Reflections During a Pandemic

Sometimes I read books that fit the occasion. One time I read Moby Dick on a cruise with my wife’s family. Shut down by the Coronavirus I decided to read The Plague by Albert Camus. It is a fictional story of a port city called Oran set in Algeria that suddenly is taken by the bubonic plague. Throughout the novel there are different responses to living in the existence of death. One of them in particular caught my attention. Here is the paragraph:

In this respect our townsfolk were like everybody else, wrapped up in themselves; in other words they were humanists: they disbelieved in pestilences. A pestilence isn’t a thing made to man’s measure; therefore we tell ourselves that pestilence is a mere bogy of the mind, a bad dream that will pass away. But it doesn’t always pass away and, from one bad dream to another, it is men who pass away, and the humanists first of all, because they haven’t taken their precautions. Our townsfolk were no more to blame than others; they forgot to be modest, that was all, and thought that everything still was possible for them; which presupposed that pestilences were impossible. They went on doing business, arranged for journeys, and formed views. How should they have given a thought to anything like plague, which rules out any future, cancels journeys, silences the exchange of views. They fancied themselves free, and no one will ever be free so long as there are pestilences.

Camus considered religious belief absurd, nevertheless what he says here is illuminating, even for us Christians. It is a frame of literature to reflect upon. Human society today does not see itself caught up in something bigger than itself; something which we cannot control or from which we cannot extricate ourselves. But then, all of a sudden, for a few days or maybe for a few weeks, we have a different perspective because of the pandemic and we have a deep feeling of uncertainty, panic and anxiety. The fog blows away and it dawns on us we are not as free as we thought we were. This virus can shut us down and after this another one and another one. Then, just as suddenly, our confidence in ourselves returns as we hear about heroic efforts and new vaccines. We lose our modesty as Camus says. Nor do we give thanks to God for providing us with the skill and knowledge to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

We are in that time of the year when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Not only does God care for his creation, he also frees the prisoners—those who are caught up with the powers of this world. Our freedom comes through Jesus Christ and so this Easter we lift our praise to God.

Jesus Christ is risen;

He is risen indeed.