Eavesdropping in 2020

Each day, we will post a short article by one of Darton, Longman and Todd’s amazing authors, offering a personal reflection on our current situation in life. Sometimes this will be written with reference to one of their books, and sometimes about how they are living in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus and our current world situation. We hope it will give you a taste of the depth and diversity of DLT’s list – books for heart, mind and soul that aim to meet the needs and interests of all.

Today’s post is by Henry Martin, author of Eavesdropping: Learning to pray from those who talked to Jesus. You can buy an eBook copy of the book here, or a physical copy here.

Eavesdropping in 2020

‘Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?’ Mark 2:24

 

All societies operate by laws, some written, many more unwritten. All these laws are subject to interpretation. One day in seven as a compulsory day of rest was something Jesus grew up with. The basic concept was not up for debate. This is how society functioned. God had ordained it so. It was written, commanded and graven on stone. Even so, this law was open to more than one interpretation.

Let’s eavesdrop on some outraged Pharisees. They see Jesus’ disciples flouting the Sabbath rules as they understand them. They march up to Jesus full of righteous indignation.  ‘Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?’

Jesus undermines their version of ‘lawful’ with a story about another breach of religious rules. This is my paraphrase…

Remember David, that great king and hero of our nation? Remember when he was hungry and he ate the bread that was dedicated to God? There were set laws … but he ate it any way. Was that ‘unlawful’? Will you condemn him?

This leaves them stumped. Some versions of ‘lawful’ need to be challenged. The sabbath is made for humans, not the other way around. And if Jesus really is Lord of the Sabbath, then his take on what is lawful for the Sabbath, surely trumps theirs every time.

The COVID-19 pandemic challenges the rules of our modern society. Some of these are laws we have agreed, others have been drip-fed to us covertly, until we have accepted them as normal. The current crisis forces us to reassess which societal rules are truly ‘lawful’. I’d like to focus on three;

(i) Money

This crisis might allow us to see how deeply we have fallen for mammon. When money becomes god, it spins its own creed; ‘failure to increase profits year-on-year is failure’, ‘the bottom line is always the financial one’, ‘there is no magic money tree’, etc.

This crisis requires us to remember better rules. Human beings are more important than money. Care for those in need draws something deeper than finance’s bottom line. There is money for healthcare after all.

Not everyone will willingly forsake mammon. Governments can cling to their economic forecasts while neglecting the self-employed who earn nothing by staying at home. Rumours fly about the greed-sodden, vying to patent a vaccine and corner the market for themselves. Some companies have been excellent; opening hotel rooms for homeless people and giving free coffees, parking spaces and check-out queue priorities for NHS staff. Other companies demand government bailouts and reward their shareholders while sacking their staff.

This virus will surely leave the world financially poorer. If Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, he can also pull rank on the Stock Exchange. If we do this well, we will scorn the financiers’ outrage and share the ‘hit’ fairly, ensuring the vulnerable get a reasonable deal. If not, the rich will stay comfortable and the poor … well of course it’s a shame but now’s not the time to be sentimental … or naïve about economic realities …

(ii) Self

Another favourite go-to god is self. Self likewise has its mantras; ‘look after No. 1’, ‘family first’, ‘charity begins at home’ etc. This god allows us to pile our shopping trolleys high, hoarding enough loo rolls to last until 2030. It permits us to ignore ‘experts’ and instead ‘love’ a Facebook meme

… we can do social distancing on a crowded beach … Who says we should stay at home? … I’ll kill that bug with alcohol, if I can find an open pub ....

This pandemic requires us to act ‘unlawfully’ in the face of this god and its unwritten rules. We need to ‘see’ other people. We can break social convention to engage with neighbours, perhaps via WhatsApp groups. We can offer to collect groceries and prescriptions. We can give, pray and share. We can stream online devotions.

Jesus gives us an unequivocal green light to act unlawfully, wherever ‘self-first’ is the law. Rules about who is and is not our neighbour will continue to be broken while this crisis runs. Let’s hope we continue such ‘unlawful’ activity well beyond this current time, until we view everyone in need as our neighbour.

(iii) The planet

We can allow no new laws, written or unwritten to sneak under the radar, while our focus is on coronavirus (COVID-19). I am not just talking about governments exploiting the crisis to trim human rights. I also fear the whisper, ‘No need to worry about Greta’s stuff. The climate emergency is off the agenda for now.’  We could instead wake up to some unexpected benefits. This temporary dethroning of ‘money-first’ has allowed birds to sing in Wuhan’s clear skies and dolphins to swim in Venice’s canals. This unsought sabbath from industrial production affords God’s planet a moment to breathe. If we are wise, we will rediscover our role as creation’s stewards, dismantle the ‘laws’ that have created the climate emergency and discover healthier way to enjoy God’s green earth.

So how does this help us with prayer?

We can pray for God to open our eyes to:

·       always see-the-human in each neighbour,

·       see which ‘laws’ now run counter to God’s intentions,

·       glimpse God’s wider perspective.

We could ask for grace to turn every grump at our restrictions into a prompt to pray for those on the frontline: NHS staff, emergency services, those who deliver goods, teachers, supermarket staff, clergy and prison staff (who often get forgotten in these lists).

In prayer we remember that God will always be God. This crisis might run for a while, hopefully it will dethrone some false gods on the way. Replacements will arise. We are invited to submit all our fears to God and to ask for constant reminders that Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath, remains the same, yesterday, today and forever.