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 From Sheridan Voysey, Writer and broadcaster:

Sometimes I’m surprised at what I get nostalgic about. The other day I reminisced about the way in-flight entertainment used to be done on planes. Before we had individual screens with a million movie options, a hostess would announce the ‘feature film’ was about to start, we’d all don headphones and watch the same film on the cabin TVs. What this quaint arrangement lacked in choice it made up for in shared experience. When the film got funny, everyone laughed. When tension built, everyone gasped. We entered the same story together. 

In this moment, much of the world feels like it’s living the same story. The streets of Paris are as empty as those of Delhi. My friends in Michigan are struggling with home schooling as much as my friends in Sydney. Coronavirus has us fighting the same microbial enemy and applauding the same heroes, whether we’re in Glasgow or Rome. I wonder how many times such a thing has happened in history. 

Throughout time humans have turned to stories to make sense of crisis. Superhero comics emerged during World War 2, bringing hope that ‘men of steel’ could win the battle. John Steinbeck’s novel The Moon is Down became a hit in occupied Europe because it subtly showed readers how to oppose the Nazis. Whether fictional or historic, stories can help us find hope and guidance in troubled times.

A story in the Gospel of Luke has been speaking to me lately. Two friends are walking home. They’re in shock and grief, their lives upended by the events of Good Friday. As they walk, a stranger comes up beside them. They don’t recognise his face but his words make their hearts pound. On reaching home they invite him in for a meal, and it’s then their eyes are opened to see who it is. The stranger sharing their crisis has been Jesus.

To me, it feels like we’ve all entered one globally shared story. No one quite knows how it’s going to end. But as a Christian, I don’t think we’re alone in this. A Voice of hope is available to help us land.