Don't Lose Heart

Humans are in a mess. And it's a mess of our own making. It may be that pandemics like the one we are experiencing now are unavoidable, but the reason they are unavoidable is that we are continually claiming new lands, bringing ourselves into contact with wild animals that have remained undisturbed, or because we are putting domesticated animals together in ways that allow them to share viruses and this allows those viruses to infect humans. It is because we take and take from the earth that we unleash these novel viruses. There's really not much that most of us can do about that.

Then there's the way that some people are treating this pandemic. Most of you reading will know by now that the United States now has by far the highest number of cases of Covid-19 in the world. (As you might know, Covid-19 stands for COrona VIrus Disease, 2019). Yet with all these cases, so many people are disregarding the safety guidelines given by doctors and are congregating, breaking social distancing guidelines, and doing all kinds of non-essential activities. This puts all of us at higher risk, even those trying to follow the guidelines, because it keeps the rate of infection going up.

And the  there's the other part of this pandemic, the economic strain this is putting on so many of us as our investments, if we have any, lose value, or as people lose employment. So many people are living on the edge of their means already, that any bump in the road, or catastrophic chasm in the road, like this pandemic, can easily overwhelm people's finances and send them into a tailspin. Add to that the number of companies that rely on people to make those payments every month, and we see why the Federal Government is stepping in and may need to step in with much bigger payments to help its people out.

All that news is pretty bleak. If you are like me, it might cause you to get pretty down sometimes. For me, it is hard to be separated from people for such a long time, and I find myself feeling drained. I think interactions with people fill me with energy, and missing people makes me feel lethargic and just down. Maybe you are like that, too. Or maybe you feel like your purpose is missing. After all, many of us find our purpose in our work. Not being able to work, or not being able to work in the way we are accustomed to working is confusing for our systems and we might feel a sense of loss of purpose.

But don't lose heart. We will come through this. For people of faith, we have examples from our scriptures of times when the people were not only down, they were thought to be lost. And yet, from each example, the people reemerged. It may not have been how they planned or hoped, but they became a new people, re-formed through their times of tragedy.

Even for those who have no faith, there are plenty of examples in our own lives of when things looked bad and we persevered. I don;t know all of your stories, but I'll wager if you look back just a few years you can find a struggle that led to where you are right now. It might have been a surprise how it worked out, but here you are. And humanity will continue to persevere.

For Christians, the ultimate story is the one of Jesus' death. In that moment, as far as the disciples knew, everything was over. Their work was done. It had failed. And yet, Jesus came out of the tomb overcoming death itself. There is great hope in that story.

None of us know how life will be in the future, when we finally come out of this time of pandemic. But history tells us that we will come out of it. And when we do, we will hopefully be better prepared to face such a challenge in the future.

So, don't lose heart. Don't judge yourself if you are down every now and then, but remember that though the times we are living in are different than anything we have ever faced, we will get through them together. The world will likely be changed. We will be changed. Some of the people we love may no longer be with us. Those are all reasons to mourn. But the light will shine and the dawn will come and we will be renewed. Trust in that hope, so that even as you begin to despair, you can look forward to a glorious new day.

Don't lose heart.

That's the view today.

Holy Thursday

It's Holy Thursday. It is a Holy day that has been observed for centuries in the Christian faith, and for many centuries before that in the Jewish faith. Holy Thursday is the day we observe the Passover.

You will remember the Passover from the book of Exodus. Families huddled together in their homes, waiting for something that they could hardly understand. Egyptians going about their lives as if nothing was out of the ordinary. And the events of that night ended the lives of the first-born of the Egyptians and convinced even the stone-hearted Pharaoh that Egypt was better off without these Israelite slaves. And they were released into freedom--or into a new relationship with God as their Sovereign.

Jesus, on the night that he was betrayed by his friend Judas, was observing the Passover with the disciples. This was a necessary observance for him and those close to him. And here was Jesus, in the upper room, surrounded by his chosen family, sharing an intimate meal and a time of intimate teaching with those who loved him best.

That Passover led to death, also, but not for the first-born of Egypt. This time it was for the first-born of God.

But that death also led to freedom. This new freedom was more complete than the freedom from Pharaoh. This new freedom was freedom from the bonds of sin and death.

It's not that those things don't exist anymore. The Egyptians certainly continued to exist even after the Israelites were freed. Sin and death still exist. In this pandemic, we are reminded of this on an hourly basis.

They exist, but they do not enslave us. One alone is sovereign, God above all, and through God we are released from that bondage to sin and death.

I don't know how you feel, but during this pandemic, I feel trapped, as if somehow I am in bondage. I don't mean to compare this to actual bondage, but I do feel hemmed in on all sides by this disease and the fear that it creates in me and in all of us.

And so we wait. We wait for deliverance, a deliverance that will surely come if the history of the people can be our guide--if the words of scripture mean something to us. Like the Israelites in Egypt, it may not have come as quickly as they hoped, but it came. Like the Israelites in bondage in Babylon, deliverance came only after many years, but it did come. And for those of us with faith in Christ, deliverance has come through Christ in God's timing.

All those things are in our past, but the past teaches us about our future. God will deliver. God is in the delivering business.

Be well, stay safe, and may your hearts be turned toward God, the proven deliverer, on this Holy Thursday.

What Shall We Do Now?

It is a time in our lives that most of us could hardly have imagined just a few months ago. Global pandemics have happened before, and if scientists who study these sorts of things are right, more will likely happen in the future.

I, of course, am writing this at my home, because I am working here instead of  where I usually do, in my office at the church. In some ways I am surprised by how difficult this time is for me. Not being able to see the people I usually connect with at least once a week and for some several times a week is distressing. A member of my congregation had major surgery yesterday, and I wasn't allowed to be there with her. Two weeks ago I officiated at a funeral for a member of the church at a graveside with nine people in attendance. When I do see the people from my church, people I love dearly, I cannot hug their necks or even shake their hands.

I have learned how to edit videos and work online conference calls. And I don't have any idea when this is going to end.

So I say to myself, what am I going to do now?

As I look around me at my congregation, and hearing from pastors and members of other congregations, I am incredibly encouraged. The church is still the church. We aren't meeting there right now, but we are still connected to one another. Our leaders are checking in on people who are homebound or at risk. Others from the congregation have been doing the same. I am proud of the way the church is staying connected, one to another, during this time.

I even think that in some ways we are closer to one another now than before.

And that is what the church is supposed to be. It was always supposed to be that way, friends caring for one another, making sure all others have what they need. If there is any in need, doing all we can to meet that need. The building where we meet as the church, beautiful as it is, is in the place where it belongs, secondary. It is the community of believers that is first. Relationship to one another and to shared faith outweighs any other concerns at this time. That is as it should be, and as it should have been.

God is able to make good things come from even the worst of circumstances. Scripture attests to this time and again. Out of this terrible circumstance, the Covid-19 outbreak, God is able to help us remember that foremost is our connection to one another, our love for each other, and our dedication to care for each other. It's not that it wasn't there before, but now that it is the primary thing we can do for each other, we are reminded that it should have been primary all along.

So, what shall we do now? Keep it up, church. Keep calling your friends and members of your community. Keep asking who needs what and then taking care of those needs as you can. Keep praying for all people throughout this crisis, and doing all you can while keeping yourself safe to let others know of the love you have for them. At its heart, this is what the church has always been. Now it is just more glaringly obvious.

I thank God for these communities doing what community does.

Blessings to you all. Be safe, and love one another.

Pastor Chris