Normal???

There's a phrase I've grown to loathe during this quarantine - the new normal. Now, this is not a new phrase, mind you. It's been around for years. It's used to describe the notion that things have permanently changed, usually for the worse, and we need to get used to idea that things are going to be different from now on. When my father was diagnosed with a degenerative brain disease, it was a phrase my family used often. Every time a new symptom would arise, or a behavior would change, we would say, "Well, I guess this is the new normal."

These days, I'm hearing people use this phrase in reference to our current social distancing guidelines. This makes me sad and a little bit angry. Why? Because while this situation certainly is new, it is absolutely not normal. Saying this is the new normal is saying that this is how it's going to be from now on, that our social distancing is permanent. Saying this is the new normal is saying we had better get used to this, because this is how all our interactions are going to be in the future. Saying this is the new normal is a capitulation that we can not and should not make.

Human beings were created to be in community - with God  and with one another. God is a co-equal, co-eternal, community of three persons. We are created in the image of God. This means we are created to be in relationship with one another. Relationships are built in close contact and proximity with one another. They can be fostered over video conferencing, supported over the telephone, sustained through letter writing - but they are built in person.

If we cannot hug one another, hold someone who is hurting, sit close enough to speak softly with someone, come together around a campfire to roast marshmallows, sing songs, and share stories; if we can't hold hands and pray, high five and fist bump one another, gently touch the arm of someone we sympathize with, gather around a table to share a communal meal, or sit shoulder to shoulder with others as a symphony orchestra or band or film moves us to tears; if we can't worship together in the same room, raising our voices in praise to the God who created us to be in community, then we have lost a great part of what it means to be human.

Please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying we need to ignore social distancing guidelines. As Christians, we value life. That means we need to do all we can to protect life. Right now, that means social distancing. But that's just for right now, until the crisis has passed. This is not how it will always be from now on. 

So please, whenever you hear someone say, "This is the new normal," remember that it's not. Social distancing is not, and never will be, normal. It is abnormal behavior for human beings. Always has been. Always will be.