If ever we felt like the world was going to end, it would be here and now. COVID-19 has incapacitated all walks of life and paralyzed the workplace, schools, hospitals and even our Church. Who would have thought a year ago that we would all have to don masks when not able to keep six feet from others? Who would have thought that our children’s schools would be closed for six months and Zoom would become the new classroom? Who would have believed that ordinations to the diaconate and priesthood in our own diocese would be postponed to late summer?
With businesses closed, many people have lost their jobs or have been furloughed. Unemployment numbers have not been this high since the Great Depression. We are told that we must adjust to the “new normal,” that is, wearing masks, social distancing, working remotely whenever possible, no physical contact whatsoever. As a result, we feel disconnected from our families, our neighbors, our colleagues at work and our parishes. There is enmity between the races, distrust toward renegades in law enforcement, long lines at the food banks, COVID-19 testing centers and the NJDMV. Is it the end of the world?
Before the beginning of time, before creation, God existed all alone. The love of God was the only love there was. We are not creators, we are only receivers and transmitters of the love of God. And we can transmit only as much as we receive. To tell us of his love and to redeem us of our sinfulness, God sent his only Son. “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (Jn 1:14)
Jesus is the greatest expression of the love of God for us and the greatest expression of the human response to that love. Jesus was divine, the Son of God. He was also human, the son of Mary. He spoke with divine authority but he spoke in human language. He spoke in the simple language of ordinary people of his day about the things they were most familiar with: the birds of the air, the lilies of the field, the sower and the seed, the vine and the branches. When he wanted to tell his apostles how important they were he said that they were the “light of the world” and the “salt of the earth.” And when he wanted to tell us of God’s love for us he used the heart, the human symbol of love. He told us that we should learn of him that he was meek and humble of heart and we would find rest for our souls.
The contemporaries of Jesus knew this meek and humble heart of Jesus and they knew that it beat with unconditional love for them. Rough, simple fishermen leave their boats and nets to follow him. Learned doctors sit at his feet to hear his wisdom. A tax collector leaves his money table to become his disciple. Multitudes follow him for days, so captivated that they forget to provide food to eat. The sick fight their way through the crowds to procure healing of their many ailments.
Two thousand years later, the human condition has similar concerns to those who lived during Jesus’ earthly ministry. Our anxiety is still a fear of the unknown. People wonder why the good suffer, the wicked seem to prosper and many have doubts about or simply dismiss the hereafter. Most of us, however, like our forefathers and mothers, are looking for whatever will fulfill us. Some of us mistakenly think that this “whatever” is a thing, such as money, a big home, a fancy car, romance or even a pet. The truth is “whatever” should read “whoever,” and that person is Jesus. Only God can fulfill us because, in the words of St. Augustine, “our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” Theologians are saying that amid the chaos of our times, it is necessary to capture the transcendent God in a symbol that is relevant for you; in other words, to capture the unconditional love of God in a symbol that is meaningful for us. Jesus tells us, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Mt 11:28-29) The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the symbol of the fidelity of the love of God. It reminds us that God loves us unconditionally with a love we can never merit. And he loves us for ourselves, not as we should be, or possibly could be, but as we are with all of our shortcomings, quirks and failures. He loves us whether we are gainfully employed or jobless, sick with COVID-19 or healthy, black, brown or white, in law enforcement or any other vocation. Having said this, let us return to the initial question of this column. Is the world coming to an end? Jesus tells his disciples that not even he knows the day or the hour. Only God the Father knows the day and time (Matthew 24:36).
Far be it from this writer to speculate if the world is ending or will end soon. However, we can use the tension, turmoil and uncertainties of this time to reform our lives by doing good and avoiding evil. We can prepare ourselves for “the end” as if the Second Coming might happen tomorrow. By doing this, when Jesus returns in glory, he will find us serving, not hurting, each other through freedom and love, which is the way to build the Kingdom as children of God.
Father Comandini is managing editor of “The Catholic Spirit”