After SARS - a perspective... The costs of the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong continue to be calculated. It seems the impact on tourism and the economy was bad but may not have been as serious as most anticipated. The last victim of SARS is now out of Intensive Care and the death toll is clear. There were 1755 cases of SARS and 299 deaths in Hong Kong . This is a large number. But with a population of almost 7 million living in a very confined area (roughly 400 square miles) the odds of actually getting SARS turned out to be quite low. Given the latest figures a person is almost 4 times more likely to be killed in a car accident in the US than die from SARS. Another way to put it in perspective, the likelihood of a 40- year -old person dying from SARS is about the same as dying from non-SARS pneumonia or flu. One editorial compared SARS to the Spanish Flu epidemic at the end of the First World War. SARS hardly compares. But if you were living in Hong Kong in April and May of this year, it would have been hard to imagine SARS really wasnít that serious. All schools closed for two months. Most people wore some type of surgical mask in public. The Government aired public health commercials encouraging people not to shake hands. People were afraid to touch the buttons in elevators or hold the handrails on escalators. Everyone was encouraged to scrub their homes with a bleach mix. Most elective surgery was cancelled. Airlines cut flights, groups cancelled conventions and companies told their staff to work from home.
Even when people did choose to meet in groups, there were many precautions. Most Churches cancelled all programs except Sunday Morning Worship. And there were many new precautions in these services. Most people wore masks. All the windows were opened and fans were on regardless of the temperature outside. People were given disinfectant towels to wash their hands when they arrived. When I served communion in April, I had to wear a surgical mask and latex gloves. Those assisting also wore masks and gloves. Each little piece of communion bread was wrapped in plastic and we did not shake hands, pass the peace or make contact in any way. In the midst of the need for community, we were afraid of contact.
The fear was quite real. It changed every aspect of our lives. Early on it became clear SARS did not seem to spread easily through casual contact yet people were afraid. This life in the midst of such a real fear was new for me. I had been living with the more general fear of the post 9/11 world. Living and traveling outside the US had indeed heightened my anxiety but SARS made this general fear much more acute.
Fear is powerful. Fear of the unknown or unseen can elicit a strong and at times irrational response. There were days when I basically had no contact with other people but would wonder if I had been exposed to SARS. It seemed to be everywhere. When I was out in public I was aware of everyone around me. I wondered if they were sick? Could I catch SARS from them? There was a rumor on April 1st that Hong Kong was going to be declared an infected port and closed. It seemed like a rumor but many people believed it. There was some panic buying at the grocery stores. It was hard to know what to believe. It was so confusing at times. The Fear was powerful.
Fortunately, in this midst of this Fear came Easter. The Resurrection Hope took on much greater significance this year as people shared their hope in the midst of fear. People had to choose whether to let fear possess their lives or to let the hope of the Resurrection release them from the power of this fear. Fear either rational or irrational is powerful. Yet many people found Resurrection in the face of SARS. We rediscovered hope. We found hope that is real. We experienced a hope that enabled us to stand up to the fear. We celebrated a hope that proclaimed victory over the fear that so easily controls our life.
This Hope helped us place SARS in more realistic perspective. The problem with the fear was the inability to really know what to believe. This Hope was not an unrealistic or superficial, everything will just be OK hope. It was the confidence that we could handle whatever might happen. It was the reminder that our biggest struggle was not with SARS but with the irrational fear we were experiencing. It was real hope in God. Today there still is much to fear. We live in a world possessed by terror. Some have found power in fear. Some have become captives of this fear. It is easy to give in to fear. It is easy to let fear control our lives. I certainly experienced this during the SARS experience. But thankfully God offers hope. Jesusí resurrection shows us that ultimately hope overcomes whatever causes us to fear. The writer of I John says that "perfect love casts out fear," God's hope can enable life to go on even in the midst of fear. Thanks be to God, fear doesnít ultimately win!! HOME | 
