By Sem. Robert Bigabwarugaba
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Katigondo National Major Seminary.
The Eyrie thinkers have persisted in contemplating upon these harsh times of Covid-19 and much of the lessons to draw from their sway. Most people, we should not take it for granted to pick a lesson but rather keep it upon ourselves for the well-being of our lives, humility being the most virtue to learn, it goes hand in hand with a call of fearing to sin since we can equip ourselves out of fear to get infected with the now virus. In the Theological concept, one is mandated to fear but not the fear of idiocracy but rather standing in a journey of perfection which calls for a reminder to avoid sin.
The French Bishop, Rev Roland noted in his piece that the only situation in the current stormy world “pandemic” is fear, which relates to Sarah Bossley who refers the fear of Corona Virus as almost the great threat as Covid-19 itself, the desire itself that causes death. This avails our minds with the Theological context of fearing sin as our only motivation for obedience and one way to loathe snares of death and its being.
When the first news about a mysterious pandemic in the world started emerging as early as December 2019 from China, the feelings are by definition hard to put into words, so to accurately describe the anxiety now engulfing the entire universe is extremely challenging. “Scared of fear” is not a strong enough to capture the kind of fear so many people seem to be feeling as if the heavens are falling to hit us, as good reasons to be afraid such as death due to Covid-19 are centering the confusion in most global reactions of what may happen next or the crux of the current stormy world.
Human beings naturally fear anything that is physically or emotionally threatening. We also tend to fear anything that is greater than us or different from ourselves, if there is a current phobia of Corona Virus, and we respond to it as something deadly, and what about of that sin that we don’t vividly define by understanding and both well known to have a supreme being to penalize us for its cause ‘sin’.
We are fallen and it’s easy for us to fall into sin, but also, I think the root of our fear is in belief. We have to trust a believe that God is truly in control and trust a believe that God will care for us and end up free to fearing sin which in turn costs much eternal pains in life.
The US Bishop Joseph Strickland who later called for the Eucharistic procession to fight the Corona Virus and the world leaders who called on for more prayers in response to the Corona Virus, says that it is un imaginable to close Churches. Reason being, Jesus is the fountain of all graces and Mercy, in so doing a call for repentance especially in this Pandemic era and strong feeling to reject “fear” sin a swell as pleading to Him through meditation for a changed world health situation.
The reality Is that today, more than ever before, we can control significant parts of our lives, but perhaps this sense of control is an illusion, a pebble that the Corona Virus “Covid-19” has popped revealing the reality that we are not really in control, instead we should avert our likings to God’s Commandments “fearing to break them i.e. sin” and turn to His fountain of Mercy and graces in relation to repentance and coming closer to his care and guidance.
A frequent Command given to God’s people in the OT is to “fear God” which comes in the current context of fearing sin thus avoiding near occasions of sin. It’s important that we understand what this command means for Christ’s followers today. Only as of fearing sin so as to be freed from all destructive and satanic fears. By fearing sin “evil acts” we can avoid being trapped by the natural pull towards immoral behavior.
A few decades back, a notorious Virus ‘HIV’ almost shook the world in most states that led to various deaths scenes, it should be taken humbly that most traditions pin pointed sinning against Him “sexual immorality with the then times” as the curse sent to the globe. However this did not negate sexual immorality with the birth of most scientific measures to curb down the strength of the virus, of course it was a success. It’s no doubt that the fear of sinning in the HIV era saw most Born Again Churches mushrooming preaching about salvation and a need to do away with sin, as well as calling for God’s obedience and repentance which has now been taken for granted. It should have been a great lesson in those days for mankind, let me hope we are not in the former test of needing to repent and call of fear to avoid near occasions of sin.
Leviticus 26:14-19, “But if you will not listen to me and will not do all the commands, if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commands, but break my covenant, then I will do this to you; I will visit you with panic, with wasting diseases and fever that will consume the eyes and make the heart ache and you shall sow your seed in vain.”
The aftermath of all this suffering, we shall have what to reflect on History respectively, but the account of God will still be the same. We only have to not only be mandated but also be obligated to incline our being to the precepts of God, for who shall climb the mountain of the Lord…Psalm 24, it’s our voyage in the spiritual realm that will really direct us to the true perfection on this planet earth.
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