Our Lenten Journey in a Time of the Coronavirus

In a Time of Exile

In the liturgy for Monday of the second week of Advent, we hear the early part of the long prayer of the Prophet Daniel in his ninth chapter. It is marked by deep awareness of sin and failure around the time of the Babylonian Exile around 6th century BCE.

They had lost everything they valued, their city and their king. They had broken the Covenant so often and so thoroughly that God sent them into Exile amid strange people, different faiths and religious customs.

But it was far from disastrous, though terribly painful. It also brought renewal and a fresh start, a fresh hope. the contact with other faiths enable them to understand that their Lord was not simply the God of Israel but was God of the whole world.

They learned that they were not invulnerable and imperishable simply by being God’s own people, but that they must respond as the servant of God. Ezekiel expresses this beautifully: ‘I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you. I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh (36:26).’

The Christian Exile Toward Golgotha in a Time of the Coronavirus

The Christian journey reenacted through the way of the cross of Jesus is also our journey from exile to reconciliation and forgiveness and a new, fresh hope in the times we live. The effects of this near pandemic has brought fear and uncertainty across the globe and even though it is devastating for many, like the exiles of our Jewish friends, and our alienation from Christ and God’s people, there are lessons to be learn.

Coronavirus also awakens us to the deeper call as Christians through the purification of the “way”, by calling out our best instincts – love, neighborliness, compassion and a sense of caring for every member of God’s beloved community on Earth.

Litany of the Coronavirus

Anne and Jeffery Rowthorn, resident scholars at the Collegeville Institute, wrote this litany as a special way to bring all of our prayer and concern together, no matter what faith we follow.

Out of the Depths We Cry Out to You in the Face of the Coronavirus

Creator God of the universe, God of a thousand names and faces, divine source of health and wholeness, whose compassion embraces the entire community of Earth: behold your
fearful people all over the world as we confront the coronavirus. Out of the depths we cry to you, O God. Holy God, hear our voices. Let your ear be attentive to our cries (Psalm 130:1-2, adapted) as we pray for all who may be affected by the virus:

For all health caregivers – nurses, physicians, aides, EMTs, paramedics, technicians and therapists; out of the depths, O God–We cry out to you. Protect them.

For hospital and nursing home medical staff, assistants, and housekeepers who have close contact with patients and for the patients themselves; out of the depths, O God–We cry out to you. Protect them.

For all who travel for their daily work over land and sea and through the air—flight attendants, pilots, ship captains and sailors, bus drivers, passengers and long distance truck drivers; out of the depths, O God–We cry out to you. Protect them.

For all who handle money—bankers, supermarket, village market and convenience store cashiers; out of the depths, O God–We cry out to you. Protect them.

For all who pump gas and serve customers at Interstate rest areas; out of the depths, O God– We cry out to you. Protect them.

For restaurant workers—bartenders, coffee shop baristas, cooks, servers, chefs, and dishwashers; out of the depths, O God–We cry out to you. Protect them.

For hospitality workers–hotel and motel receptionists, servers and housekeepers; out of the depths, O God–We cry out to you. Protect them.

For daycare center staff who cuddle and comfort children and for all children; out of the depths, O God–We cry out to you. Protect them.

For teachers and professors, coaches and cafeteria workers at schools and universities across the world and students everywhere; out of the depths, O God–We cry out to you. Protect them.

For the homeless huddling for warmth over steam grates and under urban bridges; out of the depths, O God–We cry to you. Protect them.

For the poor, the lonely, the vulnerable, migrants, and the isolated elderly who have no protectors; out of the depths, O God–We cry out to you. Protect them.

For clergy and people who eat the bread of life, drink from the common cup and pass thesign of peace; out of the depths–We cry out to you. Protect them.

For all who have tested positive, all who are waiting for test results, and all who are quarantined; out of the depths—We cry out to you. Protect them.

For all who have already died of the coronavirus, now free from pain and suffering. May the God of hope carry them all the way home, and comfort their families and friends; out of the
depths—We cry out to you. Protect them.

Loving God, hasten the day when the virus will have run its course; quicken scientists to develop medications and vaccines; call out the best instincts of your people—love, neighborliness, compassion, and a sense of caring for every member of your beloved community on Earth. We pray out of the depths to you, O God of hope, whom we call Jesus, Allah, YHWH, Divine Mystery, Wakan Tanka, Great Spirit.

Amen.