By Nathan Brown

As we headed into the uncertainties of April, with the coronavirus spreading around the world and so much of our lives suddenly shut down and socially distanced, a friend posted on his social media feed: “Some have asked me ‘what does the Bible have to say about this virus?’ It says: Help those who are elderly, frail and sick . . . be a good neighbor!”

Amid the rush to re-read Revelation, share tangential conspiracy theories or quote flowery comfort texts, I think my friend was reading the Bible best. And as we re-emerge from our homes and begin to re-engage and reconstruct our public practices of faith and church, this insight holds true.

But as we embark on this task, it is worth pausing to reflect on what has been revealed during this difficult time and what the next steps ask of us and our faith. The key question we should consider is how we react differently—particularly, how we respond better—because of what we say we believe. In this process of reflection, we naturally begin with ourselves, but we must progress into our communities and the wider world.

Reading the Bible

Over the past few months, we have seen a renewed impulse to study the book of Revelation, with a welter of sermon broadcasts, online Bible studies, and even evangelistic series seeking to respond to the interest in such topics among church members and some in our communities. But, while meeting an apparent demand, Revelation has surprisingly little to say specifically about pandemics and such a focus can feed those darker impulses that foster fear and conspiracy-mongering. Indeed, some groups within our church and beyond seem to be trying to outdo each other in this regard.

While it might seem a natural fit, Revelation is not necessarily the most useful guide to faithful living at a time of stress and disruption. Read at its best, Revelation does offer glimpses behind the scenes of the history of our world and assurance of the final outcome, but it gives only hints of how we should live. Its best direction is to describe a group of people who endure difficult times and seek to live out the teachings, life and hope of Jesus (see Revelation 14:12), even when everything else seems to be falling apart or under threat. But Revelation is not a stand-alone text. After all, the Jesus we discover in the gospels is the only key to unlocking the mysteries of the book of Revelation (see Revelation 5:4, 5). Revelation is a guide, but Jesus is our Guide.

It is in the gospels that we most hear the voice of our Teacher. It is in the stories, ministry and teaching of Jesus that we hear the best responses to fear, worry and disease. It is His resurrection that defeated the threat and power of death. And it is He who concluded His sermon on end-time faithfulness with the call to love and serve those most in need (see Matthew 25). We need to grow our instinct to turn to Jesus and His way, rather than reaching first for Revelation and the many lesser aberrations of it.

Encouraging each other

Over the past few months, we have seen most churches scrambling to find ways to continue their weekly worship services as a first priority. While it has been important to maintain contact with our church communities, at a time of significant disruption, it is remarkable how much effort and even creativity we have invested in ensuring that as little as possible has changed in our church routines.

Yes, Hebrews 10:25 urges us to “not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near”1— but this can look very different in different places and times. How we meet together and encourage each other has necessarily changed, but let’s also take the opportunity to recognize that there is much in our church programs and structures that has proved unnecessary and even unhelpful. Let’s not be so anxious to get back to “normal” in this sense.

The other question we must consider is whether programming that is primarily for ourselves should be our first priority. For many years, we have tried to remind ourselves that church is not a building. The 2020 version is that church is not a Zoom meeting, YouTube broadcast, or Facebook livestream. Rather, church is a community of people who follow Jesus together and “motivate one another to acts of love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24) in the larger community in which we live and serve. In a changing world, that will look different—and more of our attention and resources must be directed outwards to our wider communities.

Kindness and justice

Over the past few months, we have seen many wonderful acts of kindness and generosity, including church-based programs and initiatives serving those who are in need and suffering during this crisis—as my friend’s Facebook post was pointing out. We must celebrate those who have worked to heal the sick, feed the hungry, support the vulnerable and reach out to the lonely. This work has been necessary and continues to be so important.

But we have also seen the disparity that always comes more into focus at times of crisis and disaster. Those who are already vulnerable are hurt first, deepest and longest. We cannot ignore this renewed revelation of inequality and injustice. And our acts of charity, vital though they be, must not distract us from the greater call to justice (see Isaiah 1:17):

The only thing to do to really help—the true kind- ness—is to completely restructure society. . . . Jesus did more than just hug away our differences. He completely changed faith and religion, ordering an end to the repressive hierarchies that saw widows, children, and the sick cast aside. Love is political when it is radical. Faith is political when it believes in something better. Hope is political when it looks for something more.

Creating alternatives

Over the past few months, we have heard conversations about how the coronavirus pandemic might re-shape our world in so many different ways—culturally, politically, economically, environmentally and spiritually. As with any such disruption and the inevitable uncertainty, there are serious risks but also hopeful possibilities. With the opportunities we have, however large or small, we are called to contribute faithfully to re-shaping our church, our communities and our world for the better.

Unfortunately, the difficult nature of these many tasks is one reason studying Revelation is attractive to many of us. As one of the “superheroes” in the apocalyptic graphic novel Watchmen reflects on the desire of some for an end to the world: “They want to be spared the responsibilities of maintaining that world, to be spared the effort of imagination needed to realize such a [better] future.”3 But the hope we have is never an excuse that ends our call to care.

Yes, we can echo the proclamation that Babylon is fallen (see Revelation 14:8), but the most effective way to call people out of these broken systems is to offer the alternative and present reality of the kingdom of God that Jesus taught—in big and small ways. For example, while we might condemn the unjust and broken economic systems of our world, we might grow gardens—both vegetables and flowers—as a small act of resistance, but also imagine alternative economic structures and ways in which people can work and grow sustainably.

Yes, we believe that Jesus will return—but that hope is our primary motivation for loving and serving today and our assurance for confronting serious challenges and heartbreaking injustice in the world around us. Among so many other such commands, the injunctions of Genesis 2 and Isaiah 58 and Matthew 25 continue until the King says, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom pre- pared for you from the creation of the world” (Matthew 25:34.)

So, what does the Bible have to say about this virus and how to live faithfully in its aftermath? Our world might be changed in many ways, but the faithful answer remains— continue to trust Jesus (see Acts 1:7, 8), walking humbly with Him in loving kindness and doing justice (see Micah 6:8). Or—as Jesus put it—be a neighbor (see Luke 10:30–37).

–Nathan Brown is a writer and editor at Signs Publishing in Warburton, Victoria, Australia. Check out the website for Nathan’s newest book “Of Falafels and Following Jesus” at www.FalalfelsandFollowingJesus.com. Email him at [email protected]

Notes

1Bible quotations are from the New Living Translation.
2Lenz, L. (2019). God land: A story of faith, loss, and renewal in Middle America. Indiana University Press, p. 94.
Moore, A., & Gibbons, D. (2014). Watchmen. DC Comics, p. 380.