Look instead for what God can do.
–John 9: 4 (The Message)
Watch what God does, and then you do it…
-Ephesians 5: 1 (The Message)

 

By Ginny Schaeffer, Director of the Angela Merici Center, a ministry of the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville

Some would say that God is doing nothing but allowing one more plague to run rampant around the globe killing hundreds-of-thousands, if not millions. This is just one more example of God’s callous disregard for the human life God supposedly created. Just add it to the list of all the other times that God has not intervened to stop war, end world hunger, bring poverty to a screeching halt, cure the Black Death, cancer, HIV/Aids, or Covid-19 or put a stop to child abuse and human trafficking.

Nothing could be further from the truth. God is an opportunist and will use anyone and everyone to bring healing to this world. As followers of Christ, we trust that God is incarnational. God acts and moves through what God has created, including us. We believe, hopefully not only with our intellect but also deep within our hearts, that Jesus was fully human and fully divine. We trust that Jesus allowed the divinity within him, and that is within us, to be fully manifested through him. Through his life and teachings Jesus showed us that we too are created to allow God’s nature to flow through us and out to others. It doesn’t matter who or what we are—rich, middle-class or poor, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, agnostic or atheist, Caucasian, Latino, of African or Asian heritage or native/indigenous peoples, educated or illiterate. Each and every one of us is created to reflect the image of the Creator and to allow the nature of the Creator to be manifested through us.

All we have to do is turn on the news to see this being lived out in real time:

  • Just like the firefighters who raced into the Twin Towers on 9/11, healthcare providers walk into the fire day-after-day to care for people they don’t know.
  • Cafeteria staff at schools and volunteers at senior citizen centers, homeless shelters and community ministries are working tirelessly to ensure that children and other vulnerable members of our society do not go hungry.
  • Scientist around the world are working around the clock to find a vaccine and treatments to save lives.
  • Custodians, house-keepers and janitors are cleaning hospitals, manufacturing plants, offices and other areas so that those with essential jobs are safe to work.

The list could go on and on. All we have to do is open our eyes to see the awesome sacrifices that so many are making for each and every one of us: the long-haul truck drivers, warehouse workers, grocery clerks, garbage collectors and all those who keep our infrastructure working – I told you the list could go on.

Jesus once told his disciples, “Blessed are you who have eyes that see and ears that hear.” If you are wondering where God is in this horrendous, global catastrophe then I implore you to ask God/the Source/the Universe, whatever you call the Divine, for eyes that see and ears that hear. God is all around us and acting for our good.

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