When I was serving as a chaplain at UC Davis last summer, I was drawn back again and again to the words of Psalm 91.

“You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.”

The psalms are filled with the voices of people who were afraid, who faced real danger, yet turned to God as their shelter and protection. We are in scary times, when hospitals do not have enough protective equipment and anxiety spreads as quickly as the virus.

Everywhere I turn, I see headlines applauding the “heroes on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic”. Nurses. Doctors. Lab techs and other hospital staff. Home health workers. Grocery store employees. Delivery drivers. And the list goes on. Some of you are employed in fields which have been deemed “essential” and have been going to work in person, while others have been spending our time figuring out how to work from home. Since some jobs cannot be performed remotely, many are losing their jobs and wondering what the future holds. This is a turbulent time in our world.

As you may know, my mother is a nurse in a hospital in New Jersey. She works in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), but her hospital informed staff last week that they could be called at any time to care for patients with COVID-19, regardless of their specialty. I am sure there are many other stories like this. Here’s the problem: the ones we are calling “heroes” are people. The heroes are afraid. The heroes are doing their best, but they are worried about putting their families at risk. The heroes are over 60 and have pre-existing health conditions. The heroes have children with no school or childcare. The heroes are crying out to God for a miracle.

We are all human. I give my deepest gratitude to those who are able to care for the sick, which is a work that Jesus called us to in the ministry of healing. You are truly doing God’s work! And my heart is with you, with your fears and your needs and your desires.

But I will not call you a hero. Because in the history of the world, the word “hero” has been used as a tactic to exploit the vulnerable and explain away the suffering they experience. The expectations on the shoulders of a hero are too heavy. And I will not add to the burden which has already been placed on you. Your contributions are enough. God is with us in our victories and our failures. As we each take up the cross which has been set before us, let us all be reminded that we already have a Savior in Jesus Christ.

I will leave you with a word from the Talmud, which is a collection of Jewish writings. I pray it will give the comfort and confidence we all need to face this day. The peace of God be with you,

Veronica

“Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly now, love mercy now, walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.” -Talmud