I read today with some sadness, but little surprise, that the pastor of a Florida megachurch had been arrested on charges of unlawful assembly and violation of public health rules after ignoring social distancing orders associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. He has been keeping church open on Sundays for his 4,000-member congregation. Pastor Bob (not his real name) claimed that the church was providing an ‘essential service’ and thus exempt from coronavirus orders, and besides, they had put social distancing measures in place. His lawyers argued that the state was in violation of the First Amendment in interfering with the church. The County Sheriff was not impressed, “His reckless disregard for human life put hundreds of people in his congregation at risk, and thousands of residents who may interact with them this week, in danger.” It was also suggested that encouraging people to come to church meetings at this time may not be the best way to love your neighbour (or neighbor, as this is America). 

I hope I am totally wrong, but I must confess that the cynic in me wonders if at least part of the issue might have been the fear that a parishioner joining an online church service from the La-Z-boy chair in their living room might be slightly less likely to donate to the cause than one ensconced in the padded pews of the sanctuary. Sometimes it really is ‘all about the money (money, money)’ But big American churches run on big American budgets and sometimes they have less margin than we imagine. When it comes to cold hard cash, the US of A can be an unforgiving place.
 
But, leaving my cynicism aside, it is also about change. In strange and challenging times, we must adapt or perish. The question Christians are forced to face right now is, what is church anyway? Are we here to put on a show, or are we building a community of love? I think we have always known what the answer should be, but in ‘ordinary’ times we have been able to get away with not thinking about it too much.
 
Just over a week ago, on March 23rd, Bill Gates published an open letter in response to the present crisis. In it he wrote, “I’m a strong believer that there is a spiritual purpose behind everything that happens.” He went on to outline 14 things that he thought the coronavirus was reminding us of. His conclusion was this: 
 
Whereas many see the Corona/ Covid-19 virus as a great disaster, I prefer to see it as a GREAT CORRECTOR. It is sent to remind us of the important lessons that we seem to have forgotten and it is up to us if we will learn them or not.
 
Now, I think it is wise to disregard, at least for now, his suggestion that Covid-19 was sent to us for a purpose. I don’t want to start going down this particular rabbit hole of intentionality, lest we end up in conspiracy theories or debating the nature of divine judgement and the origin of evil. In times like these, unless you are an epidemiologist, it is foolish to ask, ‘Why has this happened?’ It is enough that it HAS happened and that we must respond to a new situation. I do, however, like the idea that coronavirus is a GREAT CORRECTOR. But it becomes a corrector, not because a virus has an inherent purpose (other than to reproduce itself), but only if we are willing to learn the lessons that we must learn in order to thrive in this Brave New World. 
 
There is an excellent quote doing the rounds at the moment on social media. Several friends of mine have posted these words from The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy, The Lord of the Rings:  
 
“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
 
This is indeed, I am certain, the lesson we must learn now. We have to decide what to do with this time.
 
Tolkien, who had seen action in the Great War, began writing the novel in 1937, but it was another 12 years before the trilogy was completed. Whilst Peter Jackson’s movies portrayed wonderful characters and captured the grand spectacle of the story, I don’t think it ever quite came to terms with the ordinary earthy kindness of ordinary people who had no desire to be heroes, but who were thrown together in community in a way that would lead to the triumph of ordinary goodness over spectacular evil. That, to me is the real heart of the book. 
 
W. H. Auden was in New York on September 1, 1939. Beginning to face a new evil looming, he recalled the day in a famous poem:
 
I sit in one of the dives
On Fifty-second Street
Uncertain and afraid
As the clever hopes expire
Of a low dishonest decade:
Waves of anger and fear
Circulate over the bright
And darkened lands of the earth,
Obsessing our private lives;
The unmentionable odour of death
Offends the September night.
 
He adds, a few stanzas later:
 
All I have is a voice
To undo the folded lie,
The romantic lie in the brain
Of the sensual man-in-the-street
And the lie of Authority
Whose buildings grope the sky:
There is no such thing as the State
And no one exists alone;
Hunger allows no choice
To the citizen or the police;
We must love one another or die.
 
In 1967, according to music journalist, Hunter Davies, the Beatles “were approached by the BBC to take part in the biggest live television programme ever.” 26 countries were involved in total, stretching over 5 continents. John Lennon liked the idea and wrote a song for the occasion, It was All You Need Is Love. Davies writes, “I once asked John about the title, ‘All You Need Is Love’, and he pointed out a detail I had overlooked: it can be taken in two ways. At one level it means that love is the most important thing in the world, but it can also mean that love is the one thing you are lacking, the thing you haven’t got.”
 
“We must love one another or die.” 
 
Or, as Bono put it, “Love is all we have left.” 
 
It really is.
 

Chris Denne