By Father Casey

In 1652, years before he wrote “Paradise Lost,” the great English poet John Milton was struck blind at the age of 44. Faced with this devasting loss, he penned the last line of a sonnet that rings deeply true nearly 400 years later: “They also serve who only stand and wait.”[1]

We are faced with a profound and deepening crisis. Rather than retreating this summer, as we all hoped back in the spring, the pandemic is worsening. Selfishness, boredom, and naivete have combined to lead far too many to relax about the threat, and so the virus has accelerated like wildfire. 130,000 have died in our country in only four months – a truly staggering number – and scientists now think that number may clear 200,000 by the end of the summer. To put that in context, the total Americans killed in all of WW2 was about 400,000.

Normally, in the face of such a monumental crisis, our instinct is to do something, anything, to help. Just think about how quickly we jump into action after hurricanes or tornadoes: we raise money, collect resources, and send volunteer teams to help families recover. But when the crisis is a pandemic, we can’t obey that instinct, because it brings us in close contact with each other, which is the very thing we are not supposed to do. Proximity is the heart of the problem, so instead, we are supposed to keep apart and stay at home.

For Christians, and especially Christians who belong to a church with a mission to “seek and serve Christ in all persons,” this creates some serious anxiety. We look at a suffering and desperate world and feel that we are somehow behaving unfaithfully by not doing more. Doesn’t our faith call us to set aside fear to help those in need? Doesn’t our Lord teach that we shouldn’t be afraid of any enemy or evil? How can keeping apart and staying at home possibly be the right Christian response?

Which is why that little line from Milton is so important: “They also serve who only stand and wait.”

I know the anxiety that comes from feeling like I’m not doing enough to help others during this tremendous crisis. And yet, the simple truth is that the most helpful and compassionate thing we can do right now is to stay apart from each other, wear masks, and wait. Those are the acts of true faithfulness right now – not rushing to resume in-person services, and certainly not boasting that God will keep us from getting sick.

“They also serve who only stand and wait.”[2]

Perhaps what we need is to reframe how we see all the limitations and restrictions on our lives. A great many Christians in our nation resent the mandate to wear masks and not gather, because they believe it inhibits their liberty. But this isn’t about liberty, it’s about love. Wearing a mask is a sign that we love our neighbor more than our own comfort. Refraining from gatherings is a sign that we love our neighbor more than moments of personal enjoyment. And we practice these disciplines not simply because we have been ordered by those in authority, nor because we are afraid of one another. We do them because it is what love requires. Our discipline is an expression of love.

Reframing in this way can renew our efforts against the virus with holy inspiration, and it can also help us hold on to our souls. Friends, we are in this for the long haul, and our attitudes about these little daily actions will build up over weeks and months to shape our souls. If we allow resentment and irritation to fester inside us right now – wearing masks only grudgingly and grumbling each time a new directive is issued – then our souls will be steeping in resentment and irritation, and when the pandemic ends, we will not easily shake off all that bitterness. If we allow mask-wearing and distancing to cultivate fear of each other, then we will remain afraid of each other long after the pandemic subsides. When sickness is no longer so omnipresent, we will still look at our fellow humans with fear and suspicion.

How we choose to see our behaviors during the pandemic will shape who we will be when it is over. And I’m no prophet, but I am absolutely sure that when we do finally reach the other side of this crisis, our society will need faithful Christians who see discipline as a sign of love, who are not afraid of others, and who are ready to dive into the work of healing our broken world.

So remember friends, “They also serve who only stand and wait,” especially when they embrace that holy waiting with a spirit of love.

[1] Sonnet 19.

[2] I love a prayer for the sick from the BCP that echoes this sentiment: “This is another day, O Lord. I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. Make these words more than words, and give me the Spirit of Jesus. Amen.