It is customary at the new year to reflect on what has transpired, and make plans for the future. Unsurprisingly, many are looking forward to a better year than what we’ve just experienced. Such an outlook is understandable and, perhaps, somewhat warranted given the production and distribution of multiple vaccines. Whatever the prospects of 2021 might be, one of the lessons of 2020 was how important and irreplaceable is person-to-person contact.
I believe it is telling that in a world where the use of electronic communication devices has become increasingly important and popular, a year defined by “telecommuting”, “teleconferencing”, “zooming” etc. has been loathed as particularly arduous. Now, much of that can be attributed to the speed with which people have had to adapt to a whole new way of working and living and to the quarantine and hardships brought on by a worldwide pandemic. However, I do think that part of the problem lies in the fact that nothing can substitute for person-to-person contact. Some effects of this pandemic seem to bear this out. But, with all of the ease and comfort of technology, why is this so?
For God So Loved the World
When talking about the necessity of the Incarnation, Thomas Aquinas says that strictly speaking the Incarnation was not necessary for our salvation. God is omnipotent and, therefore, was not limited to only one option for enacting His salvific plan. However, the Incarnation was necessary in the sense that there was no more fitting way for our salvation to be accomplished. The Incarnation was the most fitting means of salvation because it showed how much God loves us. It showed that the omnipotent, eternal God was willing to endure pain, hunger, insults, etc. entirely for our own benefit. The humanity of Christ makes manifest the eternal love of God in a way that nothing else could.
Thus, the Incarnation manifests not only the ineffable love of God but also the irreplaceable need for person-to-person relationships for human flourishing. Cardinal Dolan remarked in one of his sermons at the beginning of the pandemic that the Church is a “hands-on Church”. The Church is hands-on because God Himself is quite literally hands-on. Our modern technology is convenient and brings easy to many aspects of life, no doubt. But there is simply no substitute for in-person experience and interaction.
What We Have Lost During the Pandemic
My wife and I attend the Lessons and Carols Festival at Fordham University every Advent. It draws on a British Christmastime tradition of reading lessons from the scriptures as well as singing Christmas hymns in joyful anticipation of the Incarnation. Every year the festival is a magnificent way to begin the Christmas season and is performed by the Fordham Ladies Choir and Schola Cantorum as well as the Bronx Arts Ensemble. Needless to say, watching the performance on zoom this year left much to be desired. The talent of the carolers was no less than usual. The desire for a safe and holy Christmas season was no less on the part of the audience as well. Nevertheless, it was lacking in comparison to year’s past.
This, I believe encapsulates what we’ve lost as a result of this pandemic. We’ve lost the lives of our neighbors, and many have also lost jobs, paychecks, etc. But we’ve also lost the exchange of our common humanity. And, we’ve learned that no amount of technological communication or social media can replace it. It can only be accomplished in one way, person-to-person interaction. Not even God Himself desired any other means for our salvation than by meeting us face-to-face. It is easy to take this type of interaction for granted since before this year it was quite easily accessible. Now we see just how much it is worth, and how irreplaceable it is.
Moving Forward
The question now is, what do we do about our present situation? As Christ says, we shall love our neighbor as ourselves. In the current moment, loving our neighbor means making sure we take all public health precautions. This is why our essential workers have been so celebrated during this pandemic. They’ve selflessly put the needs of their neighbors above themselves. If we do the same in our station in life and wait with fervent hope and patience for the end of this pandemic, we will be able to properly appreciate, value, and enjoy the great gift of seeing one another again, face-to-face. And we can hope that all those lost to this terrible disease are seeing Him face-to-face with joy much greater than our own here below.
