“Return to normal”, people are saying. But what is normal and what have we learnt in lockdown and in the past fifteen months? We may have learnt that we don’t like being alone – isolated; but perhaps for some that has been quite attractive. We have learnt to ‘stick to the rules’ even as many have thwarted those rules – an intrusion, they might say, to their freedom. Churches, and other places of worship, have struggled with the idea of being excluded from their buildings; worshippers have not been allowed to gather in great numbers, or sing, or serve teas.
I wonder if we have learnt that we are dependant on one another; that our freedoms often come at a cost to other people’s freedom. That doing what we want can endanger others. Should we now be planning how we can change ourold ways, into ways that benefit the community. If we are to break the pattern of this virus, including how it can change and turn into a stronger, more dangerous virus, should we not be considering how we can make vaccinations go to the wider world, rather than stockpiling them for our own.
We are challenged as never before, but if we can learn from our experience and be a tad more generous, maybe the world will change, and not return to what was ‘normal’ but return to a new way of living that gives fullness of life for all people.
Jesus said: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)