Pandemic Positives

Holy Spirit teaches us the positives of the pandemic

05/17/2020

John 14:15-21 - Jesus said to his disciples: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him. But you know him, because he remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”

Let me share a few humorous memes I received lately. One read: “People keep asking, ‘Is COVID 19 really that serious?’ Listen up. Casinos and churches are closed. When heaven and hell both agree on the same thing, it’s probably serious.” My apologies to Cherokee Nation for that one. Here’s a second one: “Breaking News: Wearing a mask inside your home is now highly recommended. Not so much to prevent COVID-19, but to stop eating.” Here’s the last one: “To all the grandparents who are missing their grandchildren. When this is over, you can have them for a month. Promise.” This epidemic has provided endless inspiration for funny memes. And that’s a good thing because laughter can lighten the mood in these dark days of this pandemic.

Do you know that it has been exactly two months since we stopped celebrating public Masses? Our last Sunday Masses were on March 15, and our first public Masses will be May 16. Do you remember where you were when you heard the news that we would no longer have public Masses? I do. On Thursday, March 12, I had gone to Christ the King to help with confessions, and Fr. Juan Guido told me about the bishop’s decision. My first reaction was, “Yay! Vacation time for me!” No, I didn’t really say that. Rather, I felt a deep sinking feeling in my stomach. Why? Well, spiritually-speaking, the Church had entered into a protracted period of penance, a long and languishing Lent, fasting from the Food of angels. Isn’t it odd how easily, even eagerly, we remember tragedies and troubles? Human beings have a knack for knowing the bad news, while we are fast to forget the good news. We would rather share gossip about others than the gospel about Jesus Christ. The human head is sort of hard-wired for bad news.

Today’s gospel reading is taken from John 14, where Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit upon his apostles. Jesus describes the work of the Holy Spirit as inspiring us to remember the Good News. He explains: “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit…will bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” Jesus came to give us the Good News, but our brains are too busy bothering about the bad news. So, we need the Holy Spirit to “rewire” our hard-wired heads, so we recall the good more than the bad. One of my favorite scriptures in the whole bible is Phil. 4:8. It reads: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” When our heads are hot-wired by the Holy Spirit, we remember Phil. 4:8, and we are far more interested in the gospel than in gossip.

Folks, let me give you a little holy homework today, with the help of the Holy Spirit. Try to think of three positives that this pandemic has produced. Have you noticed how easy it is to find the negatives, just turn on the news or listen to your hardwired head. The work of the Spirit, on the other hand, is to remind us of the Good News: what Jesus had done and continues to do in our lives. Here are three positives I have personally found in this pandemic. First, I can grow a beautiful beard, and it makes me look smart and distinguished. At least I can look that way; after all, image is everything. Second, my family has started a tradition of Facetime every Sunday evening now and we talk a lot more than we did before. My mom says it feels like we’re all sitting at the kitchen table, and at the end of the call, she feels like I just went upstairs.

And third, I’ve finished putting together a bible study on the book of Revelation called “Apocalypse Now.” The world is obviously about to end, and we should study Revelation to get ready. I’m just kidding. Seriously, though, I would not have had the time for the research required for that bible study without the pause in pastoral ministry during this pandemic. The last two months have been like a sabbatical for me. I didn’t even ask the bishop’s permission for the time off.

My friends, even though some of us are back at Mass, this pandemic is far from over. In the meantime, where do your thoughts tend to roam: are you giving into your knack for the negative or are you perceiving the positive? Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to remind us of everything Jesus told us, and what he told us was the Good News. There is a lot of Good News around us today, and the Spirit can help you see it, right after you send your kids to the grandparents.

Praised be Jesus Christ!