See, I am doing a new thing!

In 586 BCE Jerusalem fell to the Babylonian army and most of the people living there were taken into captivity. This event, known as the exile, is when life as many had known it was irrevocably changed forever, most significantly when the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. The horror of those days and the aftermath is captured in several books of the Bible such as Lamentations, where it is said that some of those left behind in Jerusalem became so desperate for food that they were driven to eat their own children (2:20). For us living 2,500 years after the events of the exile, it can be hard to comprehend the horror and truly devastating nature of what happened then and some people's desperate response to it. Yet as I write these words our global community is in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic. Life as we have known it has changed. Social exclusion has become the norm. People have been panic-buying. Fear has become the new normal. Our cities lie deserted; our churches are closed.

As people of faith, where do we turn for spiritual support in moments such as this? What reasons do we give for why this is happening and where do we find God? The writer of Lamentations suggests it was the sins of the Jewish people that led to their suffering. Elsewhere in Scripture, exile is also understood as God's judgment for people living unjustly and not taking care of each other. Whilst there is a valid argument for saying that Covid-19 is the result of living in a less-than-perfect world and not being good stewards of creation, I cannot bring myself to consider Coronavirus as simply the judgment of God. To end there offers me no comfort. Also, judgment can quickly lead to finger-pointing and scape-goating; an all-too-often underlying cause of the violence we see in this world. Instead, I see exile as God hitting the re-set button for Israel. They were removed from a way of living they had gotten used to and were given the opportunity to reflect on their relationship with God and each other in new ways.

Coronavirus is helping me re-set my life. It's making me re-think what is important in my life. For instance, earlier today I went out to buy some eggs, but the store I went to did not have any. Yet whilst I have been to stores before and not found something I needed, today that experience felt different. For the first time I experienced the fear of not having enough food, and that was new to me. Whilst food scarcity is a reality for many people in the world, I've never really felt that. I guess I've always been used to having what I want and when I want it, but with all the panic-buying going on and things running out, I'm starting to realise what living in a world of scarcity feels like, and it's making me see things very differently. As one friend reminded me, "Some of us have been in life situations where we couldn't afford to buy what we wanted when we wanted. Perhaps it is time to do mindful shopping."

Recently I read these words from the prophecy of Isaiah: "See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind" (Isaiah 65:17). These words gave hope for those taken into exile that their situation was not the end of things. For those left behind, they too were being assured that their suffering would end. Whilst Coronavirus is a worrying health concern for us all, I believe we are being given the opportunity by God to hit the reset button in terms of our relationships with each other and the world. We have become aware of just how much our lives impact others. We have become ever more conscious of the need to live selflessly. We have witnessed the delicate nature of the relationship we have with the natural world. As such, we are now learning to live differently. We are choosing to live differently. We are seeing how our choices can make a positive difference in the lives of others and also this world. Things are changing. God is working in new ways: "See, I am doing a new thing!" (Isaiah 43:19).