with our neighbors, with the world? Are Facebook, Youtube, and Zoom sufficient means of corporate worship and fellowship? And, of course, many other questions as well.
For myself, I have had to wrestle with my own personal fears for myself and my family, knowing that I am at a higher risk for serious complications despite my age. What if the virus permanently crippled my lungs? What if I couldn’t recover and died? What would happen to my family? What if I contracted the virus and one of my children got it and had serious complications or perhaps even died? Looking at the church, I, like many of you reading this, have been at the heart of decisions for how the local church should proceed. What if my decisions are too relaxed and result in an outbreak that results in beloved brothers and sisters in Christ? On the other hand, what if they are too severe and the result is widespread spiritual and emotional crisis? Or what about our relationship to the government? How do we navigate the call to obey and respective earthly authorities on one hand, and our many responsibilities as the body of Christ on the other hand?
These are all legitimate questions. And I suspect many of you reading this are struggling in similar ways. As the Lord has helped me process much of this over the last two months (sadly without a lot of solid answers), the guidance of the Spirit has drawn me repeatedly to the Incarnation, which seems to be the root of many of the answers we are looking for.
Consider for a moment our overall situation. Back in Genesis God created the universe, and all that is in it, very good (Genesis 1:31). But shortly after, Adam sinned and the world changed. Sin ruled; toil, pain, and suffering became the norm; harmful viruses and bacteria, not to mention natural disasters, entered into the world for the first time, continuing ever since; and death, like sin, ruled over us (Genesis 3:14-19). From that day on every human being has known that this world is broken. It is simply not the way it is supposed to be. Creation groans, beneath the weight of this curse, for the day when it will be restored (Romans 8:22).
In relation to this fallen, broken universe, there is God who is holy, holy, holy. Habakkuk 1:13 tells us that God cannot look at wrong. In Isaiah 6 the author is brought into the throneroom of God and is nearly undone because of his sinfulness in the presence of God. God is perfectly righteous; there is no evil, sin, or wrongdoing in Him whatsoever. And the Bible tells us that it is God’s plan to remove all evil, all rebellion against Him, all pain and suffering from this world (see I Corinthians 15 and Revelation 21). But the problem comes for us in that we are the very problem. We are the rebels. We are the sinners. We are the ones that perpetuate evil and suffering in this world. Certainly, not all evil and suffering are directly caused by us today. But remember, the evil and suffering in this world is all a result of sin entering into this world. So we, in our sin, perpetuate it. We are guilty due to our own sin.
What is most remarkable here is the way in which God deals with this entire situation. The eternal, holy God, who is separate from sin, came and dwelled among us. Consider that. God lacks nothing. He is perfect, complete in all that He is and does. And yet, before the foundations of the world, He chose us, His people, in love, to be adopted as His sons (Ephesians 1:3-6). In order to do that, He became one of us. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:8, ESV). Christ is the eternal Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity. In order that we might be adopted as sons of God, did not save us from afar. Rather, the eternal Son of God, transcendent and separate from sin, came near to us, His broken and rebellious creation. He entered into our misery and suffering. He faced our temptations. He lived among our sin (while remaining sinless) and even bore our sins on the cross (I Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:21). He saved us by becoming one of us. He suffered and died for us.
The physical reality of the incarnation, therefore, has significant implications for us and for the current situation we are in. We are called to “. . . be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1-2, ESV) Being imitators of God is a very big command. At the heart of it is to love God with all that we are and to love our neighbors. These are hard things for us to do, but crucial to our walk with the Lord. But another piece of this is that we are to love God and others physically. We are not seeking to transcend into some mystical plane of existence. Our hope is, in fact, a very physical one. When Jesus was raised from the dead, He was raised with a physical, but glorified body. When He ascended into heaven, He did so with a physical body. The descriptions of the New Heavens and New Earth in Isaiah, Revelation, and elsewhere are very physical in nature. And so we are to be a physical people, showing physical love even now.
But in this broken world that means suffering: suffering that is only here because of sin; suffering that causes terrible pain, emotionally, physically, and spiritually; but suffering that also refines us. When we consider the Coronavirus Pandemic, we must remember that viruses are a form of very physical suffering. We are not called to avoid or deny suffering. We are called to live through suffering rejoicing in the Lord. Of course, that does not mean we should go and seek out suffering. Neither does it mean we should not seek to alleviate suffering.
Consider the perspective of the world, a perspective that often creeps into the church. Death and suffering are enemies (with this we can agree). But the world either discounts them (for instance, by saying it doesn’t matter if old people die from the virus because they will die soon anyway) or else seeks to overcome that at nearly any cost (as in the more extreme lockdowns we see going on in some places, reaping severe consequences in other aspects of life). The results, on either side are extremes. In the first example, human life has no value. If taken to its natural end, it will eventually lead to something akin to Germany in the 1930’s and 1940’s. On the other hand, the second perspective devalues relationship. Are we willing to go to the current extremes for every new virus that is discovered from now on? Or what about the seasonal flu each year that also claims many, though not as many lives? If it wins the day, and proceeds to its natural end, then the result will be a financial, social, and even governmental collapse throughout the world. Now, I don’t think we are going to end up at either one of those extreme ends right now, but I point them out to help us see the problems in these mentalities
We must not allow these worldly ways of thinking to influence us, the church. Our law is love. Our goal is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. And we must do so physically. So what does that mean for us right now? To be honest, this is something I am still working through, but here are a few thoughts.
First, we must not be ruled by fear in the midst of this pandemic. Suffering is part of the Christian life. Viruses are a reality of this broken world. Physical illness can be a means that God uses for our sanctification. Should our lives come to a complete halt at every sign of danger? I would say no, they should not. We must continue to live. But we must do so in a way that honors Christ.
Second, we must love God with all that we are, both individually and corporately. We must be a part of corporate worship if at all possible. If we must stay home, how close can we get to physical, corporate worship? Certainly, online worship is not the same, but for a time it can help fill the gap. This is a crucial part of how we love God. Along with this we must consider how far we can and should take these restrictions, and how long it is ok to follow them.
Third, we must love our fellow believers. One aspect of this is making sure we protect those who are weaker, physically, among us. We certainly do not want to spread a dangerous virus to those who are more likely to die from it. This would not be loving. But loving our brothers and sisters in Christ also entails relationship. And relationship is most clearly and fully developed with some degree of physical presence. Phones and the internet diminish this physical presence, sometimes greatly.
Finally, we must love our neighbors. In this time of social distancing what do people need more than a relationship with the God who will never leave them nor forsake them? On a spiritual level, we have the answers that so many people are looking for to their deepest, most heartfelt questions and needs. They don’t know that, but we do. We therefore must find ways to continue proclaiming the message of the Gospel. We also must not tarnish the reputation of the Gospel. Consider what would happen in the minds of non-Christians if we open up our physical worship services too soon and our churches spark new outbreaks. People would want nothing to do with us. On the other hand, if we live in fear and isolation, they will never know Christ.
As I mentioned earlier, I do not have all the answers here. I, like you, am struggling through this, relying on our Great God to guide and direct me through His world by the work of the Spirit. May He help us to imitate our incarnate Savior, humbly loving God, each other, and our neighbors.