God Is In Our Midst
By Christina O’Brien
I can’t remember another time when my perspective on a situation changed so quickly. Or when a national issue escalated so quickly. One day, I was shocked that my students were asking me if I thought school would be cancelled, and the next I was surprised that we were still open. Another day I was disappointed to hear that masses were cancelled in other cities and the next I couldn’t believe my city hadn’t cancelled yet.
In the midst of the confusion, of course I look to the CDC and public health websites for practical information, but a few days ago, I knew spiritual nourishment was going to look different for at least a few weeks. I opted to go to Mass one last time the other week, then read the daily readings throughout the week and I’ve been struck by how God’s word this week speaks powerfully to the current global situation. Two readings in particular stand out to me with their message for a people steeped in fear, confusion, and powerlessness.
Last Sunday’s first reading, Exodus 17:3-7, the Israelites have recently left Egypt and they have been without water for three days. Three days without water. They are experiencing immense suffering and true fear that they will die. They are “grumbling” against Moses and they seem to have lost their trust in God. I don’t know that I’ve seen many people feeling this way yet, and I praise God for that, but I do see it as incredibly providential that we were alerted of this risk, of total fear and mistrust in God to deliver us in this time of trying global suffering. What I do think is quite culturally relevant is the line that the Israelites grumble: “Is the Lord in our midst or not?”
In times like these, we tend to question God’s authority. If God is real, if God is good, if God loves us, then why would he allow something like this to exist? The answer is complicated, and others before me have answered it better than I would right now (try Dominicana Journal and Word on Fire Institute to start), but the truth is that this question does resound in our modern minds, and we become tempted to believe the existentialist claims that it’s all random, survival of the fittest, and none of it matters.
But reality would tell us otherwise. First, the compassion and concern for the vulnerable that most of our human race is taking on makes it clear that there is something in us that drives us to sacrifice for others and care for the downtrodden. But God’s promises and the reality that history proves that the Lord continues to fulfill them also tells us otherwise. What we do know is that we relate to the Israelites’ question, so let’s return to Exodus.
When Moses hears the grumbling, he cries out to God. This is important - Moses cries out to God in all honesty with all his feelings and needs, as an intercessor for the Israelites as they grumble. Amazingly, or obviously, depending on where you stand at the moment, God responds. In response to Moses’ intercession, he tells Moses to use his staff to bring water forth from a lifeless rock, and when Moses trusts and follows God, it works. This should encourage us who are getting tired for interceding, and remind us that God does follow through. Three days without water, and God brings a miracle. We must not give up on our prayers.
This Exodus reading is contrasted with Tuesday’s first reading, from the book of Daniel when Azariah, an Israelite exiled in Babylon is standing in the fire, being burned alive for refusing to break Jewish law and bend to the Babylonian King’s will. Azariah stands in the fire, facing imminent death having endured years of long-suffering in Babylon. He intercedes powerfully in a seemingly impossible situation, and he sets an example for all of us in our feeling of fear and powerlessness.
As Azariah stands in the fire, he has every reason, by worldly standards, to reject his trust in God and harbor anger against him. How often had the Jews prayed for deliverance from their exile, and instead, he is being brutally killed by his oppressors. But Azariah does not grumble. Instead, he calls out to God, interceding on behalf of himself and all Israelites, asking him to “not deliver us up forever.” He speaks God’s promises aloud and praises him that he is good and unchanging.
Then, he speaks of their current situation to God. They have been brought low he says. “We have in our day no prince, prophet, or leader, no burnt offering, sacrifice, oblation, or incense, no place to offer first fruits, to find favor with you.” Sound familiar? During their exile the Jews could not pray in the temple, offer priestly sacrifice, or worship in any of the ways that the Lord had asked them to before their exile. Azariah had experienced years away from the temple, and he has some insight for those of us who are looking at weeks or months without the Mass. The “coincidence” is truly striking. I believe there is something that the Lord absolutely needs all of us to know during this time of mass cancellation and distancing.
“But with contrite heart and humble spirit
let us be received;
As though it were burnt offerings of rams and bullocks,
or thousands of fat lambs,
So let our sacrifice be in your presence today
as we follow you unreservedly”
You, daughters and sons, were baptized priest, prophet, and king. A priest stands as a bridge between humanity and God, offering sacrifices to God on behalf of man. Azariah’s contrite heart and humble spirit, which is deeper than his will, his fear, and his pain, are his sacrifice to God, and as the psalms say countless times, this is more valuable to God than any burnt offering.
The Lord desires that our sacrifice in his presence, in our homes, is to follow him unreservedly. Now is not the time to sacrifice by taking the risk of attending a public Mass or ignoring social distancing recommendations. Now is the time to offer him our whole hearts, submitting obediently to authority, and trusting in him unreservedly, no matter how afraid we are.
As Azariah stands in the fire, he speaks as one who is triumphant. He knows what God can do. He doesn’t know that he will do it in the way Azariah expects or hopes. But it’s enough for him that he knows who his God is. He does not require that God does what he wants in order to trust in him. Reading this prayer, you get the impression that Azariah would say this whether he believed he would die in the next few minutes or be delivered up. He is not praising God for saving him and he’s not even asking God to save him personally. He’s praising him for being unchangingly good, beyond what can be measured by a number of positive or negative events in the world, and he’s asking him to save his people in his own time. As he stands in the fire, he victoriously proclaims:
“Those who trust in you cannot be put to shame.
And now we follow you with our whole heart,
we fear you and we pray to you.
Do not let us be put to shame,
but deal with us in your kindness and great mercy.
Deliver us by your wonders,
and bring glory to your name, O Lord.”
This is the end of the Mass reading, which is powerful for us when we see the analogy between Azariah’s situation and COVID-19. Does he survive or not? In the Church’s wisdom and God’s providence, the answer is not given in the reading. We are asked to trust like Azariah. In that moment, he did not know if he would be saved from the fire or not.
But if you’ve read the book of Daniel (or watched one of the greatest Veggie Tales episodes of all time), you know that God does save Azariah and his two friends, all three of whom were thrown into the fire. In yet another paradox of Christianity, it is our total abandonment and powerlessness before God that bears power in the world. I don’t know what God’s plan is in this crisis. But I know I’ve already seen him show up. I also know that the faith of so many Christians is being edified and their prayers amplified.
Now is the time for us to make a total gift of ourselves to the Lord. Abandoning ourselves to the current situation, trusting in God and praising him through it all, is abandonment to the will of God, which builds up God’s kingdom on earth, even in the midst of crisis. So brothers and sisters, when you watch the news or scroll social media, and you hear the question resound in your mind, “is God in our midst or not?” think of Azariah, and how God delivered him up, both in the short and long term. Think of how Azariah’s dreams of deliverance would be blown out of the water by God’s plan to Incarnate himself, offer himself as a final living sacrifice, and then conquer death permanently in his resurrection. We are living that reality now, no matter how many viruses attack, and nothing can take away his victory. Yes, God is in our midst, he is good, loving, and worthy of praise, yesterday, today, and forever.
