June 2, 2021
Things are changing.
People are in different places.
Go easy on one another.
Just as our world changed rapidly in back in March, 2020, our world is changing again in these days of widely available vaccines for covid-19. What the world is becoming, we do not yet know. In some ways it is a return to life as we knew it in 2019. But in other ways the world has dramatically changed.
What I do know is that people are in very different places. Some folks have received the vaccine; they are healthy, and they are excited to return to big gatherings. Very good. This is exciting. Other people still live with greater caution. Perhaps their immune systems are not as strong, or they care for people who are still more at risk. Young children are not yet eligible for the vaccine. And many people have become more cautious after more than a year of practice.
So, whatever your state of readiness may be, remember that others are in different places, and go easy on one another. Be gracious about differences. Check in with friends and family and neighbors about what makes them comfortable.
For some people, venturing out to the store or another public place will be difficult at first because of the memories that these first outings evoke. The first time back will sometimes give rise to memories of past losses in a new way.
So go easy on one another.
There’s actually a very helpful model for us in an obscure part of the New Testament. This is a passage that we hardly ever pay attention to, because Paul is offering guidance for a Christian church that is divided on whether to eat meat that has been offered to the idols of familial or neighborhood cults (the relevance of this issue for us is not immediately apparent). At the time, some Christians thought it unfaithful to participate in these meals. Other Christians said that the cultic practices don’t amount to much, and it was fine to share that meal. It was a brand new dilemma, and they were at odds about it.
Paul acknowledges that things are changing, and people are in different places. He tells them to go easy on each other. He agrees that it’s okay to eat that meat, because he knows that those idols don’t really exist. But being right is not the same thing as loving. Paul wrote to them that “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Corinthians 8:1). The loving thing to do is to abstain from the meal, in order to move at the speed of everyone’s comfort.
Things are changing.
People are in different places.
Go easy on one another.
It may mean wearing a mask in certain places, even if you are ready to be done with the mask. It may mean allowing room for distancing, and asking people if they are shaking hands yet, or hugging yet. It may mean remembering that not everyone had the same experience during this last year. Some people are carrying burdens of loss, trauma, and worry.
So go easy on one another. Be understanding. Leave a margin of grace.
Peace,
