Over the years it has been my blessing to know a lot of really fine pastors. I have known a lot of stinkers, too, but there are some good ones out there. Right now, there is a lot of e-mailing going back and forth about what each of us is doing during this time. Or, what we are not doing. The approaches are varied and interesting. Technology has emerged to this point and is allowing churches to remain connected.

         Yet, there are many churches that are disconnected, and it doesn’t seem to be a big deal.

         In addition to talking to pastors, I have had conversations with people in pews. I am not seeking these conversations out, they are coming to me. There are churches out there who have the capability to do what we are doing here at Urbana Yoke Parish, and even do more of it and do it better, but who are not doing anything. They are not getting messages out; they are not giving their congregation the opportunity to stay connected and they are not offering any help to their people. I have come away from these e-mails feeling depressed.

         And then it came to me the other night; if you do not have a message to bring, why worry about bringing a message?

         Over the years, we visited a lot of churches while on vacation. Marsha liked to go to churches that were interesting in their design and building style. The photographer coming out. We walked into several churches that would be considered unique, but which presented a bland and watered down message. One such church, inspiring on the outside, contained about 20 people within and featured a study on mother earth and our responsibility to her. Another church we went to, an imposing brick structure, looked like the people on the inside were already (18 years ago) practicing social distancing. Huge sanctuary. The only people sitting close to one another were husbands and wives. There were no children, just gray haired folks. No one spoke to us. The pastor walked in just in time to speak and then left the building while one of the men prayed to close.

You may not be aware that there are more churches out there with no message than there are churches with a real message, but it is true. If a church doesn’t have a real message, why bother putting whatever message they have out there? Just let everyone take a break from the monotony of church.

But, for those churches with a message of hope, of salvation, of victory, they have a message that is critical to get out. Those churches are compelled to get the message out, whatever the difficulty or the cost.

Our church here in Urbana, Indiana, is not a social club that we can turn on and off. Certainly, we have our fellowship and we have our social time. But we are first and foremost a place that is a sanctuary, a place that puts forth the Word of God and a place that has a Message! And most important, the desire to continue putting the message out.

It is a tiny drop in the bucket of Christianity. But it is our drop and it is our desire. We have a message! Take the opportunity to interact with others during this period shut down. Call people and check on them. Let Christian and non-Christian alike know they are being prayed for. Go beyond your comfort zone.

What a time this is, what an opportunity and a privilege. We can bring the Message in spite of it all! I shared this with someone this morning, I share it with you. The words to Send the Light!

There's a call comes ringing over the restless wave,
"Send the light! Send the light!"
There are souls to rescue there are souls to save,
Send the light! Send the light!

We have heard the Macedonian call today,
"Send the light! Send the light!"
And a golden offering at the cross we lay,
Send the light! Send the light!

Let us pray that grace may everywhere abound,
"Send the light! Send the light!"
And a Christlike spirit everywhere be found,
Send the light! Send the light!

Let us not grow weary in the work of love,
"Send the light! Send the light!"
Let us gather jewels for a crown above,
Send the light! Send the light!

Send the light, the blessed Gospel light;
Let it shine from shore to shore!
Send the light, the blessed Gospel light;
Let it shine forevermore! 

         You may feel that your light is just a candle against the blackness of the universe, but it is just the candle that the Lord wants to use today.

         “Why doesn’t your guy Trump get off his butt and take care of this virus thing? With all our science this should be a piece of cake! What is his problem? He just wants to help the rich!”

         I read the e-mail with some disbelief. My mind went to the sender, an old ‘friend.’ ‘Wow, did we really go to the same high school? How can you even think like that, Dude?’ There are several things wrong in those four sentences. First, the president isn’t ‘my guy.’ I voted for him in the general election because Ted Cruz, a Christian whose morality and Christian outlook I admire, lost in the primaries. Second, the president is doing all he can do, and more than most would do, to halt this thing. It would scare me to see this president, or any president of my life time, emerge from a lab in a white coat where he was working to find a cure. Third, the cure. Science has never found a cure for a virus. They will eventually come up with a vaccine, but a vaccine is not a cure. It will provide an immunity of sorts if you have not already gotten the virus, at least until the virus mutates. This is why there are flu shots every year. Some viruses are talented little fellows. And fourth, being rich, or poor, has nothing to do with anything.

         But, like a lot of people, my old ‘friend’ gets his information from the media. The media wants to place blame. The president is disliked by the media, so they find ways to blame him. Of course, it wouldn’t matter who the president was, this virus would exist and would be affecting the entire country, just as it is now.

         Maybe it is human nature to always place blame. Having been in the ministry for 44 years, I have heard people place blame for a lot of things. Any church that has ever had a long lasting problem can place the beginning of the problem back to a single pastor or one or two members who wanted to control everything. During the years when I was working with churches in crisis situations, I met with a particular congregation. Their problem went back to a pastor who had been there 15 years before and had started them on their downward path. It was all his fault. He wasn’t right for the church. He had an agenda. He certainly wasn’t a Spiritual leader. He was to blame. One man was telling me the story, but everyone else was nodding their heads in agreement. I listened to them. It was their story and it would have been rude to interrupt. When the blame game ended, I asked a question.

         “So, how did this man come to be your pastor?” “Uh, what do you mean?” “I mean, how did this man come to be your pastor?” “Well, in the usual way. We were looking for a pastor and we got his resume and, well, one thing led to another and we called him as pastor.” “Oh, OK. Why did you call him as your pastor?” “What? Well, we didn’t know he was going to be like that. We thought he was a real Spiritual guy. Good preacher and all.” “Oh, OK. So, did you pray about it before you issued the call?” “Well, of course we did!” “OK, so you sought out God’s leadership. Therefore, either this pastor was so clever that he had God fooled OR, this congregation was not Spiritual enough to simply commune with God. Now we know the pastor didn’t fool God, so that makes you, as a congregation, completely at fault.”

         The meeting ended shortly thereafter. In the car, Marsha said, “It is amazing any church ever calls on you for help.”

         The point is, when we seek to place blame, we either blame someone else or we blame God or we blame whatever. We almost never blame ourselves, even when it is obvious. And sometimes, there is no blame to place.

         Take our current situation. How can you blame any person because an unknown virus has emerged? The story I read is that a man at a market in Wuhon, China bought some bats to make bat soup. (I have never seen that in a Chinese restaurant, but it does sound tasty.) One of the bats had the virus, which had never been transferred to humans before. But the virus had mutated. The bat eater got the virus and, boom, the virus shut down the world. The bat wasn’t at fault. The bat eater wasn’t at fault. No one was at fault because it had never emerged before. Of course, none of that may be true, in which case it was the president’s fault. Good thinking. But if it wasn’t anyone’s fault then God must be at fault.

Except, we were told things like this would happen. We were told there would be disease and war and all manner of bad things, but that does not mean the end is here. These are things that will just happen. Man sinned and grief came into the world, but not everything that happens that is bad is a judgment of God.

SOMETIMES, BAD THINGS HAPPEN.

So, where are we with COVID-19?

Families are spending more time together with fewer distractions. It really isn’t important that there are no sports on TV or on the local fields. It really isn’t a big deal that the family has to eat at home. It really could be habit forming to touch base with loved ones. Is all this ‘shelter in place’ stuff so bad? Even the ‘stay at home’ from church isn’t so bad. God needs to be lifted up at home before lifting Him up at church can have an impact. Maybe we could get to the point of the psalmist in Psalm 63:

O God, You are my God; earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You;
my flesh faints for You, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
 So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary, beholding Your power and glory.

 Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise You.
 So I will bless You as long as I live; in Your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise You with joyful lips, when I remember You upon my bed, and meditate on You in the watches of the night;  for You have been my help,
and in the shadow of Your wings I will sing for joy.
My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.

But those who seek to destroy my life  shall go down into the depths of the earth;  they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals.
But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

         Wouldn’t it be amazing if all this brought us to the point that this psalmist had arrived at? Maybe this whole thing isn’t so bad.

         Blessings and joys as we approach the Resurrection of our Lord.

  

         We had the best dog in the world. I know, you think your dog is the best, but our dog taught the course at Doggie U. Star. We got Star when she was seven and her owner died. She immediately took to Marsha. She sensed Marsha’s physical problems. She knew what Marsha could and couldn’t do. When Marsha would take her for her noon walk, she stayed right next to Marsha, always sensing her need and always ready to protect. It really was more like Star was taking Marsha for a walk than the other way around. Every morning at around 5 AM I would take her for the morning walk, and the night walk would be around 9 at night. When she was with me, she was a nut. Smelling every blade of grass, chasing butterflies, laughing at me when I said it was time to go. But for Marsha she was protective and caring. If Marsha had a bad day, Star would meet me at the door when I got home and let me know that Marsha wasn’t doing well. Our Star was a brilliant dog.

         At night Star would come to my side of the bed and lay her head on the mattress while she was still standing on the floor. She was a big dog and she had to bring her head down to lay it on the mattress. I would pet her a little and talk to her a little and then she would lick my hand and turn away and go around to the other side of the bed and lay down on the floor where she could listen for Marsha to make sure she was OK all during the night. Star considered Marsha her primary concern. “I love you, Dad, but Mom needs me.” This was her pattern for eight years until she died. Except…….

         ……for thunder.

         She could hear thunder while it was a long ways off. She would stand and nuzzle Marsha’s hand until she got a reaction from Marsha. Then Star would give her a little whispered ‘woof’ and then she would come around the bed to my side. If I was facing the side of the bed, she would stick her nose in my eye to wake me. If I was facing Marsha, Star would stick her nose on my neck. Either way, I would wake up. A little whine, a little ‘woof’ and the most pathetic pleading eyes you ever saw. “OK, girl. Lay down.” Star would lay down and I would lay so that my hand rested on her shoulder. We would be like that until the thunder passed. She would still be frightened, especially at the big boomers, but she would lay still and quiet as long as I kept my hand on her shoulder. That was her safety.

         Star didn’t know that I couldn’t protect her from the storm. All she knew was that when she was next to me the storm never hurt her. For us, we know that the Lord can protect us from the storm. But when the storm comes, we want to handle it on our own. Sometimes a dog can have more sense than we do! During this time of uncertainty and stress and worry, consider this passage from 1 Kings. Elijah’s life was threatened. He wanted God to intervene. The Lord took him out to the wilderness, and there…..;

1 Kings 19:11-12   And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the  

         The Lord isn’t always in the great and grand display. Most often, the Lord comes to us in a still, small voice. Just like the slight touch of her master’s hand could ease the only fear a great dog like Star had, so also can the slight touch of the Master’s voice ease our fears.

         Are you tense, maybe a little frightened with all that is going on? It is serious and you should be concerned. But for a while, right now, turn off the news of virus and politics and death and desperation. Stand before the Lord and listen for that soft whisper, that slight touch of the Master, that will surely bring you peace and rest.

         Have you heard anything about something called the coronavirus? Something about a pandemic? Everything disrupted? Of course you have. We all have. It is hard to think about anything else.

         Except that this is the time of year we should be focusing in on the death, burial and Resurrection of our Lord. I am greatly grieved that we will not be able to come together to worship during the last few weeks of this Resurrection season, but even without that thrill of worshiping together, we can remember the story.

         There are still four weeks until we feel the rush of triumph of His Resurrection! But what was actually happening right about now? Jesus knew how His time on earth would end and He knew when it would end. Was He preoccupied with death? Was He worried? Was He filled with hate?

         At about four weeks before His death, Jesus was teaching His disciples about the sheep and the Shepherd. Of course, as He explained the concept, the disciples failed to understand. Jesus Himself was the Shepherd, but the disciples were looking at Him to be the triumphal King, an earthly King who would set them free from foreign rule. But Jesus was talking Spiritual things.

         It was the time of the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem and Jesus and His band of men were in that ancient city. They were worshiping on the Temple grounds when a large group of Jews confronted Him. “Don’t keep us waiting! Are You or are You not the Messiah?” Jesus looked at them and said, “I have told you, but you do not believe. The things I do, I do in My Father’s name and those things say clearly who I am. But you do not believe.” It was Jesus saying HOW MUCH MORE OBVIOUS DO I HAVE TO BE??? So they picked up rocks and would have killed Him there, but the Bible says He escaped them.

         And then Jesus did a curious thing. He went from Jerusalem to the Jordan River where John the Baptizer had done so much of his baptizing at the beginning of their ministries. Here, the Bible says, Jesus stayed for a while. Many people came to see Him. We do not know what transpired there, but we do know that many believed on Him at that place. Given the time frame, He would have stayed about two weeks by the river. Apparently, He preached. He probably did some healing. But, whatever He did, many believed on Him there. He was just weeks away from death, and He went on with His Father’s business.

         What would you do in that situation? Just a short time to live. Run out of the place that was literally your father’s house. People you loved had rejected you and had already been plotting to kill you. What would you do? Your followers were so caught up in their own greed that they failed to understand the basics of your purpose. What would you do? Everywhere you turn, people were either expecting the wrong thing or rejecting you for the right thing.

         What Jesus did was to continue to love, continue to minister, continue to be there for the people who had treated Him so poorly. Of course, we can say He was Jesus. This was His mission.

         But we should never, ever forget that HE was, and is, the Son of God. HE commands the heavens. HE was with His Father at creation. Jesus was the only perfect man who ever lived. There was no spot of sin in Him. HE had all the power of God in His hands. You would have thought He would have done something different during His final days. But He kept about His Father’s business.

         Mordecai, of the Old Testament Book of Esther and a mere servant of the king, was hated by Haman, a man second in power only to the king. Years before, Mordecai had saved the life of the king. During a sleepless night, this came back to the remembrance of the king. The next day, Haman was ordered to dress Mordecai in the king's robes and place him on the king's beautiful horse and walk him through the city proclaiming in a loud voice, “This is what is done for the man the king wishes to honor!” Haman was humiliated. He felt he should be the one so honored, not the one leading the horse. When the ordeal was over for Haman, he went home and wept before his wife. This was a high honor for Mordecai, an honor anyone would think he should be proud of. What did the honored Mordecai do? He took off the king’s robes and went back to his job at the king’s gate.

         To me, the Book of Esther is inspiring for the courage of Esther, but also for the focus of Mordecai. I want to serve my King as Mordecai served his king, regardless the service or the circumstance. Jesus, in His final days, went down to the river and continued His service to His Father.

         Always remember; all of the life of Jesus, from conception to death, was a sacrifice we cannot imagine. Not just the cross, but His entire life. The One who commanded heaven went down to the riverside and quietly continued the work of His Father.

         What an awesome Savior.

         Getting older is a two-edged sword. On the good side, you gain experience. Experience is a great thing and it helps you to look at life in a far more optimistic view. On the bad side, younger people do not want to hear what you have to say. No matter what your experience has been, their experience is worse and more intense.

         I was in my 20s when Jimmy Carter was elected president of the United States. What followed was one alarming crisis after another. Runaway inflation, the first gas shortages, the Iran hostage situation, the Panama Canal give back…..the list goes on. One day at church I was lamenting to one of our older gentlemen about how close we were getting to the breaking point in the country. He laughed and said, “Sonny, I remember the boys coming home from WWI, I remember the great flu epidemic, I remember the Great Depression. Boy, I served in WWII and my little brother did Korea. We had all that rioting in the streets and at colleges and Vietnam. I’ve seen booms and busts and polio and you name it. This is nothing.” I was sure the old guy had no clue. But I was wrong.

         It was also in the late 1970s that people started to mysteriously die in Miami, Florida. At first the country at large wasn’t aware of it. But we lived in Miami. So many people started dying suddenly that one of the local hospitals, Jackson Memorial, (where the morgue was located) began to line up refrigerated trucks to accommodate the corpses waiting autopsy. When you live in a city like that, it is very unsettling. No one knew what was causing these people to die like that. Then, they discovered a virus. It had a long name but it was shortened to its initials. HIV. It had been coming into Miami for a decade or more from Haiti, where it had apparently originated, with Haitian refugees. I remember hearing that at the rate it was spreading, everyone in te nation would be infected by the year 2000. Scary stuff.

         Then there was the SARS epidemic and the MERS epidemic and the swine flu epidemic just a decade ago. All of these things, according to the media, were going to take us all out. It was obvious and you couldn’t argue with the thinking. We also have climate change and bad water and great white sharks and alien (the outer space kind) abductions and so on and so on. And now it is the coronavirus.

         Experience gained by being older says that we will weather this storm. There is a thing called the case fatality rate, which is the percentage of people who will get the virus and who will die from the virus as opposed to those who will recover. (Remember, not everyone will get the virus, so the case fatality rate doesn’t even apply for the majority of people.) For the coronavirus, after they have had time to study it and run the numbers, the case fatality rate is 1% of those who contract the virus will die from it. These numbers are brand new. Earlier guesses by the media set it as high as 8%, but that was media, not the Center for Disease Control. To compare, the swine flu outbreak of 2009-2010, also classified as a pandemic (a disease that is worldwide), had a case fatality rate of .8%, practically the same, with the coronavirus slightly higher. In other words, “been there, done that, still kicking.”

         The reaction this time, though, is probably more correct than in 2009-2010. “WHAT!??!” you say. “THE NCAA TOURNAMENT ISN’T ALLOWING FANS AT THE GAMES AND THE NBA HAS CANCELED THEIR SEASON! IT IS OVERREACTING!” The odds of any particular person dying from the coronavirus are pretty slim, but people will still get sick. It is passed from personal contact. I cannot believe that I am saying this, but I am impressed that the NBA has canceled the remainder of the season considering the money that will be lost. I am thinking, though, that the cancelation is more out of fear of lawsuits that might be filed against the league if someone does die from the virus. However, people need to be careful and take precautions. It is the wise thing to do.

         Another wise thing to do is don’t listen to the media reports. The Center for Disease Control has a website that will give you real updates. The media should be your last resort for any news.

         So, what should people do? Use common sense. Assume other people are sick. They may be and not know it yet. You may be and not know it yet. Limit your contact with people. You have to go to the drug store and you have to go to the grocery and you have to live your lives. But there are things you can stay away from. You probably don’t have to worry about church since most Sunday services around the country do not constitute a crowd. On the other hand, sporting events with fans yelling and bumping into each other and all the rest might be something to avoid.

         At a particular extended care facility this week they are examining visitors at the information desk as you walk in. They take your temperature and ask some questions about your health. I have allergies and at the moment I was sniffling. I sniffle a lot because I have allergies and by 2:00 if has been eight hours since my nasal spray. I wasn’t allowed in. That is OK. Two other facilities were not allowing anyone in. And that is OK. Care is being taken to protect our family and friends. It is not the end of the world; it is just caution.

         I read something this week and I think it is the best way to approach this whole thing. Be concerned about it, but don’t worry about it. As Christians, it is in God’s hands, anyway. I am going to be concerned for a new born baby who might contract the virus. I will be concerned for an elderly person who has other issues, as well. I am concerned for those with autoimmune problems. But trust in the Lord and allow Him to take care of you.

         Blessings.

         I suppose we have all had such a moment. You can’t explain the feeling, but you just know it is special in a way unlike any other moment you have had or will have. Truth be told, I have had many of those moments that sing to me in a music I can appreciate. Marrying the woman I loved. Holding my baby the first time. Catching that HUGE bass on a rickety old rod and reel. But this moment was different. Not better, necessarily, but different. It had a different feel.

         We had a full, finished basement at our house in Ohio. It was Super Bowl, 2004. The basement had a couch and chairs and a weight set and a heavy punching bag and a pool table. In a cabinet were all kinds of board games. The Youth were over for a Super Bowl party. The party started a couple of hours before kick off with a supper that would have fed a small army. But, with wall to wall teenagers, we had a small army. A pool tournament went on all night. A single Monopoly game lasted hours. Other kids were playing other games. I remember seeing some of the kids playing Chutes and Ladders and wondering where that came from, since we didn’t have that game. Off in one corner, two of the brighter kids were quietly involved in a game of chess. Oh well. And there were three of the guys actually watching the game. Whenever the game would break for a commercial, one of them would yell out, “COMMERCIAL!” Everything would stop while we all watched the silly commercial. Marsha kept bringing the snacks and I remember being amazed at how much those hoodlums could pack away.

         At one point I was leaning against the wall, watching everything. Playing pool and beating all the guys was Mary. Seven years earlier, when she was ten, she had told me what she wanted in her wedding and she had confidently told me I would be the minister at her wedding. No boy had been picked yet, but she knew what she wanted. The previous summer I had taught her how to drive. She never walked past me without reaching out and touching my arm or shoulder. Getting badly beaten by Mary was Jason. Crazy about football, he was never the less playing pool with Mary instead of watching the game. Made me wonder. Just a month before I had stood next to his bed in the ER trying to calm him down. He had been on his way to school and had lost control of his truck on the ice and had rolled it. There in the ER he was worried his Dad was going to kill him. When his Dad came in, Dad couldn’t talk because he was so relieved Jason wasn’t really hurt. Amanda was playing Andy in chess. They were cousins and had a genuine rivalry going on all the years they were growing up, but they were pretty close. Simon, over there playing Chutes and Ladders, always had a cocky streak, but he could play Chutes and Ladders and laugh himself silly. That basement was a mass of teenage humanity. All of them having fun.

         We always had fun. Some of them worked with me at the Food Pantry, some did home repair for our elderly, a couple of our boys did oil changes and such like. Always some kind of project going on. Whatever we did, we had fun doing it. I can say it now…..I had more blessings with those kids than I ever did with the adults.

         So, I stood there leaning on the wall, looking at those kids. It came to me as I looked around, “I really love these kids!” And I did. Still do. I always referred to them as ‘my’ kids because it felt that way. And it wasn’t just those kids. I go back to the 1970s and Youth. It was always like that. But there, somehow, as I stood there looking around, I felt in my soul that this was a special moment in time. Then Mary beat Jason and she came over and touched my arm and told me it was my turn to play her.

         I have thought back to that many times. Was that something like Jesus felt as He looked at His men there at the last supper? Just pure love. So much love He was going to die for them. And for us, too. As He looked out at those men as they talked and visited over their meal, did He think about plucking Peter from the water? Did he smile a little bit as He remembered the mother of James and John asking for her boys to sit next to Him in His Kingdom? Did He look over to plain spoken Thomas and remember His simple, yet insightful, questions? As He looked at them in love, did He feel a sadness knowing how they would die and what they would endure for their faith in Him? I wonder. I did do the wedding for Mary, but I also held her in my arms as she sobbed when her four month old baby died suddenly. I told Jason that his father had died of a heart attack. I had to sit Amanda down and confront her with some of the things in her life. In a few years I was going to be preparing Simon’s body for burial. There was going to be a lot of sadness amongst the kids there that night. If I had known that at the party, I don’t think I could have handled it. Jesus, though, knew all of that as He looked around. It all had to happen.

         Jesus would have known that Peter and Andrew and Philip and Nathanial would be crucified. He would have known Thomas was going to be sold into slavery. He would see that Matthew was going to be stabbed to death, the other James was going to be stoned and the other Judas and the other Simon were going to be beaten to death. How much pain and sadness did He feel as He watched those men talking and joshing?

         It wasn’t just a simple sacrifice for Jesus. People have died for others all through history. But Jesus was laying down His life for all of us. And He didn’t have to do so. He loved us, though, so much, that He did it willingly.

         It is a rare day that I don’t hear from one of my former Youth. Sometimes it will be hearing from several, like at my birthday. Mary has gotten her life back. Amanda had that wild period, but she straightened out. Andy lives in Colorado and puts in garage doors while his wife, also one of our Youth, is a doctor. Jason is living his life long dream of being a football coach. Andy’s brother John is wrestling with the possibility of going into the ministry. We have had some good talks. Noelvys, of Cuban heritage from Miami, and now a nurse, is always grilling me on my health. They are still my kids, they still come to me with questions. But they also tell me about their kids and their families and their jobs.

         For Jesus, as He looked out at His men, I believe He saw the coming trials. But He would have seen the victories, too. He would have seen the world turned upside down by those men. Mostly, when I look at my kids today, I am pleased. When Jesus looks at us, at you and me, is He pleased?

         As we remember His sacrifice, remember to be a sacrifice, yourself, for the world.