Saturday, May 2, 2009

The Swine Flu and Christianity


The first school in Chicago to report swine flu case.

With the spread of the H1N1 virus one of the things I have been thinking a lot about is infestations in the church. All the churches in Mexico have been closed. Some schools across the country have been closed as well. One of these schools is Kilmer Elementary in Chicago, which I might add is a few blocks away from where we live and reported the very first case of swine flu in Chicago. Loyola University which is also in Rogers Park had a student with swine flu. So these cases are really hitting home.

The last time I was in the Baptist Church of Rogers Park, we did the handshake thing, as well as communion, where people eat a small wafer and drink from small cups. When I was growing up Catholic back in the 70’s I would see about 100 people all drink ‘wine’ from the same cup! Even at that young age seeing that grossed me out. Maybe that is why I’ve never participated in Holy Communion. But then again what are other Christians to do during these times? I do not have an answer. Just many questions. I’ve been avoiding large gatherings like the plague--pun intended. Including church.


My Princess strolling through the courtyard.

About two years ago my daughter got very sick with what the doctor said was hand, foot, and mouth disease, caused by the Coxsackie virus. Seeing my princess suffer through such an ordeal broke my heart to pieces. She had painful blisters and a high fever for at least 5 days. When thinking about it, she either got it at the playground (highly unlikely because it was winter time) or the play toys in another church we used to attend. I was very upset to say the least. And that is the thing, most people are careless and inconsiderate. And unfortunately, we Christians are not exempt from these bad habits. We should know better. If I had a penny for every time I saw an adult sneeze or cough in front of me without covering their face I would be a rich man. Truly disgusting! If the swine flu becomes a true pandemic, God forbid, I hope people start getting arrested on the spot for spreading their germs.

It may sound trivial but President Barack Obama was right, the key to stopping the spread of these communicable diseases is for people to have common sense, common courtesy and at least a trickle of decency for hygiene. Just a trickle. Because asking for more is just asking for too much.

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