I think it’s normal for people to recall the faith of Biblical heroes like Daniel when they think about this whole mess. Daniel who defied the government and praised God anyway. I think it’s normal for people to think “this is the time that I can step out in faith and show my devotion to God”. But in this madness of COVID19, it is Christ’s words which speak the most to me:
Matthew 22:36-40
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
You can love God even when you’re away from your church brethren, but you are not showing love for your neighbor by hosting or participating in large gatherings during this crisis. Daniel didn’t have a large population with him to praise God either. He did it alone, and in defiance of a government that told him to worship another. You can do this alone too, sitting in the contemplation of what it must have been like for the Israelites in exile to find their own ways of preserving their faith. You aren’t being told to worship another, you’re being asked to show love for your neighbors.
