Are Monsters Due in Abilene?

[306 words] An episode of the classic TV show Twilight Zone was called “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.” In this episode, the power goes out in a neighborhood. Someone suggests the possibility that this is the work of aliens and that one family is in cahoots with the invaders. Later power is restored at one house, then a different one, then a different one. The gathered crowd turns into a violent mob, accusing and attacking one another. Is that where we’re headed with the coronavirus? Will we be pointing fingers and accusing people? Will we stand in judgment on our friends and neighbors? Our will we remember principles of justice, like innocent until proven guilty? More importantly, will we remember principles of our faith, like love and mercy, like compassion and forgiveness, like “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a…