I Hope We Don’t Go Back to Normal
It’s just about 10 months since our province of Manitoba restricted social interactions in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. This pandemic has affected everyone, but it has done so in different ways. We’ve experienced so much individual and collective loss, the full effects of which we don’t yet know. In these times, I’ve been searching for signs of hope, for something to hold on to. Along with many others, I can’t count how many times I’ve longed for things to go back to normal.
However, the further along we get in this pandemic, the more I’m starting to realize that my hopes for everything to go back to normal uncover my own place of privilege. Not everything about my life was perfect before COVID-19 hit, but things were good. Jessica and I were expecting our first child, work was constant and meaningful, our expenses were met, and we were part of a loving and supportive community.
When the pandemic began, the loss we grieved the most were the connections with family and friends. We hoped to see Jessica’s Grandma before she passed away. We hoped to travel to visit our loved ones. We hoped our baby, Clara, would be held by other people. We hoped to be together for family gatherings and to worship together with our church community.
Despite the loss of in-person relationships and activities, my family has been blessed to continue through the pandemic without much hardship. And so, when I say that I want things to return to normal, I now realize that I’m really hoping that things can go back to the way things were for me. However, I also now realize that “normal” was never that great for a lot of people in our world.
To return to normal for some means to continue on living in systems that marginalize and oppress them because of the colour of their skin. As much as wearing masks makes it hard for us to breathe, the perpetuation of racism in our society smothers the voices and futures of Black, Indigenous, and other people of colour (BIPOC).
To return to normal for some means to continue living in isolation. What I am experiencing now is difficult and unlike anything I have ever had to do, but, isolation and loneliness are the norm for those who are forgotten and neglected by society. Not to mention all of the mental health concerns that were part of people’s lives for a long time before we even began to hear of COVID-19.
To return to normal for some means to continue to struggle every day to make ends meet. 10% of the world lives in extreme poverty, surviving on less than $1.90 USD per day. Another 10% live in multidimensional poverty. Another 10% of the world lives in crisis due to violence and war, while 80 million people have experienced displacement and live as refugees.
Although it comes with good intentions, to be able to hope for things to go back to normal isn’t something that everyone can do. Loss, sickness, oppression, injustice, disappointment, abuse, violence, and death are normal for many people. Christianity is so much more than being comfortable with your own personal lives. The status quo, even if it’s great for me, is never the final hope of the Christian faith.
The hope Christians hold on to was emphasized by Jesus’ prayer which He taught in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:9b-10):
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on Earth as it is in heaven.”
“God is not yet finished with this world or with us.”
The Old Testament speaks of the coming of a new era where all would be made right and God would dwell among God’s people. Books like Revelation give us a glimpse of what that will eventually look like when God defeats evil and death and puts things back the way they should be. But when Jesus came to Earth, He already declared that the kingdom of God had come! It’s here, it’s in motion, but we don’t see it in full yet. We are living in the “already but not-yet,” which tells us one important thing: God is not yet finished with this world or with us.
The kingdom of God has come in part and is continually being shaped and formed whenever and wherever people decide to make God their king. God is in the business of transforming, renewing, and reconciling the world in order that people would be drawn into the right relationship with God, one another, themselves, and creation.
God longs for justice and peace for this world. Not just any peace, but Shalom, a Hebrew word which represents wholistic peace where all things are just as they were meant to be. God longs for the flourishing of life, for the healing of brokenness, and for mercy for the poor, hungry, and forgotten. Most of all, God longs for right relationship with God’s creation. Through Jesus, God shows us the way of grace that makes this possible.
And so, my hopes have changed during this pandemic. Yes, I do hope we make it out of the pandemic, but more than that, I hope we don’t go back to normal. Instead, I hope we continue to live into the kingdom of God by working for Shalom and the flourishing of life. I hope that we continue to pursue justice and peace even if it comes at a cost to us. I hope that we live out faith with such authenticity and vulnerability that others are drawn to God. God doesn’t want to take us back to normal. God wants to take us somewhere far better than where we have been before. May God’s kingdom come - on Earth as it is in heaven.