There’s no Room for Us and Them in the Gospel

Whose fault is Covid-19?

For that matter whose fault is anything? My kids like to play the blame game on occasion. I talk to them about taking responsibility, giving grace, and recognizing that those kinds of conversations are generally counterproductive.

Why do we ask questions like that in the first place? How did we learn to look for someone to take the blame?

Once again I think we have to go back to the garden. The serpent placed a seed of doubt. Eve thought she’d found something better than what she already had. She couldn’t resist the temptation of more. Her husband didn’t put up a good argument, it seems. They followed their own inclination. The results, of course, were catastrophic. Sin.

The Father went looking for them.

“Where are you, what have you done?” God asks the question, even though he already knows the answer.

The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” Genesis 3:6, 12-13

Already they’re pointing the finger. The reality is, from that point onward, guilt was universal. There is no one blameless left to point the finger. Except of course God. And he chose not to. He chose to fix the problem. Of course, if we don’t like that solution then we can bear the consequences. That’s an option he leaves available. But it’s not what he desires for us.

Anyhow, as I said, there is no person left who can point the finger. Certainly in life we feel the effects of intentional sin. When someone chooses to harm another person. We also feel the general effects of sin. Every molecule has been bent in the wrong direction. Brokenness crept into every corner.

Sickness, famine, natural disasters, death all fall into that category. Actions may have set things in motion, but so much pain and damage isn’t intentional, it’s the way the world is bent now. Away from holiness, perfection, submission, and towards self, destruction, decay. It’s just the reality.

But, still, we look for someone to blame.

Our corporate culpability hasn’t lead to corporate humility. It’s unfortunate.

So who is responsible for Covid-19? Sin. And even though that sin began with Adam and Eve we shouldn’t be too cocky. We all bear their guilt by association. We would have made the same choice, to trust our own wisdom and rebel against God’s order. I’m convinced of it.

The Chinese aren’t to blame for the pandemic. The Italians, Europe, or the American government aren’t to blame. It’s important to say that, because we love to find someone to point the finger at. It’s our default.

I saw a sign in my hometown recently that led me to share these thoughts. The sign blamed China for the pandemic and their loss of business. It jarred my heart. First it made me angry, but the anger gave way to sadness. The accusation was unjust. Why do we need someone to blame? Why, when something bad happens, do we need to find a scapegoat?

As a follower of Jesus, how should we respond when we see injustice? I have a few suggestions.

• Pray – Prayer aligns our hearts with God and ensures we are valuing what he values. Pray first for your own heart to be just, to be patient with those who are not, and for people who may be hurt by the injustice. I know of a few Asian families in our town. I can imagine that sign feels like a warning to be on their guard. I’m praying for them in this challenging time that they don’t experience the added stress of rejection.
• Speak out – Injustice is all of our responsibility. It doesn’t just go away on its own. The day I saw the sign I sent a message to the business expressing my disappointed that they had chosen to share a negative message instead of a positive one. I asked them to consider taking it down. I didn’t blast them on social media. I wasn’t hateful in my message. But I was clear that the sign turned me off to their business. Change takes all of us.
• Reach out – The best way to fight injustice is to hear other people’s stories. When we recognize that people are people no matter their name, color, beliefs, or origin it makes it easier to identify and harder to vilify. Rarely is it fair or right to paint whole people groups as the villains. That is the surest way to injustice. Get to know the stories and costumes of other people. It’s hard to hate a friend.
• Embrace humility – There is no room for us and them in the gospel. When we recognize and remember our own weaknesses and mistakes it is easier to give grace to others. I think in America especially we need to be careful to remember the dark moments of our own history before we school others and point fingers.

Looking for someone to blame is not as powerful a way to spend your time as looking for someone to heal. It doesn’t matter whose fault the coronavirus is. It doesn’t even really matter whose fault sin is. What matters is Jesus’ willingness to pay the price for all of it, clean up the mess, and make old enemies friends. He is a reconciler and he’s invited us into his mission of reconciliation. (2 Cor. 5:18)

No person, group, or country is really our enemy. Not if you look at things from an eternal, Jesus perspective. Sin and pride are the enemy, but people never are. People, every one, are an object of the Father’s love. Now is a time for healing, not hate.

God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17

The Important Work of Suffering

I sit in relative comfort and ease as I wait. Only mildly inconvenienced. I miss my church, the youth group I get to hang out with twice a week, my little friends at school. I don’t miss a 5:30 wake up alarm, or hectic schedule! Simple works for me.

Still, I feel edgy. The collective energy of the world seems to have gathered in the atmosphere. What is it we’re waiting for? Doom? Leadership? Catastrophe? Societal collapse? Financial collapse? Sickness? It seems an unseen enemy is stalking us. Every sneeze or sore throat makes my heart jump, for just a second. Fear has sunk its teeth in deep, the poison of its bite spreading all around us.

No doubt there is real reason for concern. My husband is in a high risk category. There are two cases of Covid-19 in our little town. Sober minded judgement is appropriate.

In all reality though, nothing substantial has changed. We are stalked everyday by an unseen enemy. From the moment Adam and Eve opened the door for sin, humanity has been dodging death. This moment just pulls back the curtain to reveal the truth.

We are fragile. 

“Shout that people are like the grass.
Their beauty fades as quickly
as the flowers in a field.
The grass withers and the flowers fade
beneath the breath of the Lord.
And so it is with people.
The grass withers and the flowers fade,
but the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:6b-8

We’re far less secure than we think we are. Seasons of calm and prosperity stupefy us into believing we’re masters of our destiny. A global pandemic is a powerful reminder that life is fragile and fleeting. We desperately need that reminder.

We also need this reminder.

“Who else has held the oceans in his hand?
Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?
Who else knows the weight of the earth
or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
 Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?
Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?” Isaiah 40:12-13

It’s against our nature to embrace our humble position before the God of the universe. We want to flex our power, our self sufficiency. In moments of war, famine, or disease it’s harder to maintain that posture. Suffering has been a part of this world since the beginning. We’ve resented it. Understandably so. But what if suffering has a good work to accomplish? Re-calibrating our perspective. Allowing God to be God and us to be his creation.

“To whom will you compare me?
Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
“Look up into the heavens.
Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
not a single one is missing.
O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?
O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:25-31

Suffering was not a part of God’s original plan for his creation. He grieves the effects of sin, and sacrificed his own Son to reverse it. As his people we should grieve sin and suffering too, doing all we can to reflect our Father’s heart of loving kindness. And yet suffering has an important job to do. It turns our eyes off of the kingdoms we have built and to the everlasting God who has eternal power.

I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say that in this life we are perpetually dying. Our bodies get sick, we age, the whole cosmos is decaying. Can you feel it? That won’t be the case when God does away with the old, breaks the curse, and makes all things new. On the new earth we will be perpetually living! No more sickness or death. No more separation or sin. Only continuous, glorious, living! If we recognize God’s authority over creation, and over our hearts.

 

There are more questions than there are answers in the news today. This pandemic is an opportunity for God’s people to hold out life to a world that is groaning. Will we be people of influence and let suffering doing a good work, an eternal work, in our lives?

 

A Prayer for God’s Presence

This past week has been a strange one, on a global and personal scale. So much has changed in just one week. Like many others, my family has spent the last seven days at home, keeping our distance from the outside world. It has been both peaceful and unnerving. I’ve had ample time to read and watch – the Bible, articles, books, documentaries.

I’m reminded of two things. Terrible, frightening, life altering events have happened in our world before, many times over. And, God has always stepped into those moments. Always. Most dramatically he stepped into the mess of the world in the person of Jesus centuries ago. He put on skin and came to a country occupied by the Roman super power, a world full of conflict and suffering.

Whenever humans suffer God is willing to draw near. It’s our responsibility to call out to him and look for him. It’s also our responsibility to be willing to reflect him, giving the world a glimpse of his merciful action. That is what the world needs now more than anything. The presence of God.

It may seem that there is little we can do in this situation. The best place to start is in prayer. Prayer can change the dynamic of any circumstance.

God we pray that you would be moved to act in mercy for your world. For people suffering, may your presence bring comfort. For those in need, help them, by your Spirit, to call on your name and rest in your goodness. For the grieving, we ask that you sit with them in their grief, and that their grief would bend their hearts toward yours.

God we pray that your presence would give strength to the helpers. For the doctors, nurses, first responders, and anyone else bearing a burden of care, will you renew their energy and give them hope. Help them to give care with your wisdom and compassion. And would you make their efforts effective.

God we pray that you would be present with those of us at home. Help us to set the tone of hope and peace for our children, parents, spouses and friends. In unplanned circumstances enable us to see the underlying gift of time. Let our homes be a place of refuge that you fill with your presence.

God we pray for grace for the high school seniors who had expectations and hopes. Help them to grieve honestly, to be creative in their response, and to see the big picture. We pray that they will not be defined be disappointment or defeat, but that they will embrace the challenge to be resilient, problem solvers, and compassionate. May the world be better because they were launched in a season of crisis, and they decided to be brave instead of bitter.

God we pray your power for the church, that you would animate her with your presence. When the world is afraid may we live with bold faith. When others are self preserving may we be generous. May our voices be joyful, our actions kind, our hope eternal, and our example encouraging. May the world know your love because of us.

“You will show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever.” Psalm 16:11

In these first days of altered social interactions how have you seen God working? What do you need prayer for?

Liturgy for a Pandemic

According to Wikipedia “liturgy represents a communal response to, and participation in, the sacred through actively reflecting praise, thanksgiving, supplication or repentance.” I love that definition.

Unless you live under a rock you know that globally we’re coming to grips with COVID-19. There’s concern, uncertainty, fear. People have differences of opinion. Are we over-reacting, under-reacting? The situation is tense, and far from over.

I’ve read articles, watched news briefings, seen all of the emotions represented on social media. Lots of people have lots to say. I don’t need to add my opinion to the mix. Instead, I would like to offer a liturgy. 

Whether you are isolated in your home or your life is tentatively going on as usually. Whether you are afraid or irritated. I invite you to join me in a liturgy, a response of praise, thanksgiving, supplication, and repentance. Take a deep breath. Forget the statistics and participate with me.

Liturgy For A Pandemic (based on Psalm 91):

Lord, you had authority over creation yesterday. You have authority over creation today. And you will still have authority over creation tomorrow. We stop in this moment to give you praise, as is fitting. We praise you for your goodness and mercy. We praise you for your strength and power. You are Lord over all the earth.

In this moment we praise you.

Lord, we confess in this crisis our eyes have been too much on the world and media, and not enough on you. We have thought unkind thoughts, spoken ungracious words, allowed fear to get the best of us, judged others too harshly. Forgive us for not making you our refuge, for not trusting in your name, for not calling on you, or reflecting your nature. Be patient with us and teach us through this time to be like you.

In this moment we ask for forgiveness.

Lord, there are shortages, there is confusion, and tempers flare. At moments we feel stalked by an unseen enemy. Whether by a disease or fear itself, it’s hard to tell. But even in hard moments you provide. You sustain life, give grace, and provide your Holy Spirit to lead us in wisdom. We acknowledge your kindness to us and offer thanks. You invite us to find rest in your shadow. Thank you for giving us all that we need.

In this moment we thank you.

Lord, we acknowledge that you alone are our refuge and place of safety, our God, and we trust you. Rescue and protect us. Protect us from illness. Protect us from misinformation, protect us from complacency, anger, and judgement, protect us from hysteria. Your promises are our protection. Please be a refuge for our neighbor, for the sick, for the healthcare providers, and all who are working to do good for our communities.

In this moment we trust you to provide.

Amen.

There is still much to be faced, and learned, in the days ahead. When you’ve had information overload or feel overwhelmed by the strain, take a moment and use this liturgy to focus on God’s presence with you through it all. Read Psalm 91, maybe even commit portions to memory.

Nothing is wasted in God’s economy, not even the coronavirus. If we let him he will teach us new rhythms of rest, he will give us opportunities to love and trust, he will show his glory, deepen family bonds, and prove himself faithful!

{If you know someone who needs reassurance during these times share this liturgy with them or post it on your social media.}