A Theology of Corona-Time

I realise I’ve been ‘doing theology’ during this crisis, though not all of it has found expression in written form. Theology is reflecting on life in the light of God. And there is certainly much to think about now.

As such, I am engaged in what’s called ‘Contextual Theology’, i.e. reflection from within and about my own situation. It can, therefore, only be ‘a’ theology of Corona Time, one particular Christian response, since everyone’s context differs.

Ministry in this Viral Spring

In January we held a Week of Prayer and Fasting for 2020. Little did we know what this year held in store for us. During our daily prayer meetings, people shared several words of prophecy. One was that spiritual gifts would be released, like seeds, which would grow and flower in our church. What do we make of these words now, in April, after Covid? Was it all just naïve spiritual optimism?

Another word, which my wife received recently, is that this is a ‘strange spring’. Certainly so. But in that spring, I can already see signs of spiritual gifts growing. Before the crisis, we struggled to get people into small groups. Now, we have gone from four to fourteen small groups, all online – some large (12), some small (4).

Plague and Providence

I had two dreams last week. In one, I was with my son in France, trying to find our way by train with a map. In the other, I was interviewing a comedian on why he got into comedy, but he wasn’t interested in exploring his origins. In both, my subconscious was searching for answers to ‘Where?’ and ‘Why?’ No wonder, given the days we’re living in.

Crying over Corona

I have seen some Christian preachers online, who are calling this Covid-19 epidemic a sign of God’s judgment on the world. Another group, among which I suspect I sometimes fall, don’t go that far. They just say it’s a sowing and reaping of what we have produced in our way of life.

The problem is that, whether true or not, there is a gleeful delight in many of these commentators; an apparent pleasure in the disaster, a satisfaction that sinners are getting their comeuppance. But the proper stance of the prophet is to weep.

Prophecy and the Virus

What is the calling of a prophet in times like these? Old Testament scholar, Walter Brueggemann suggests the prophetic ministry has two facets: criticising and energising. When the regime is most stable and prosperous, the prophet’s vocation was to point out the rot within the system, the injustice and oppression, which went on, often in the name of the religion. However, when times were hard, and the nation was in exile, it was prophet’s task to articulate hope, and the sense of the future, to indicate God’s new beginning, his new creation, for the nation.

Corona Theology

With government policy encouraging social distancing and self-isolation in face of the Corona Crisis, we need to consider the possible consequences of this enforced separation. Feeling cooped-up has a severe effect on mental health. Experiences of solitary confinement in prisons, and cabin fever on ships, are well-known, and the psychological effects established.

Coronavirus & Its Social Effects

As I cycle through semi-deserted streets of London, I’m reflecting on the state of our planet. I feel a little like Frodo in ‘Lord of the Rings’ – a very small person, moving amidst giant forces at work in the world. For this is not a small problem, affecting one country, but an entire way of life.

We have built our civilisation on sand, instead of the rock. I don’t believe it is situation of God’s direct judgment, as some Christians are claiming. But we are reaping, as a species, what we have sown, in a kind of Christian version of karma.