and within the limitations of being human. Jesus was empowered by the Spirit of God who descended on him at the Jordan. The same Spirit is granted to us to act with power within the limitations imposed by Covid-19. While these limitations operate, God has given us other resources. While physical closeness is blocked we have many alternate ways of making contact with those around and make a difference to the world around. During the grieving phase we made an offering to God: an offering of painful thoughts, emotions and behaviour. What is offered is transformed and healed by God. Once we accept the losses, we are invited to make another offering: the offering of what is left with us. We have two good eyes to look at the world beyond the two meters distance with the compassion of Jesus. We need to offer our eyes to God for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Full of the Holy Spirit, we may look at those in pain with the same compassion with which Jesus looked at and healed people in pain. The world will then see in our eyes the compassion of God. We have two good ears to listen to what the world is communicating to us. Spirit filled listening to the agonies of the world has enormous healing power. We also are left with our voice. We may offer our speech to God for it to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that we may modulate our voice and speak with the compassion of Jesus. Our brains are intact for us to think and come up with ideas to solve problems: our own problems and those around us. Spirit filled thinking is a powerful resource in solving problems, big and small. We have a lot more intangible dimensions of our personality, which Covid has not taken away. When they are offered to God, they are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. The special charismata for any ministry come from God. When the Holy Spirit descends on the church in the Covid and post-Covid era, we are granted special charismata to minister to people suffering in this new era. In the power of the Holy Spirit what is left is enough and more. Just as five loaves of bread and two fish were more than enough for five thousand to fill their stomachs, the compassionate thoughts, eyes, ears words, and deeds in the power of the Holy Spirit are more than enough to witness to the power of God unto salvation. 4 From Domination to Relationship An important part of coping with Covid-19 is to ask deeper questions about the way the Homo sapiens have been relating to mother Earth and it’s other inhabitants. Our life style and ways of relating are to be reviewed in the light of the model displayed by God while he lived on earth in human form. With advancements in science and technology human potential to dominate the earth and our fellow creatures became more pronounced. Science and technology became an added tool of exploitation for the Western countries over the Asian, African and South American countries. Covid-19 is a powerful reminder to the moderns that there are limits to science and
technology. Nature is capable of retaliating when we abuse science for domination over the earth and its inhabitants. Covid-19 is inviting humans to repent about the craze for domination and come back to a responsible relationship with mother Earth and our siblings on earth who arrived before humans came on the scene. The craving for dominion makes human blind. Human resources, particularly the resources of science and technology, have been abused for exploitation all through history. Those with superior technology have repeatedly utilized it to exploit those lower down in technological development. During the industrial revolution those who had access to the tools of science and technology used it to exploit the poor in each country. The same resources were used to establish colonial rule across the globe and exploit, oppress and dominate those they ruled over. The people were treated like slaves and the resources of these countries were plundered. Industrial revolution was a period of rapid scientific advancement as well as ruthless exploitation. The end of the colonial era did not mark the end of exploitation. In the post-colonial era globalization simply enabled the continuation of domination, exploitation and plundering through the multi-national corporations (MNCs). In this new era of globalization, the rulers of the developing countries are simply pawns in the hands of the MNCs. The rulers dance to the tune of the MNCs, yielding to policy decisions that facilitate continued exploitation of the people and the resources of the developing countries by the richer countries. The MNCs are like giant trees with their trunk in the first world and the network of roots in the developing countries to suck away their resources. In this era of globalization colonialism continues under a mask. The need of the globe is a new international economic order which ensures greater justice to less wealthy countries and those with lower levels of technological development. We are invited to cope with pandemics by shifting to an international economic order in which the richer countries stop domination and start respectful relationships with the rest of the world. 5 Conclusions Significant loss, whether temporary or permanent lead to grief. Meaningful and healthy grieving enables us to say bye to what is lost and to reconstruct life in a new way. The strength to grieve is to be found in the company of God. Grief offered is grief transformed. Biding bye to what is lost enables us to be emotionally free from the pain associated with what is lost. With that newfound freedom we are liberated to realistically assess what we are left with and to deploy our resources to cope with the challenges of living. Covid-19 has not taken away everything from us. There is enough and more left with us to make life meaningful. Our new way of coping also demands that we look at ourselves from the perspective of the mandate given to us by God to relate and nurture and not dominate and abuse. A just international economic order and eco-friendly living helps us cope best and is the best bet against future pandemics.
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