In time of temptation

The one thing the pandemic gives us apart from a disease is plenty of time and a lot of it on our own. And that allows us to remember when things were better and when they were worse.

May 24, 2020

By Fr Michael Kelly SJ
The one thing the pandemic gives us apart from a disease is plenty of time and a lot of it on our own. And that allows us to remember when things were better and when they were worse.

An easing of some restrictions has begun. But if past pandemics are anything to go by, the release could be short lived and a recrudescence of the virus in places deemed “clean and safe” could follow and the restrictions return.

There will be no definitive closure on restrictions till we have an effective vaccine at our disposal.

And even then, the virus will still be with us, although not as easily transferred or as lethal.

Few believe that the new phase we are entering will mean a quick return to “business as usual”. The return to the “good old days” is an escape by memory that in these days is a sorry temptation. By and large, it's a fake remedy for a current affliction.

We will still have lots of time just living with ourselves and that is always a challenge when it continues for an indefinite time.

But it’s also a time when just what Jesus is portrayed as enduring in the Temptations in Matthew’s Gospel will have features in common with what we go through.

The desert is the place where defences are down and Jesus is vulnerable to the attack of demons. Desert experiences like the one we are all in with the restrictions of COVID-19 are likely to put us all in a place where the demons have their way with us.

The recurrent reports of depression, domestic conflict and a rise in alcohol consumption across the world as what happens to people in isolation are consistent with the way demons attack us. We become disgruntled in our powerlessness to do things we take for granted, step back in our annoyance, recognise our impotence and, in the absence of someone to blame, let go at ourselves, blaming ourselves for the annoyance and discouragement we may feel.

That sort of self-blame is the first step to depression.

The circumstances are not unlike the temptation Jesus has when offered the opportunity to grasp omnipotence and overcome his isolation, courtesy of his tempter.

What does he do? He puts his circumstances and prospects in God's hands.

We actually don’t and can’t make all the rules. Yes, we can respond to opportunities and we should. But there are things that happen in our lives that are beyond our determination. Being constrained by a lethal virus – for our wellbeing and that of our fellow human beings – is one such circumstance beyond our control.

“Limit situations” – when we are driven to the limit of what we can cope with or control – are privileged moments for drawing us closer to the God who made us and our world. They shout to us that we are creatures, not the Creator.

To find our way through the frustrations of the day by day limits – named and accepted for what they are – is the challenge all humans face now, some in far more extreme situations than we find ourselves in where infections and deaths are declining.

But whether things are getting better or worse, the real invitation is the same and the opportunity is identical: to trust that more will be made of us and our circumstances than our misgivings suggest.--ucanews.com

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