"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." Wait a minute, Pastor Dan, you started out with this last week. Yes, I know, but I want to look at this in our present context and with a word that Jesus gave to his disciples in speaking about his second coming.
I am asked repeatedly, "Pastor Dan, will things ever get back to normal?" My answer is "Yes," and "No." I don't think we will ever go back to life as we knew it. This virus has changed how we do life and how we will be gathering (or not), how we get groceries (or not).
Let me give you two examples of encouragement from Jesus.
"Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man (his second coming). People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark." (Luke 17:26-27a)
"It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying, and selling, planting and building." (Luke 17:28)
Life will get back to normal. It must. Because it is the precursor to Jesus' coming. The rhythms of life will find there way again. But I struggle in my heart to know if I should rejoice or be grieved. I'm certainly more motivated to follow Jesus and to make him known to others. I want out of this evil, wicked world, but my heart pleads for more time for those I know that are lost.
When the virus hit, people were open to talking about the Lord, about end time issues, about how to change their lives to please God. The crisis provided opportunities. Our little church website that had maybe twenty hits on it has been getting two to three...thousand.
Is this the Fourth Great Awakening (or Fifth; depending on if you count the 1960's Calvary Chapel movement)? Time and history will tell. But given the huge turn that people have had toward the things of God, I happen to think, "yes." However, I firmly believe, evidenced by recent conversations, and my spirit confirming it, that this will be short lived. I believe that this time will produce a multitude of new believers in Jesus but it will be the last before the coming of Jesus for his Church. As quick as people's hearts were open toward the Lord, I am now finding that the door of the heart is quickly closing.
In honesty, I must admit that both of the above scripture passages were incomplete (per my own purpose). May I finish?
"Then the flood came and destroyed them all." (Luke 17:27b)
"But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all." (Luke 17:29).
"It must be just like this [this return to normal] on the day the Son of Man is revealed." (Luke 17:30).
Praying for a return to normal? Be careful and understand what you're praying for.
Maranatha! (1 Corinthians 13:22b) And, Father, bring in those of our family and friends who still need to know your Son, Jesus, as Savior.
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was a season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."
Describes the time we live in perfectly, doesn't it? I guess that's what makes good literature - transcendence. Very seldom is the full paragraph quoted. Many are satisfied with the first two phrases. But how powerful those two phrases are in describing the times that people often lived in - our own as well. How much more the remaining paragraph. It truly is a degree of comparisons.
This, of course, is the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities written by Charles Dickens in 1859. Written as if one were in the year 1777 prior to the French Revolution (1789) and the potential English uprising, the cities were London and Paris. How different the outcomes would be. But why?
British historian, Thomas Carlyle, described this time in England as "Stomach well alive; soul extinct." Sir William Blackstone visited numerous Christian churches in the area at that time and said that it was hard to tell if the preacher was a follower of Confucius, Mohammed, or Jesus. Drunkenness was rampant. Gambling was so bad, so prolific, one historian wrote that England was "one giant casino." Unwanted babies were left in the streets to die. A 97% child mortality rate was found among the working poor. The common man found himself in a hopeless situation watching the social rumblings and turmoil of neighboring France and wondering if that would be the solution/course for themselves.
Then why did France fall into a bloody revolution for 10 years and England not? Three names: George Whitefield and John and Charles Wesley.
People prayed and the Lord brought three men to begin a great revival. They preached in the open fields to those hungering and thirsting for righteousness. They preached Christ, repentance from sin, faith, holiness, and good works that flowed out from a personal relationship with Jesus. And the masses responded. They needed hope. They needed change. They had two choices: Do it themselves (France) or seek the Lord's intervention (England).
As a result antislavery organizations took hold, prison reform happened, relief agencies for the poor opened, orphanages were created (spurring on future men like George Muëller), literacy programs began. God heard the cries of the English people and he gave them Jesus in the form of men and women who were willing to turn people's heart's away from fear and hatred, toward a living, loving God. Cited: 4-15-20; https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1701-1800/evangelical-revival-in-england-11630228.html
O Church, it is the best of times, it is the worst of times... It truly is a degree of comparisons. Let us choose rightly which path our nation should take, our churches should take, our personal lives should take. Let us be people of prayer who repent, who desire holiness, who humbly seek our Savior's face and his return.
From Charles Wesley, Lamb of God Whose Bleeding Love, verse 3.
"Let thy blood by faith applied
The sinners pardon seal;
Speak us freely justified,
And all our sickness heal;
By they passion on the tree,
Let our griefs and sorrows cease,
O remember Calvary,
And bid us go in peace."
I will be married to my beloved wife for thirty-eight years this year. Thirty-eight years ago in August I said a bunch of "I wills" and "I do's." I'm pretty sure it was the standard, "Will you have this woman to be your wife, to live together in holy matrimony? Will you love her, honor her, keep her in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long you both shall live?"
I don't remember much of it, but I do remember that we added, "or until our Lord and Savior comes back." We knew that God hated divorce, so I am sure there were times in those thirty-seven plus years we were praying fervently for the last phrase to come to pass.
To be honest, although I've tried, I am certain that I have not lived up to those vows like I desired. Life happens. Sin happens. Grace happens. And we're still here - together - no social distancing.
Vows are more than contractual agreements between parties. They come out of a place of integrity and a place of relationship. They are sacred covenants. This is the essence of Passover and the great "I wills" of Exodus 6 which is celebrated tonight. It is here that the traditional four cups of the Seder Supper are derived.
5 "Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant.
6 Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the LORD, and (1) I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. (2) I will free you from being slaves to them, and (3 ) I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.
7 (4) I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.
8 And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD.'" (Exod. 6:5-8 NIV) [Note: Verse 8 is technically a fifth "I will" but is not taken for some unknown reason in the Seder remembrance.]
The first cup is the cup of "sanctification." It is a call to come apart or to come out from among "them" for a divine purpose. It is the recognition that we are all in bondage to sin. Egypt is a place of darkness not light. Come out and into the revealed light of God.
The second cup is the cup of "deliverance." When one recognizes his/her need to come out of sin, the entanglements of this world can be quite difficult. Only the power of God can set you free from its slavery.
The third cup is the cup of "redemption." This cup represents the fact that God must save us. He saved them by divine directive. It was by the blood of the lamb that the Hebrews were saved from the angel of death. It was the mighty hand of God that opened the sea and provided a way of escape for them. It was the mighty hand of God that closed the sea over the pursing Egyptians. God is our redeemer. He is our kinsman redeemer who buys us back for His divine purposes. This is the cup that Jesus gave to his disciples and said, "This is the new covenant that I am making in my blood." God, in the flesh, is redeeming mankind through his own hand.
The fourth cup is the cup of praise. It is the cup of acceptance. God has accepted us through the sacrifice of his Son. We are his people and He is our God. It is also the cup of celebration that anticipates the coming fullness of the kingdom of God. What Jesus begins with his death, he will complete at his second coming. It is the cup that Jesus said, "I will never drink of it again until I drink it anew in the kingdom of God."
There is a fifth cup. It is called the Elijah cup. It is left untouched as a reminder that Elijah will come as an unknown guest initiating the coming of the Messiah.
The four cups are akin to marriage vows. "Jesus, will you have this people, the Church to be your wife, to live together in holy matrimony? Will you love her, honor her, keep her in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long you both shall live?" Jesus says, "I will."
He has. Have we? On this night we remember his vows and ours.
Blessed be the Name of the Lord and our Savior, the Lamb of God slain before the foundations of the world for our salvation. Maranatha!
Our last verse for the Lenten season is Isaiah 53:12. It is a difficult verse. If you compare translations, you'll find that they come up with different ways of trying to get the Hebrew out.
For example, the NIV says, "Therefore I will give him a portion with the great or many." The NLT says, "I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier." The ESV says, "I will divide him a portion with the many." Clear as mud, you say? Agreed. Perhaps that is the point of the whole verse. The divine prize and purpose of the person of Jesus is so unfathomable that it is too difficult for any language to put into words. Let's try our best to "unmuddy" those waters.
Jesus, a child born under suspicious circumstances (at least from the world's perspective), born to poor parents, who lived in a small village of no notable factors ("can anything good come out of Nazareth?"), who was a teacher, but never started a school, who was a great theologian, but never wrote a book, who gathered tax collectors, prostitutes, and common laborers as his followers, and who was murdered in his early thirties...this man shall be given a portion with the great men and women of the world for all history to record and ponder. Clear water yet? I didn't think so.
It wont' be because of his military prowess or political persuasion but for something more notable, more noble, more unique. Quite frankly, unheard of and for many, unbelievable.
"...and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isa. 53:12 NIV)
Many have given their lives for others - a noble self-sacrifice. But no one has been able to be our substitute to satisfy the wrath of God...once for all.
"Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:7-8)
If one truly thinks about it, it's almost too hard to put into words.
Perhaps that's the point. Perhaps that's why he is so great.
10 "Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities." (Isa. 53:10-11 NIV)
When I was at the Chinese church in Oregon, I was told a story that portrayed a redemptive act of father and son.
There once were two warring families that gathered together for a great day of battle. And as sometimes happens (David and Goliath), the two kings agreed to send a representative to perform a great feat of courage. The two kings agreed to send their only sons. The two sons were to swim out into the middle of a lake and go under water. The first to rise for a breath would lose and their family would be slaves to the other. So the boys swam out and went under. Seconds became minutes. Minutes seemed to be hours. One of the boys eventually came up for air. Gasping, struggling, he swam to the shore to the embarrassment of his father and to the enslavement of his people. A loud cheer waved through the other side. The gloating smile of the victorious king stretched from ear to ear. But the water remained still and silent. Seconds became minutes. Minutes seemed to be hours. The other son, for the love of his father, for the love of his people, had gone down to the bottom and tied his clothing to a sunken tree root. The son had willingly drowned.
It is very difficult for me to understand the love of Jesus for me. I don't understand how a person that I didn't know, who was perfect in every way, would even consider giving his life for me. "God demonstrated his love for me in that while I was a sinner Christ died for me" (Romans 5:8). Easy to memorize. Horrible for me to consider.
But even more difficult is the idea of a father doing that to his own child - sending that child to a horrific death for others who rejected and despised him. There was no coming up for air. There was only death. To try and understand how a good Father would willfully crush his own Son, to cause him to suffer...I can't. I wouldn't. I couldn't. He did.
The only way that this makes sense is to see the hope that is attached to his son's suffering. And by the way, don't jump to the selfish conclusion that this is about you. It's about Jesus. Although his life is cut short, although he will never marry or have children of his own, he will have offspring and more than you can count. The will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. He will see the light of life again because the Father will not let him rot in the grave. He will justify many and be the one who receives praise and glory and honor for bearing the sins of us all.
Do I understand? I can't. All I know for certain is that I wouldn't. I couldn't. He did.
Let us remember the sacrifice of both Father and Son tonight as we go on this Lenten journey together.
"7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth." (Isa. 53:7-9 NIV)
Part of the sadness of "social separation" is the cancellation of our community Lenten services. Our "loaf and ladle" service (bread and soup suppers together as four churches) was a sweet time of fellowship and our time of worship even more so. As community pastors we have been teaching through sections of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53 and tonight Pastor James would have brought his unique thoughts to bear on the text.
In his absence and in the absence of Pastor Mark and Steve, I thought I would carry us through.
There is a contrast from verse 6 to 7. We, like sheep, go astray and we want our own way. It's called "sin." But Jesus, our Passover Lamb, had no sin and yet he suffered for us. And he suffered for us to give us an example of suffering. He took it. He understood that suffering was part of the plan.
Here is where many Christians unwittingly become Buddhists. My life's goal is to not suffer, to get rid of things that bring suffering, to detach from life in such a way that I will not be affected negatively by this world and the desire for the things of this world.
How different that is from Jesus who for the joy set before him endured the cross with its suffering and shame. How different that is from Jesus who learned obedience from what he suffered (Heb. 5:8) and became our perfect sacrifice.
Peter tells us that, "When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 'He himself bore our sins' in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; 'by his wounds you have been healed.' For 'you were like sheep going astray,' but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." (1 Pet. 2:23-25 NIV)
Notice how many times Peter refers to the Suffering Servant of Isaiah in this short passage. Suffering has a purpose for all of us. It perfects us. It calls us to trust in a just Father. It calls us to a patient witness before our enemies - a witness that ended up bringing many an executioner to faith in Jesus.
On this night of remembering our Lord and Savior, may the cry of our own heart be, "Not my will by Thine," and our song, "O to Be Like Him" - our beautiful, suffering, Savior.
Wow! Its been almost four years since I've hit the keys on this blog - an old friend who has waited patiently for my return. I write not from a renewed desire, but as a necessity. I write because an invisible enemy has taken over the globe - the COVID-19 virus.
I started this blog many years ago because I wanted to put my thoughts down on issues that on the surface appear to be black and white (having a measure of certainty) but in reality or in practice were very much in the grey zone.
Today I pick up the writers pen because such is the context that I find myself. The truth is that I don't know the truth about this virus. It is not black and white but a shade of grey.
I have people in the medical field who are shouting "pandemic" and likening it to the Black Plague that will soon kill 80% of the planet. No one is saying this, of course, but that is what people are hearing. Their reassuring words fall on deaf ears as flights are canceled, grocery stores are inundated with depression minded hoarders, schools cancel, churches shut their doors, sports have come to a halt (they're running reruns of March Madness 2015 - I want a refund from the Cable company), etc...
I have others in the medical community and even reporters who believe that this is so blown out of proportion that it borders on medical and social malpractice, equated with yelling fire in a crowded movie theatre when a hand full of people were caught smoking cigarettes in the corner. They fear for their jobs to even question the hype. They are not saying that it is not a real concern but equating this with the average influenza, which in the end, and may be statistically proven, to be far worse.
Then there are those in the middle - people who are sorting it out, trying to follow the rules, being considerate, kind, and helpful, believing and trusting - me and probably most reading this blog.
I think in the end, it really doesn't matter. We will never know how the strain started. We will never know if it was hype or hell. We just need to give people hope.
I was thinking about what does matter: No particular order.
1. Loving people. Even those we disagree with.
2. Being kind and courteous. Pandemics are no excuse for forgetting your manners.
3. Being generous. Don't hoard. Look for ways you can responsibly share you possessions. It really does speak to where your treasures lie.
4. Community. I am going to miss my church family the next couple of Sundays. I will miss the handshakes, hugs, and kisses. I will miss the greeting of Bruce and Marlene at 8, the hug from Brother Rob, the prayer with the worship team, the old hymns and old saints, young saints and in between. The general atmosphere of belonging and worshipping our Lord and Savior together. So much to be thankful for...
5. Trusting the one who is the Truth, the Way, and the Life - Jesus. The worst thing the virus can do to me is kill my body, but then I would be with Jesus. "O grave where is your victory, O death where is your sting." No worries on my end.
6. Being prepared. I think this is a wakeup call for the Church in general. We should have been expecting things like this to happen. After all, we're going around saying its the "last days" and yet living like we were in an episode of "Happy Days." My prayer is that this is the new normal. Church was never supposed to be a building but a group of people who communed with the phrase "until He comes" as their motivation and expectation.
7. Family. I hate being so far away from those who are dearest to us at such a time of crisis. But for such a time as this...we are where God would have us to be.
Be contagious today. Not with the virus but with what matters.
