04/01/2020
Dear brothers and sister in Christ, I wanted to share with you a recent post by a brother Pastor, currently serving at my home congregation of St. Paul, Wichita Falls, Texas. The Rev. Rick Cody had previously served in the Missouri District, before accepting the call to Texas. I hope you find these words to be beneficial as I did. He writes:
“As this tumultuous and extraordinary pandemic COVID-19 unfolds before us, it appears likely, if not inevitable, that Easter Sunday on April 12, will be unlike anything any of us has ever experienced. This Easter there will be empty churches, silent organs and trumpets, absent congregations, no fresh resurrection smell of Easter lilies, and families will be sequestered at home when normally they would be dressed in their Sunday best ready to celebrate “At the Lamb’s High Feast.” The opening paragraph is almost depressing and without hope. That, we all know, is no way to celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord.
I bet that same feeling of depression, defeat, loss, and hopelessness was exactly what the disciples of Jesus experienced that very first Easter Sunday morning following the events of that first Holy Week and Good Friday. I bet when Mary Magdalene went to the tomb that first Easter morning to anoint the body of Jesus, and found that His body went missing, the emotional pain of Jesus not being present was an overwhelming sense of hopelessness for her. Then, when Peter and John ran to the tomb and looked in to find only grave clothes, that had to be a major disappointment, hoping beyond all hope that Jesus would be there! This scene is an all to familiar one for God’s children over the course of human history.
We believers in Jesus all experience the same thing when we expect Jesus to be there and instead are confronted with disappointment and fear. When we expect a miracle to happen only to be disappointed in the end. Perhaps that’s what you’re feeling right now. Perhaps you’re looking for Jesus right now, and looking for answers to what’s going on in our world, only to find Him and His Church have gone silent. Has Satan won? It sure seems like Satan has gotten his way. Satan thought the “silence” after the events of that first Good Friday was going to be the sound of his victory over God. He thought he had silenced God once and for all. So has he finally won?
Church buildings are going to be silent this Easter! This is the highest attended worship service of the year, and many people who have fallen away from the Church are looking to make a change, looking to make a new start, are looking to find Jesus all over again. Unfortunately, they will find the doors of the church locked and the lights turn off for the unforeseeable future. So has Satan finally won? Ummmm...NO!
If this is your understanding of the salvation story, then it’s no wonder you feel lost and hopeless and on the edge of despair! Have you forgotten the promises of God? Have you forgotten the great Scriptural truths? Listen again to the Good News of God’s Word!
“But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said” (Matt. 28:5-6).
“Jesus said, Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am among them” (Matt. 18:20).
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isa. 41:10).
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid” (Ps. 27:1)?
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Ps. 23:4).
The passages of comfort, hope, and strength in the Bible are endless! Yet, I want to pick out the one above from Matthew 18:20, “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am among them.” Even though our churches will be silent this Holy Week and Easter, wherever and whenever we are gathered together in Jesus’ name...there He is among us! When we open His Word in our homes among our family members, His promise to us is that He will be there! When we share a devotional with one another, such as the one you are now reading...Jesus is there! When we pray together as families, Jesus is there. Jesus...will...always...be...there and bring comfort and hope and peace for the believer!
Yes, things may seem unconventional this year for the Passiontide and Easter as we won’t be able to meet together as we are in the habit of doing, but that doesn’t mean that Jesus isn’t still with us. God has said multiple times throughout His Word, because He knows that we need repetition, that “He will never leave us nor forsake us” and we can take great comfort in those words of promise!
I know that you are all saying your prayers for God to have mercy and deliver us from this pandemic, as we all should be! I know you and I would all like things to go back to normal as soon as possible, but God has a plan and a purpose for all of this. We just need to trust Him! We all expect this crisis to end, though in all likelihood it probably won’t be before the Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord. However, don’t let that change your meditation on the events of Holy Week which begins this Sunday, and your celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord on April 12. Let us proclaim with loudly with all Christians across the world that nothing...not even pandemic...will silence the voice of His children...His Church...for we know with all confidence that “Jesus IS Risen! He IS Risen, Indeed!” .......... and we will fill in the missing Word when we all say together again sitting in the pews of our churches!
Peace in Jesus!”
