Psalm 95
1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
3 For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
7 for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
Today, if only you would hear his voice,
8 “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,[a]
as you did that day at Massah[b] in the wilderness,
9 where your ancestors tested me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
10 For forty years I was angry with that generation;
I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they have not known my ways.’
11 So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’”
Romans 5:1-11
5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we[c]also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Let us pray,
May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all of our hearts, be pleasing and acceptable to you, our rock, and our redeemer…
I’m sure we would all agree that this past week has not exactly been a peaceful one. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic. Meaning that the virus has spread to more than 100 countries. The entire country of Italy is on lockdown, as the government tries to contain the spread of the virus. Our president issued a 30 day travel ban on people traveling to the Unites Stated from Europe.
He had to take such drastic measures because there are more than 1200 confirmed cases in the United States. As a precautionary measure, many nursing homes, schools, worship services, and public gatherings were cancelled or postponed. Here in Pittsburgh, all of our universities have closed their dormitories and are transitioning to online classes. Mayor Pedudo even canceled our annual St. Patrick’s day parade.
Fear over the spread of the virus sent the stock market into a downturn on Thursday. Which makes everyone nervous about their investments and retirement portfolios. People are canceling or modifying their travel plans which is devastating the tourism sector of the global economy.
Hospitals do not have the resources to treat everyone who suspects they have the virus. Doctors are advising vulnerable people to self-quarentine. Sitting at home, anxious and bored, ordering all of the Lysol wipes from Amazon. Which Amazon promises to deliver to their houses three months from now.
Into this anxious time, we have Paul’s letter to the Romans. In it, Paul reassures an anxious congregation of their hope for their salvation. That they can do nothing to earn it. Jesus took care of that through his death on the cross. The only thing we can do is to believe the good news. Particularly and perhaps most importantly during anxious times.
The same promises that were true for the Roman church, are true for us as well. We believe that Jesus came to set us free. That his death reconciles us to God our creator. We believe that Jesus’ gift frees us to participate in God’s ongoing ministry in our communities.
When we follow God into our communities, we will not need to travel far to encounter human beings who are suffering. As followers of Jesus, we know that suffering is a normal part of the human experience. But we also have hope that because of Jesus, suffering does not have the final say in who we are.
I don’t believe that God causes suffering to make us stronger. Or that things always happen for a reason. But I do believe that suffering does happen. Paul saw that through his suffering he drew closer to Jesus, closer to God. I think suffering is an opportunity for us to bear witness to the hope we have in Jesus. By helping others sees the presence of God where suffering is present in their communities.
This week, I’ve been looking for God in how people are responding to the threat of the coronavirus in their communities. Where are people choosing hope over fear, action over complaining, forgiveness instead of anger? Thankfully, I didn’t have to look too far to feel it.
I feel the presence of God when I gather in public restrooms with other women. Scrubbing our hands as though we were preparing for surgery. Knowing that our hands touch children, the elderly, and doors to schools, churches, and hospitals all day every day. Knowing that while we probably won’t die from the virus. We could pass it along to someone who may. It sounds like a small thing. But it is something we can do to care for the vulnerable we interact with every day.
I feel the presence of God when I scroll through my Facebook feed and I see people learning (for perhaps the first time) how their actions affect others. Men and women who refuse to give into fear. Who choose not to buy six gallons of hand sanitizer because they can. Who recognize that not everyone has access to clean water, healthcare, or time off from work if they fall ill. Who are preparing their families, but who aren’t hoarding resources.
I feel the presence of God when I see people checking in on their neighbors. Their neighbors who live alone. Whose doctor recommended they self-quarantine for two weeks. Who don’t have any friends or family nearby. Who can stop by for an hour and say ‘I see you, you aren’t alone, and we’re going to get through these next couple days and weeks and months together.’
While there are many reasons to be anxious over the spread of this virus, there are also many reasons to have hope. Sometimes it takes a global pandemic to remind us that we are not as in control as we would like to be. But that there are good people in our communities doing what they can to make our communities a safer, healthier place. And the only way out of this crisis is by reaching out to those around us. To practice hope in the midst of fear. When we do this, God’s love is made manifest.
Friends, I chose to preach on this passage, instead of our usual gospel reading, because I think we, like the Roman church, need reminding that God loves us so much that God is willing to go to any length to reconcile us.
When we’re feeling scared and out of control, it is comforting to be reminded to put our faith in the one who is in control. Romans 5 calls us to welcome human suffering and trust in the outpouring of God’s love on the cross as the center of human life.True peace, true shalom, arises when we live in confidence that our lives and our world are in the hands of the one who loves it and us.
My challenge for us this week as we head into a world anxious about all of the unknowns that come with a global health pandemic is reflect on how we can practice hope in the midst of fear. How can we reassure ourselves, and others that God is present with them? Even when we have no idea what the next several weeks and months will look like for us and for those we love.
So, suffering or not, anxious over the spread of the coronavirus, or not, we can live trusting in God’s love, God’s determination to have us as great cost, yesterday, today, and forevermore.
Thanks be to God,
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.