Omicron is a devastating reminder of the power of exponential growth. From small beginnings, it has come big very quickly, and is set to become much bigger still, bigger even than an Australian cricket score. Maybe it won’t be so serious as the other COVID variants, but from the first very meagre data it looks as if the differences are not huge. And it is the likely sheer number of cases that could be overwhelming. For once I have some sympathy (but not total sympathy) with those who resist restrictions – because the restrictions we’re being offered now don’t seem enough to slow it down noticeably. So there’s a voice in my head that says, “what’s the point, unless we do it properly?” Anyway, we’ll see. Vaccines and treatments have made the disease much less likely to kill people than it used to be … at least in rich countries … why the silence in the media about what’s going on elsewhere in the world?
Also, if the vaccines and the earlier variants confer limited immunity to Omicron, will getting Omicron give you any immunity to Delta? That might be quite handy.
BTW exponential growth isn’t necessarily quick or huge from the beginning – it’s just – well- exponential. And it will usually reach a limit at some point when other factors kick in. And exponential decay is also available. But the thing is, the very small can become very big.
This can be good as well, in some contexts. Jesus speaks of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 13) as like a mustard seed or like yeast. This little thing, this meme about God’s way, God’s priorities for human life, can grow and grow and grow from small beginnings. And the importance, the value of the small is part of those Kingdom of Heaven values. God honours those who have the least honour in human minds, and turns things round.
So I come to Sunday’s lectionary... In Micah, it’s written, “But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.” And in Mary’s Song (Luke) we read, “He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”