I thought by now I would have gathered sufficient strength to be at least planning my return to ministry. But now there is the Coronavirus which has turned all our lives upside down. I’m regarded as being in a vulnerable group, one of those with ‘underlying health issues.’ Despite the progress made since the stem cell transplant my immune system is still compromised, all my childhood vaccinations have been wiped out, and therefore in the present circumstances the advice is that I practice some degree of self isolation. Of course this has an effect on the whole family and I am grateful for everyone’s understanding and patience. Not least my son Paul whose work as a police officer involves constant engagement with the community and will possibly bring him into contact with some who have been infected. He has found alternative accommodation for the time being.
We are just one story among so many who will be finding this time to be the most challenging of their lives. Work threatened, studies disrupted, social contacts lost, finances strained. All of this apart from the effects on health and life itself. And in face of this the Christian community is called to preach a message of hope.
On Sunday I read an article by the historian Simon Heffer who describes himself as ‘overtly godless’ and yet is critical of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby for his lack of spiritual leadership during the present crisis. He writes:
‘As deaths rose and coronavirus cases multiplied last week, the Primate of All England, spiritual leader of the Established Church, was notably silent. Given we were being warned of a possible death toll that would remove a higher proportion of our population than at any time since the Great War, did the Almighty’s Anglican vicar on earth have something to say? He did not.’
Whether in response to this or because it was in preparation Justin Welby has joined with John Sentamu, Archbishop of York to produce an article printed in today’s Daily Mail. In this they call upon the nation to embrace the example of the Good Samaritan and to take every opportunity to care for the most vulnerable. But they go beyond this and stress the importance of prayer and to remember the hope at the heart of the Gospel that speaks of a Saviour who has known the sorrows of this world, even bereavement and death itself, and has triumphed over them:
‘Where someone is ill, encourage them. Where someone dies, remember that, as the foundation of our faith for over 2,000 years, we have believed that God shared the pains and fears of our lives in Jesus Christ, that He faced death, but overcame it. And He is with the bereaved.’
This is close to the message the apostle Paul preached in the midst of personal suffering and the immanence of death. He wrote to his friend Timothy:
‘I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.’ (2 Timothy 1: 13)
Paul could face his own personal challenges because of his faith in the God he knew, the God who had revealed Himself in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. To know this God and His love for humankind is to be aware of a hope that can sustain us through the worst of times.
