Today the media is full of news about the swine flu. No one can argue that this is not a real crisis; unlike SARS or the avian flu scare, this epidemic has already affected our own country. I am happy for how our government seems to be meeting this challenge. But not everything that the media is doing to keep us informed is helpful. Too much attention to this situation will only increase the fear and panic that is everywhere. As a doctor friend of mine who specialized in epidemiology during World War II, once said, “If you are afraid, you open yourself to viruses.”

As odd as it might sound, this crisis may not be such a bad thing, after all. We do need to pay attention to it, so that we can get our priorities right again. Now is the time to make choices, and to think what life is all about. Let us think about what things really matter, and which are unimportant. What does sickness and death have to say to us? Don’t we all have to die eventually? Where does prayer come in?

The fear of death and sickness plays a big part in this panic. Too often, this fear drives us apart, to isolation and even to mental illness. If the swine flu is really going to become a global pandemic, then the only answer is to join hands and work together. And let us look not only at our own need, but also at the need of others – like the many families in Mexico who are now having a much harder time than we. It is only in working together, also on a global level, that we will be able to face this crisis.

In times like these, prayer is more important than ever. Only through prayer will we find the answers to threats we cannot do anything about. We need to think of those who have died, and of those families who have lost loved ones. So far, the other countries where swine flu has spread have been spared deaths. God only knows what lies ahead, but we need to trust that we are all in his hands.

Two thousand years ago, people were warned that in the end times there would be wars and rumors of wars, natural disasters, and pestilence, so we are experiencing God’s history. This makes me think of what Paul, an educated Roman, wrote to the people of Philippi:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known…

We ought to read these encouraging words often, and share them with others. No matter what happens, we should rejoice – and not fall prey to fear and worry. Let us trust that everything will turn out to the good, and use this time not to panic, or to stoke fear, but to find community with our neighbors and to give a helping hand to the sick and suffering.

 

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