Public gatherings, including those of the church, have been banned. Weddings, funerals, and baptisms have been cancelled. Schools and cinemas, museums and sports halls have all been closed. At this moment (when I write this), the number of cases of coronavirus reported in India is 10,453 including 1,193 recovered cases and 358 deaths. As a result, 1.3billion people must stay at home unless absolutely necessary. How should we, as Christians, respond to such a crisis? The answer is with faith, not with fear. We have to look into the heart of the storm and ask ourselves, “Lord, what do you want me to learn from all of this? How are you trying to change me?”

This global crisis shows us how weak we human beings are. We are doing our best to limit the spread. Most of us, I think, are pretty confident that we will get there eventually. But we should not forget that we are fragile. How to appropriate and understand this lesson of our fragility? Perhaps reminding us not to take our lives on earth for granted. This virus crosses ethnic differences or borders. We are all members of the great human family, all created in the image of God (Genesis 1:17). The colour of our skin, the language we speak, our accents, our cultures, and our socio-economic status make no difference when faced with a contagious disease. In times of suffering, in times of mourning, we are all equal, weak and short of responses.We all like to have some control over things. We believe that we are the captains and masters of our destiny. The reality is that nowadays, more than ever, we can control a good part of our life, but to have a full control over our life is only an illusion, a bubble that the coronavirus has burst by revealing the truth that we are not really in control.

Collective efforts of massive social distancing and self-quarantine are not a vaccine. Being excluded and isolated is not an easy thing to manage, since we were created for human relationships. But many people now face isolation.  However, the solidarity of not sacrificing the protection others is very moving, almost inspiring. In this sense, the corona virus is a necessary disturbance, without which a pause and a reset would not have been possible.I hate this virus for the lives it has claimed. Terror, contagion, confusion, death, economic loss, job loss, possible bankruptcy, strangely empty streets and the distance of families to protect themselves and the most vulnerable—all these provide a pivotal moment for all of us.

What do we learn from all of this? We need to reconsider our excessive dependence on remote production and strengthen the local economy. The plight of migrant labourers and the possibility of hunger death more than death caused by infection calls us revisit our policies of development. If the local economy is strengthened and if people can find jobs wherever they live without having to migrate, we can also leave less carbon footprint on the planet. We can think of the planet more than ever. The dolphins are back dancing in Venice during the lockdown. We notice less pollution and can hear birds sing around us. These glaring signs of relief of nature must mean something. We must change now our polluting habits.This pause button is what we need to reduce our unnecessary consumption. We must invest in creative, smart and local initiatives to make even a small difference to reduce our waste. It is so easy to lose perspective in the midst of the frenzy of our lives. Our days are so full of people and projects, jobs and wish lists, homes and vacations that we find it difficult to distinguish the important from the urgent. Maybe this crisis reminds us of what is really important in our lives. Perhaps it helps us to distinguish between what is important and what is unnecessary. We need to get back to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. When things get better and our luxuries are available again, let’s use more of a capsule lifestyle that links our focus on how we create a greener home.