Pandemic and the human condition

In the relative quiet of our mandated ‘stay at home’ status, you get to notice things. Much is being written about such noticing, and I see photos documenting the new - if temporary - world order. One of my favourites was the picture of a man outside in the quiet with recording equipment capturing the sounds you never hear in the din. This is a nice metaphor for the listening we have been able to do while being still. Such is the case with me, anyhow.

And in this quiet time I love noticing dots connect. This time it started with the church being closed to all activities and Mass being streamed. You could attend Mass in the comfort of your home. In your pajamas if you wish. You did not have to worry about the schedule. If you missed the original streaming, it would still be there as a video later. I marvelled at the convenience. At the same time I wondered if the lifting of any formal requirement to attend church would erode church attendance further than it is. We know that attendance has been falling even apart from this new reality.

It happened that I was reading an intriguing paper written by an Anglican clergy friend of mine (thanks David!). It is on the evolution of post-modernism as it relates to Western religion and spirituality. Think of the Modern period as beginning around the industrial revolution in the 19th century. Think of the Post-Modern period as beginning after the world wars and really picking up steam in the 1950's and beyond. In recent years the author notes the influence of internet-based social media communication, and the instant flavour of messages. For example, research has shown that our attention span has decreased from an average of 12 minutes to around 5 minutes. A one second delay in the loading of a Google response results in greatly diminished readership of an item.

In the post-modern world, communications are there to serve us and satisfy our needs. They are generally one way (announcements) and implicitly say ‘respond to me,’ not so much with more information, but to ‘like (me).’

In that context, the ‘father-knows-best’ model of church authority (which in some instances evolved unchecked [read: clericalism] into ‘father-knows-all’), has given way to a tendency to look for a group that thinks the way I do. I become my own centre and have no need for a church experience or church teaching. And yet it turns out that people are interested in spirituality as much as ever. But spirituality devoid of religion. At one time those two were interchangeable.

So goes the argument. If all that is valid, then the pandemic reality that is ours right now has merely intersected a phenomenon that was already well entrenched.

I pondered my own experience of not being able to get into the church while all this was on. The sense of convenience with Mass attendance has given way to a longing. Something is missing, no matter how well done the Mass streaming (and I really like ours at St. Paul’s). What is missing is the community. And the sense of belonging, both before and after Mass. Something about being my own centre doesn’t sit right. Something about composing my own post-modern theology or my own rules or my own detached spirituality doesn’t work. Neither does experiencing the liturgy of Eucharist from afar. I have come to see that during this forced absence. I and a whole lot of other people are hungry for the experience and that is why we watch the streamed version. But our hunger stems from missing the engagement that you get when you are in the presence not only of the community but of the spoken word and the liturgical movements that have been handed to us - gifted to us - over many many centuries.  It matters that we are there for them rather than remaining a step removed from them.

Into these ponderings came an article sent to me out of the blue by a cousin - thanks Christine! It appeared in the Globe and Mail and was written by Randy Boyagoda Principal of St. Michael’s College. It was titled ‘Metaphysical distancing: Have we isolated ourselves from God, too?’ Mr. Boyagoda talks about being deprived of the most taken-for-granted experience of being able to intentionally spend time with God and others. “In the midst of this, I intensely miss the transformative sensory experiences of being in church, especially at this time of the year.” (Holy Week and Easter). He put that well! That’s what I have been missing and what I sense is wrong with making do as we are. He goes on to say that with the distractions in the house and with the ability to move around in the house while the streaming is on, there is the danger that religious rituals will start to feel pointless. Mr. Boyagoda closes with this lovely reflection: “Does that mean we should abandon millennia-old, ever-fresh ways of knowing and being known by God and one another? Does that mean giving up on such abiding and durable sources of sacrificial love and solidarity? Absolutely not.”

Still another dot got connected in this sequence. This one came in the form of an article in the Toronto Star by Brandie Weikle titled ‘Social distancing shows nuclear family doesn’t work.’ My back was up before I started reading because I thought it was going to be a quintessential post-modern reflection on the next step in the evolution of ‘me’ wherein I do not even need my family. To my delight, it went in a very different direction. The point of the article was that in this pandemic time when parents are juggling many balls in the air and living the tension of paying bills, managing work schedules and so on, the disconnected life we are being forced to live deprives us of our best resources - our extended family!  She quotes a professor who stated that humans evolved to live in groups no smaller than 15-25 in number. This number made the group sustainable. The author quotes another woman as saying, “If my mother was here, she would know exactly what I needed or wanted.” Beautiful. The discussion continues with the author musing about how we will come out of the social restrictions we are in right now. We have the opportunity to rethink how to live a more connected life. A life that especially implicates family, and even includes things like larger family groups living under one roof.

The coming together of these dots affirms, I think, that being in ‘community’ is a basic need for humans, no matter our evolution towards the immediate and the disconnected. We don’t have to be prisoners of that evolution. We have a chance to step back and reflect and learn from the pandemic experience. While the scientists are discovering prevention and cure for the disease, the rest of us can be (re)discovering our need for each other and for transformative experiences. Religion is part of that. Religion and spiritual practices in the form of community participation in liturgies, are part of that. 

With the dots seemingly connecting like this, I am grateful for what the pandemic, tragedy that it is, has let us see and hear. I am excited by what it has to offer for the continuing course of our evolution. Will historians call the next decades the Post-pandemic Age? We - you and I - have a chance to shape it, in any case, not just watch it. That goes for our religious leaders as well! Pay attention, yes?

Best wishes to everyone.