Jesus and
Social Distancing
This blog
partially fulfills the required coursework for TR5001 Public Theology. The
course taught by Dr. Demian Wheeler is offered at United Theological Seminary
of the Twin Cities in St. Paul, MN. The blog having multiple parts will share
my thoughts and provide theological support on exploring the question, "Where
is the Church in COVID-19."
Social
distancing is an unfortunate term. Though it makes a great sound bite, it
is too reminiscent of our histories of "othering" and the tragedies
perpetrated in the name of social distancing. I suppose physical distancing as
a motto was just not sexy enough. It does not roll off the tongue as easily as
social distancing. While recent commercials and public service announcements
have attempted to clarify social distancing as the recommended six-feet
distance between people, the term has already caught on. Fueling the sense that
we are distancing ourselves socially, is the fact that restaurants are bars are
closed to eat-in and drink-in traffic. The truth is that something else is also
occurring socially, and by socially, I mean societally and culturally.
Social distancing, while well-meaning,
has had adverse effects. One would expect covering one's face to have an equalizing
impact on the population. This has not been true in the United States. This is
because everything, and I mean everything in the United States, is filtered
through its system of otherism.[1]
Otherism relegates a human being to a non-person status.
People, already treated as others
and hypervisible because of skin tone and facial features, have been made even
more visible by orders to "shelter in." Othered people with so-called
Asian features have become targets for violence. Othered Black and Brown people,
more visible because they work in essential industries, are targeted both for
wearing masks and for refusing to wear a mask. All are more susceptible to becoming
infected because they work in industries not currently set up to allow for
six-foot distances between workers and because they also live in neighborhoods not
always provided with adequate access to health services.
Jesus
also lived in a time in which otherism was systemic. Otherism was
practiced as a part of religious purity and socially. Strict rules existed regarding
with whom to socialize and who to touch and not to touch. The stories of Jesus'
ministry recorded in the Gospels tell us that Jesus broke the rules of social distancing,
whether enacted to provide religious purity or enacted as a part of societal
distancing. Many of the charges leveled against Jesus included his habit of
being in the presence of sinful people. The writers of the Gospels of Matthew,
Mark, and Luke record the Pharisees questioning Jesus' practice of socially interacting
with tax collectors and sinners.[2] Jesus'
habit was to confront otherism by offering others' seats at his table, by
inviting them into to be in close contact with him, by using them as examples
of Godly living, and by physically touching them.[3]
Jesus does not break these rules of
societal distancing because he is an anarchist. Jesus believes in following
rules (Mk. 12:17), but Jesus makes it clear that there are religious and systemic
practices that are wrong. The ruler used to determine that practices are wrong is
when a practice is used to deny others access to the community, to grace, and God.
Additionally, Jesus' actions argue that the effect criminalizing an individual,
a group, or a practice or of using the label sinner denies a person access
to the same living conditions, economic benefits, healthcare, and mobility
enjoyed by the so-called holy. I submit by breaking specific laws of purity,
Jesus was arguing that when religious laws create hierarchies and power
structures that deny access to grace, those laws are neither holy nor do they
provide a path to purity. I further submit that when our holy practices are
used to deny access to grace, those who practice purity become less holy than
those who they have identified as sinners.
There was a
point being made by Jesus' choices to break purity laws that advocated social
distancing. The point being made is not about washing hands, maintaining a
distance of 6-feet between you and non-household members, or not participating
in groups of more than ten. Jesus is advocating the evaluation and re-evaluation
of systemic societal distancing that separate our society into haves and have
nots, insiders and outsiders, the holy and the holy, the touchable, and the
untouchable.
This evaluation and re-evaluation
of our systemic ways of social distancing are essential for those of us in
religious settings. As religious leaders, our talk is often peppered with
wide-eyed statements using the terms radical welcome and invitation.
What is often missed in the living out of our sound bite commitments is an
intense conversation about systemic social distancing that prevents radical
welcome or invitation. Perhaps we should begin with the revelation to the Apostle
Peter in the book of Acts,
chapter 10. Through visions and face-to-face experiences, Peter discovered
that followers of Christ should not call anything that God has created,
unclean. I would extend this interpretation to include not just anything but anyone
God has created.
The Church, in my opinion, has been
mostly silent on justice in ministering in this season of COVID-19. Most
congregations have been preoccupied with how to stream their worship services
and how to recover lost income due to the lack of face-to-face contact with
financial supporters. Yet, it is the Church that is uniquely called to live out
the ministry of Jesus. Loving God with all of our hearts, souls, and strength, and
our neighbor as ourselves[4] is antithetical to criminalizing and denying
others access to the good things our country has to offer.
I will admit efforts to make and distribute
masks is a wonderful endeavor, but there is much, much more that needs to be
done. Letters and phone calls need to be made to our leaders in government and
our police department superintendents. The retailers and those in power in transportation
need to be called out for practicing otherism. This is precisely the time when the
Church needs to use its voice and ability to call for justice. We have the time.
We have the means. What's left now is the courage to use our influence to right
the wrongs of society. The Church needs to stop complaining and worrying about
its survival and start prioritizing the survival of God's creation, humans,
included, just like Jesus did.
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