Which biblical narrative best describes this current COVID-19 crisis: Exodus or Exile?
With the Govenor’s stay-at-home order, life’s been turned upside down. Many businesses are closed and churches no longer offer public worship services. It’s tempting to think of the crisis to be like the Babylonian exile. The Israelites were taken away to a foreign land and no longer had the familiar places to live, work, play, and pray.
As tempting as it may be to look at the restrictions as a forced exile, it might be better to identify our present plight as an Exodus. Like the Exodus, it’s going to be a long and difficult trek for us across a hostile landscape, but in the end God is going to show us to a better place.
Perhaps it’s both Exodus and Exile. As we approach Holy Week, we turn to the passion of Christ which magnificently combines the two grand biblical themes. Jesus, exiled from his heavenly home into our foreign land, became the way for all to return home to the Father. Jesus, the lamb that was slain, completed his Exodus by way of Calvary and thereby paved the path for all to enter the promised land.
Whether Exodus or Exile, uniting our hearts and minds to the passion of Christ may be the key to make sense of the world around us, and ultimately guide us through these difficult times into a better place.
