Nothing happens without a reason

This has become a very common and popular saying among people. Being expressed in the negative it sounds hallow. The positive form sounds immediate and real: “Everything that happens has a reason.”

As it sounds now for Church people it stands as a moral and spiritual principle of Christian belief and especially of Christian living. It therefore has a Scriptural basis, which is reassuring. We are not talking here about the marvels of human science where reasons for cause and effect are easily proven.

And during the present global pandemic caused by Covid-19 it has served as an answer to the question, “Why does God allow such a calamity to happen?” The answer is, “Everything happens with a reason.” But what is the reason? No one knows. Only God knows. But we don’t stop there.

Many people are trying to speculate, to guess, and even to use the Bible claiming there is already a proof, a prophecy, in the Book of Revelation. Revelations? Prophecies? Yes, there are; but they are about the so-called End Times or end of the world. And the symbolic language of the Book does not point to a strict prediction of realizable events according to exegetes. Mark 13:32 is clearer: “But as for that day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son; no one but the Father.”

Now applying the above principle (“Everything happens…”), we can use the following verse 33 for our reflection, prayer and spiritual activity during the present crisis. Verse 33: “Be on your guard, stay awake, because you never know when the time will come.”

During the crisis our spiritual reflection may dwell then on the expressions, “Be on your guard” and “Stay awake.”

Without thinking of the end of the world, what could “being on guard” mean in practical terms? When we are ignorant of what would happen next moment in our daily living, it is safe, prudent, and wise not to make judgmental comments. This is because we have no absolute, no comprehensive, no all-encompassing knowledge of everything, of every person, of every happening, and of every event. Certainly this attitude and inner disposition is possible when one is truly awake, truly alert, truly aware, and truly attentive as Jesus advises in the Gospel of Mark.

Our reflection and prayer in imitation of Jesus we now address to the All-knowing God Our Father so that His will, which we do not know, would “be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

So, can we get close to knowing something of God’s will by being Awake, Alert, Aware? Is it possible to experience such intimacy in moments like this happening called Covid-19? The answer is Yes. I will try to explain it in the next Shalom.