Asking the Clergy: When faith has been shaken by the pandemic

As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its third year in the United States, it would seem few Americans’ faith in God has been shaken by the suffering and death the virus has caused, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. This week’s clergy discuss how those who might have begun to doubt can restore their religious faith even in these very trying times.

The Rev. Msgr. Thomas Coogan

Pastor, St. Dominic Roman Catholic Church, Oyster Bay

I would say, "I don’t blame you!"

The pandemic -- with its death, suffering and privations -- is undeniably evil, and what we Roman Catholics call "The Problem of Evil" is one of the most intelligent challenges to faith that a person can raise. Simply put, how could an all-good, all-knowing and all-powerful God exist and evil also exist?

One of our great thinkers, St. Thomas Aquinas, answered that "evil does not exist"! Evil is like darkness. As much as darkness is not a "thing," but the absence of light, evil is not a thing; it is the absence of good. In a way, evil actually proves the existence of what it is the absence of — namely, good, and, ultimately, the ultimate good — God! God cannot uncreate something that does not exist. Instead, He fills the absence with love. His desire to accompany us through suffering is precisely what Jesus Christ is all about.

In the end, a faith understandably shaken by evil can only be healed by the acceptance of the Love of God in Christ Jesus. This is why Christ said, "As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love." (John 15:9)

Rabbi Ira Ebbin

Congregation Ohav Sholom, Merrick

I often wonder if people understand what faith really is. Faith is not the panacea to fix all of one’s problems and challenges. Anyone who thinks that hasn’t been paying attention to the world — and obviously doesn’t follow the New York Jets.

What the pandemic has reminded us is that there is no script to our lives, that we are not in control of everything and that the world is anything but predictable. And that is where faith enters the equation. "Faith," taught the leading theologian and philosopher Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, "is not certainty, but the courage to live with the uncertainty." It is feeling God’s hand on our shoulder during the most challenging times.

In Psalm 23, King David wrote, "Though I walk through the valley of death, I am not afraid because You are with me. Thy scepter and Thy staff comfort me."

David doesn’t say, "I know that you will protect me" nor "you will fix all of my problems." Instead he talks about God being next to him throughout the darkness and providing him with comfort.

Our challenge is to build a genuine relationship with God, so we can lean on him when, not if, adversity enters our life.

The Rev. Marjorie E. Nunes

Pastor, Hicksville United Methodist Church

Pandemics have played a role in shaping human history throughout the ages. Few of us today will remember outbreaks on this scale, but history shows us that although it is devastating, what we are experiencing now is nothing unusual.

Given the fact that religion plays an important role in the lives of many people and communities throughout history, it is not surprising that reflections on pandemics often begin with God. Plagues and diseases on such a scale feel biblical in the sense they are beyond the norm and, therefore, supernatural in some way. While modern science gives us insight into COVID-19, we still look for someone, anyone, to blame for its presence.

People of faith, however, must always turn to Scriptures to restore their faith and find hope. Throughout the Old Testament we read where God would restore the people after the many plagues and exiles. "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you." (Jeremiah 29:11-12).

God will not abandon or forsake us!