CLOSING THOUGHTS

A couple of days ago I received a call from a dear friend asking if he might share a “theological question” he had been grappling with. He wanted my input based on my personal beliefs. Might I say that this gentleman has been a lifelong member of a traditional congregation, but in the past two years he found that something was lacking and there were things he professed to believe which he had come to realize he did not believe. As a result of my writings, we have had many deeply meaningful explorative conversations about spirituality in general. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity to discuss another aspect of the journey toward spiritual maturity.

Most of you know me well enough that you don’t doubt that I latched on to this request like the proverbial dog who will not let go of the bone. And in this case, the bone was the name for the question given to me. I wrote, edited, researched, wrote more, and edited more. This was my total focus for two days. I realized the second day into this challenge that the day had moved from early morning to mid-afternoon and I was still in my pajamas, fully absorbed in my “answer” to the question asked.

I approached my response by making clear the importance of my explaining about how my words originated from my personal understanding of God. Only then did I feel okay in approaching the question. (Nothing about me is based in “theology!”) Here are some of the points I chose to present about my understanding of “God”:

First of all, God is not a humanoid character who observes from afar “his” creation and makes judgment calls, keeps “naughty or nice” lists, and doles out punishment for those who don’t please “him.”

As humans evolved they developed a dualistic mindset in order to make sense to them of the world around them. Things became “good or bad,” right or wrong,” and now we seem to organize human beings into the damning categorization of “us and them.” Before there were more scientific methods of explaining the natural events which a human being experiences, people wanted an answer to the “Why” question…Why would this terrible disease be unleashed on the world? The obvious answer would be contrived from the “good and bad” precepts. The image of an angry, vengeful God seems quite reasonable to pin the fault on. God just got out his “smite stick” and whacked us for some unknown failing. God is good and humans are bad…make sense?

I just happen to view “God” as good, of God as Love, of God expressing through the majesty of creation. At some most opportune time, God’s enormous, all-encompassing Love became too large to be contained and exploded, thus began the story of the Universe. Since I also view the Universe (a name I use interchangeably with God) as functioning in absolute perfect order and harmony; I would even say that it is in absolute divine order; then there is no way I can view this crisis (as it seems to us) as out of order.

The matter that was formed from this Love Explosion took with it encoded holograms of the Creator. Thus, nothing is separate from God. Every particle of the Universe as we know it contains the spark of divine love from which it arose. Thus, my perception of God includes all that is, and from that point of view, even the virus contains that spark.

Here are just a few of my thoughts that seem a more reasonable explanation of our current condition to me than that of an angry God:

There have been warning signs that Nature has provided for us over a very long period of time so that we might self-correct our course. This is excerpted from Undark.org:

Animal die-offs of massive proportions are becoming more frequent. Global change — which includes human-caused changes in climate, land use, fire regimes, and other things — may largely be to blame for the increased frequency and intensity of mass mortality events across all kinds of animals.

This was the case in 2015 when unseasonably warm and humid weather allowed a normally benign bacteria to wipe out 200,000 saiga antelope in Kazakhstan in just a few weeks. Similarly, a single lightning strike killed 323 reindeer in 2016, and another 200 starved last year at once after unseasonable rain left an impenetrable layer of ice covering their food. And, for five years in a row, tens of thousands of starved sea birds have washed up in Alaska. These are just a few recent examples.

Science has documented mountains of validated occurrences showing the destructive effects of so many of our greed-motivated actions that have cruelly impacted the health of the planet. These important messages given to us from God, Mother Nature, or whatever name you wish to attach to the natural world, have been largely discounted by those in leadership roles who could make a difference in the outcome, but choose rather, based only on the desire to acquire more money, power, and control, to do nothing that would benefit the planet, or benefit those who are marginalized and considered expendable/disposable.

Our failings are great…we are ”missing the mark” as is one way that sin may be defined. It would be a simple way to abdicate our responsibilities for creating this dark hole into which we have fallen if we could point our collective accusatory fingers at an angry, vengeful old white man perched on a throne in the sky. It’s a very primitive way of deflecting responsibility to any power outside of our control. Thus, we take on the “victim” role…That is, “We are being harmed through no fault of our own.”

I have said since the onset of this disease, that the pandemic is simply Nature making a correction in our course of evolution. The humans inhabiting this lovely blue marble we call planet Earth that is hurling through space, have destroyed the Garden of Eden, which I think is the name for the pure, undisturbed glory of the planet’s early life. For the longest time, I have “known” that a point will be reached when Nature will step in and save the planet…it may not be our species that is part of that saving process. It is far more important for the planet to survive than for us to continue to wreak havoc on the Earth. And we don’t seem to be prone to changing our behaviors.

As is my penchant, I have gone on and on without a definitive answer to the initial question about God participating in the COVID-19 pandemic, circling around the fundamental question first posed. If that question only asked if God is participating in this disease visited on humanity, then my answer would have to be yes. Yes, because God’s essence is intricately woven into each particle of creation. So, participating (an active part of), Yes.

If, as I read this question which seems to come from Old Testament teachings of a separate God who is spiteful and punishing, sending everything from tsunamis to viruses upon his creation as an act of revenge for “sin,” then my answer is an unquestionable “NO.” We (human beings) have – perhaps unwittingly - set up the perfect storm to enable this and other huge calamities to flourish. For the most part, we have separated ourselves from the great web of life, or the interconnectedness of all that is. We have disregarded the physical and mystical world around us, and that separation is now birthing the circumstances which we have nurtured and in many cases, worshiped.

The Bible is a wonderful collection of prose and poetry mostly written from a metaphorical viewpoint. It was the appropriate vehicle for reaching those it was intended to reach. But as it manifests in everything, evolution is a constant. The messages of the Scripture hold valuable tools, beautiful inspiration, but when viewed as unchanged (not evolved), it has less and less value.

The asking of the precipitating question has provided a magnificent platform or framework for me to visit the current pandemic and related offshoots of that crisis, as well as my own personal sufferings. It proves to be a very timely gift and for the gift of diving deep into the abyss of suffering is something I am grateful for.

As Julian of Norwich said, “May all manner of things be well.”

Great Blessings shall cover you and yours.

Namaste,

Mimi

PS: this question has propelled me into the rereading of the Book of Job. I am exploring it via the Good News Bible which provides a translation/interpretation of the scripture in modern language. I will then reread the Oxford Annotated Bible in older, more traditional language. I encourage you to look anew at Job’s story. Read between the lines and see if you can move the dialogues into our world of today. It appears to me to be a timeless story.