Backfire

On the day that Stephen was killed, a severe persecution began against the Church in Jerusalem and all except the Apostles were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1).

            Every once in a while I come up with a sure-fire plan to solve a problem. I am convinced I have thought of all the possible consequences of my strategy and so it will be a great success. Yet, occasionally, my plan backfires and causes more problems than it solves. These experiences remind me that a plan is only as good as the information you have and that you have to factor in the unexpected.

            In this text from Acts, the Jewish authorities intend to destroy the Church through a harsh persecution but their efforts lead to its growth into new areas. By do so, they learn the Christian community thrives during periods of oppression.

            The martyrdom of the Deacon Stephen, a leader of the early Church in Jerusalem and an effective proponent of its teachings, was likely intended to prompt fear and confusion among the followers of Jesus. Throughout history, many tyrants have retained their power by using a simple strategy: kill opposition leaders and their supporters will disperse. The Rabbi Gamaliel had just reminded the Jewish Council of previous popular movements which ended when their leadership was executed. With Jesus (the movement’s founder) and Stephen (a local leader) now dead, the Jewish authorities probably thought it was only a matter of time until the other Christian leaders would be killed and their teachings forgotten. Yet, the plan backfired. Persecution prompted the flight of Christians into the surrounding regions (as far as Samaria) which enabled the spread of their doctrines. Dispersed over a larger area, it became more difficult to locate and arrest them. While efforts to do this (led by Saul) continued, it became harder as the persecuted fled further away. As shown by this story, human plans have often backfired when they collided with divine intentions.

            Recently, I heard some people commenting on the fact many of the dire predictions of the number of Covid 19 cases and deaths made by medical and government officials did not happen. For some individuals this seems to prove these experts do not know what they are talking about and the restrictions they imposed should be relaxed. Their plans backfired. Although I am not an expert on computer modeling, I know a projection is only as good as the data you have and can only outline possible scenarios. If you look at what was happening in Italy four to six weeks ago and the rate of increase within Canada the projections made were reasonable. With only a limited knowledge about the virus (how fast could it spread) and no idea if Canadians would follow the guidelines laid out by the experts (how much could the spread be reduced) such variables made it difficult for the modelers to make predictions. Was it not better to err on the side of caution? It would be ironic if a plan to relax the restrictions imposed because of Covid 19 in an effort to get things back to “normal” backfired because of a large increase in new infections.

            Catholics and other people of faith are aware how frequently their plans can backfire. It is a reminder God is in charge of the world not them. They must learn to become comfortable with uncertainty. Perhaps, they can teach others how to master that challenge. It isn’t that individuals and organizations should not be planning for how they are going to get through the pandemic and after it but to remember they may encounter a few backfires along the way.

April 29, 2020