How will we tell the story of coronavirus to future generations?
In 2020, the famous Israeli teacher and bestseller Yuval Harari saw his prophecy written in “Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow?”(2018) seriously challenged by the coronavirus pandemic. Yuval had said: “After defeating our three ancient enemies [hunger, plague and war], human beings are free to pursue the project of becomes like God. “Here is one thing that humanity was not in the Covid-19 era: free.
- The dead were overcrowded on every continent.
- In some places.
- Such as Italy.
- The crisis was very severe.
- With high mortality rates in so-called risk groups.
- Anxiety spread around the world.
- Panic grew and.
- Although some voices demand hysteria.
- The consensus was that the pandemic was severe.
- Day after day.
- Globalized society has seen the collapse of many of its values.
- Was the world threatened as we knew it? Only time would say it’s true.
- But there were several indications.
At that time humanity was living in a context of increasing prosperity in all areas, there is no doubt that, while many social problems remain to be solved, people lived better than previous generations, a technological society, hyperconnected, sustainable and globalized. concerns, the focus on healthy eating and physical activity has never been more high. Academies are proliferating in Brazil, even in the midst of an economic crisis that has been going on for some years. Man was in control of himself and, increasingly, control of the natural world. . Or at least many thought so.
The pandemic has challenged many of the essential beliefs of the collective imagination and asked it many questions.
What is the real level of control we have over our health? Now, was it a small virus capable of causing overcrowding in hospitals and did doctors have to decide, even in rich countries, who to treat and who not to treat? closed and the concern for food was less about eating what was healthy than if we had what to eat.
How well are we so connected in person, with so many opportunities to go from place to place and with such difficulty closing borders?Were you responsible for the rapid spread of the virus?Was globalization a blessing or a curse?”Is my cut the world?” demonstrated several weaknesses.
And the ideal of control?How many trips, parties, meetings, important events have been cancelled?Would even the Olympic Games be postponed, the NBA suspended, football stadiums emptied?Did nations and nations that had forgotten James’ words now had a bitter taste for being subdued?blurred visions?luck, fortune. What was crazy now made a lot of sense:
Answer, now, you say: today or tomorrow we go to that city and spend a year there, and we’ll negotiate and take advantage of it, you don’t know what’s going to happen. tomorrow, what’s your life? You are like a mist that appears for a moment and then dissipates; Instead, you must say, If the Lord wills, we will not only live, but we will also do this or that (Stg 4:13-15).
“So we isolate everyone so we can control the virus!? The technology has helped minimize isolation during periods of coronavirus, but at the same time, it has made it clear that face-to-face contact is irreplaceable. The social media myth has been shattered. They saw the mistake that we’re closer because we’re more technologically connected. The actual connection is a face-to-face connection.
“We have money to make more respirators!? There was a production limit and we needed more time than the disease gave us. Do we have laboratories to produce vaccines, care, treatments!? But it would take time, protocols, research, no matter how many people are involved, from countless countries. We have rarely seen how science can be a blessing, but also how it has serious natural boundaries.
When the solution? Not perfect, but the best for reality?It seems to have been observed, the isolation of all, another problem is seen on the horizon, a likely recession with serious economic and social impacts. “Who will save us from this misfortune? Most people shouted “the state. “But could it?Would men and women use their property? The economies of many had been burned at the altar of consumerism and the risk of a severe economic recession called into question any belief in the ideal of progress.
The truth in all this is that we had forgotten our nature: vulnerable, weak, fragile, limited, deadly The coronavirus was a great warning to humanity which, contrary to what Yuval had prophesied, was not like God and could not be like God. Yuval’s temptation was not new, but adam and Eve’s. The world, by 2020, had not only eaten of the forbidden fruit, but had made it its feast. Coronavirus has shown fruit rot. When we ate it, we were dead, there were no respirators for us.
. . .
No doubt, as I tried briefly above, one of the possible ways to tell the story we live in is to emphasize that this pandemic is a call to repentance for our culture, she is like a prophet, it is like Jonah, who shouted, “Another forty days, and Nínive will be subverted?(Jn 3. 4). We do not yet know whether the world’s response will be contrition, sack, and ash, or whether, like Pharaoh, suffering the ten wounds, the heart of this world will be even more hardened.
However, I realized that this virus is, for us Christians, as Nathan was to David (in 2 Sam 12:1-25). He begins by telling a story about the world without God, but then shows us, in fact, how we lived daily as if there was no God in the world. ?Are you the man? (v. 7), Nathan tells David. ” You’ve been like the world,” the coronavirus reveals.
Who did you entrust your health to? You have to take precautions, act sensibly, eat well, do physical activities, but for you, who is the Lord of life and death? What about your life and death? And more, about the life and death of your family and loved ones?
Have you been a citizen of the world more than a citizen of your city, your local church, your family?Was the real world around you more important than the virtual world you lived in?Have your finances been used to serve others or just yourself??
When you make your plans, do you consider Santiago’s teachings?Do you still remember that there is a God who rules above all and above all?Is it God’s care or the care of your hands that ensures your prosperity?Who do you trust?Or is it your hope in science, the state, or your wealth?Why, then, have you been anxious?
Therefore, the call to repentance of culture is also a call to repentance. It is time for us to admit, “I have sinned against the Lord. “It is time to kneel before our Father, to become aware of our faults, and to seek to live piously, with faith, hope, and love. Above all, I think this is the right time to admit that, in fact, we did not believe that God was in charge, but we accept the stupid ideal of the world that there is no God above us. A bag, ashes and tears! Perhaps, then, we remember that God is merciful to us.
Then David said unto Gad, I am very distressed; Then I fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is much, but do I not fall into the hands of men?(1 Cr. 21. 13)