We Are the Drowning Man

 

The Numbers Are Staggering

There’s an essay in Sojourners by Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg where she observes reactions to “In America: Remember.” She’s the social practice artist who created the vast field of flags: one for each person who died from COVID-19. 

We’ve become numb to the statistics.

In the United States:

• ·        825 thousand deaths
• ·        55 million cases.

Worldwide:

• ·       5.4 million deaths
• ·        2 88 million cases

When Brennan Firstenberg completed the installation in mid September there were over 666 thousand deaths. By the time installation closed in early October there just over 701 thousand deaths.

“Watching Strangers Console Strangers – Was the Magic of the Place.”

Brennan Firstenberg, who is a hospice volunteer, brings a willingness to witness grief to this art. “We treat the one sure thing in all our lives as if it is never going to happen.” “There is a flag dedicated to a woman named Kitty: ‘I asked you to get vaccinated, but you said, God will protect me.  The vaccine is from God. You passed the end of July.’ I love the flag dedicator’s more wholistic understanding of God – That God works through people, and science, and society."

Waiting for the Miracle

For those of us holding out for God to save us, look up the parable of the drowning man. There are several versions of the story in Christianity, the Jewish Faith and Buddhism. In all of them a pious person declines the help of those who offer to save him. He is waiting instead for God to intercede on his behalf. When he dies, he asks why God did not try to save him? The reply is, God sent the rescuers to save him on the expectation he would accept the help. 

When I read that, I am not overwhelmed by a sense of self-righteousness. Instead, I feel a sense of sadness. I understand and am reminded that I'm being called to do something about our perilous situation. Listening to the preacher extoll, “God is always with you.” His declaration is not our armor against the pandemic. According to reporter Andrew Quintana, On Dec. 19, New York City's average hospitalization rate was 15.78 for every 100,000 people, those that were vaccinated accounted for 3 per 100,000 people. Unvaccinated people had a hospitalization rate more than 32 times higher than that, accounting for 97.46 per 100,000 people.

More is expected. God works through us. That is our calling. We better answer the call soon.