StemCell Therapy

In his 1995 novel, Blindness, author Jose Saramago tells a story about a world in which nearly everyone is stricken with blindness.

The epidemic brings out the worst, and sometimes the best, of humanity. Panic overtakes reason. Self preservation replaces care for others. Order is eclipsed by chaos.

The pandemic weve come to know as COVID-19 is bringing out our best and our worst. Some folks have been fighting over toilet paper. Others are hoarding garages full of hand sanitizer. And a few are even vilifying sick people who unknowingly exposed others to the virus.

There are also stories of care and compassion: neighbors reaching out to neighbors. Employers caring for workers. Teachers serving their students.

Were all authors and characters in this non-fiction thriller, so we get to decide whether or not it will be a story of blindness.

In Saramagos book, one person keeps her sight in the midst of the epidemic: a woman who feigns blindness in order to accompany her husband into a makeshift, and horrific, quarantine. As the story unfolds, she uses her sight to lead a small band of blind followers through the apocalyptic scenes of a lawless city.

Imagine being a person who could see in an epidemic that steals sight. How would you use your vision? Would you aim to preserve your life or serve others? Is it possible to do both?

How you answer those questions will depend a lot on where you look for answers.

This virus, and other large-scale disasters, are physical problems that require physical solutions like hand sanitizer, social distancing and self quarantine.

But our world is more than just physical. Its both physical and spiritual. We are more than just living hosts for opportunistic viruses. Were living souls. And even though were naturally susceptible to self preservation, we also have a strong desire to help others, especially when life is at stake. Its a tension between physical and spiritual reality, and were not the first to feel it.

Martin Luther lived through a plague more brutal than the one in Blindness and more sinister than COVID-19. When the bubonic plague swept through Europe in the 16th century, Luther penned a letter he titled, Whether One May Flee From a Deadly Plague. His answer brings vivid clarity to how we see our physical and spiritual world. I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine, and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence.

He trusted God and took medicine. He practiced social distancing before it was a term. But he also practiced incarnational proximity, by serving the sick when they needed him. He and his wife even welcomed patients into their home. Not everyone is called to that response, but acknowledging the tension will draw our eyes to the one who turns blindness into sight.

Jesus doesnt distance himself from our viruses or our fears. He takes them on. His incarnation brought Him into close proximity with the sick, the lame and the lepers. His teaching opens our eyes to the reality of trusting God and serving others. That seems more useful than fighting over toilet paper.

Were writing history here. Lets make sure it isnt a story of blindness.

Gregg Madsen is the Lead Pastor of Steadfast Gretna. Reach him at gmadsen@steadfastgretna.org.

Read more from the original source:
Don't let COVID-19 be a story of blindness - Omaha World-Herald

This entry was posted on March 22, 2020 at 7:49 pm and is filed under Blindness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |