The Great Coronavirus Pandemic and Messages from the Prophets
by Doman Lum
Foreword by Gerald C. Liu
Imprint: Resource Publications
As we witness the mounting illness and death toll of the coronavirus, the messages of the Old Testament prophets offer comfort and truth. They call us to repentance and affirm God's faithfulness. Doman Lum crafts twenty-one sermons which preach the good news of God's love. The story of the great pandemic involves the impact of COVID-19, President Donald Trump, the murder and killings of African Americans, and the 2020 presidential election. The Old Testament prophets and contemporary biblical theologians share spiritual insights, faith, and trust. Lum encourages the reader to become involved in the public response, the public health programs, and government responsibility to cope with this health crisis as citizens of the United States. This book features the reading of Scriptures, profound and thoughtful sermons, and pastoral prayers. It is for the individual, family, community, and nation who seek spiritual counsel in the midst of the pandemic.
Doman Lum is interim pastor of the Chinese Community Church, Sacramento, California, and professor emeritus of social work, California State University Sacramento. He graduated from Claremont School of Theology with a ThD in pastoral counseling and psychology and Case Western Reserve University with a PhD in social welfare. Among his books have been Responding to Suicidal Crisis: For Church and Community; Social Work and Health Care Policy; Social Work Practice and People of Color; Cultural Competence, Practice Stages, and Client Systems; and Culturally Competent Practice. He is a minister of the United Church of Christ, Northern California-Nevada Conference.
“Out of a cultural milieu that would make any preacher shudder, Doman Lum dares not only to name how God remains with us, but declares why our outcry is not unheard but helps lift us up to where Jesus is, and suggests how God is a potter shaping antiracist protests and molding the national upheaval into a better future headed toward the promise of a new creation. . . . Lum’s focus upon drawing words of spiritual endurance and assurance from the prophetic literature of the Old Testament will show readers how one seasoned preacher shone light during the pandemic of 2020 and how the promises of God persist no matter how apocalyptic things seem.”
—From the foreword by Gerald C. Liu, Princeton Theological Seminary