Yesterday I woke up feeling cold. Now that doesn't necessarily mean anything, since I often feel hotter and sometimes even colder than normal. But I started thinking, "Am I getting sick?"
My husband felt my head - nothing. I took my temperature - nothing. Yet I'm still thinking, "I might have that virus."
And that's the way it is when there's a chance of illness. My physical well-being becomes my focus, occupying my thoughts, and affecting everything I do. Every little body twinge is a cause for concern.
About a month ago, just as we went into this stay-at-home mode, I happened across John
Donne's Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions - meditations relating to
sickness, death, and trusting in the Lord during trying times.
These writings include the well-known phrase "never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
Donne writes these devotions as he's experiencing some type of sickness; he also relates how he does all he can to avoid getting sick. Nothing wrong with that. We do the same.
But Donne then compares his concern for physical health with his concern for spiritual health.
Why is not my soul as sensible as my body? Why hath not my soul these apprehensions...these suspicions of a sin, as well as my body of a sickness?...I fall sick of sin...and all this while have no presage, no pulse, no sense of my sickness.
Donne recognizes that he isn't on the look-out for dangers, for temptations and the sin that may harm his spiritual soul.
And I'm convicted. I know God's Word and His commandments. I'm aware of my sinful heart. And yet I don't wear a "spiritual mask" to protect myself. I'm not careful in that regard.
Now I have two options here:
1) I can totally ignore my spiritual health and be unconcerned about my sin, which is my tendency; or...
2) I can overreact and become legalistic and obsessed with personal holiness.
Of course, neither one of them is the correct choice.
So I turn to option #3.
Jesus came into this world, died on the cross and then rose again. Because He came, I call God my Father, and I neither ignore my spiritual health or obsess over it.
I
have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ
who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith
in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20
There's freedom and love in being a child in my Father's house. It's okay that I'm the prodigal son, always returning, always being forgiven, always loved.
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Galatians 5:13–14
It was in college that I was first introduced to The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis. Narnia is the name of Lewis's fantasy land in which a group of children have various adventures. The Narnia books also "paint pictures" of the Christian life and understanding.
One of my favorite pictures is of the outdoor climate, the elements in Narnia. In The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, when the children initially enter Narnia, it's dismal, cold, and snowy. One character describes it as "always winter and never Christmas."
Now it took me awhile to "get" that idea, since in our culture the ideal Christmases always come with snow.
But in Narnia, Christmas was never coming, or so it seemed.
However, midway through the story, Father Christmas (Santa Claus of all people!) arrives. The snow starts melting, green grass and flowers appear, and birds begin chirping. Spring has come to Narnia!
And the reason for the thaw, for the new growth, the new life - Aslan, the story's Christ figure, has arrived.
In the Bible's Old Testament, the Lord promised His people that a Messiah, a savior, would come, to make things right in this world. The people looked and waited for, and trusted in this promise.
"Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land." Jeremiah 23:5
I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. Zechariah 3:9b
But for the Old Testament people, the Bible says...
These
all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having
seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they
were strangers and exiles on the earth. Hebrews 11:13
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Galatians 4:4-5
Once Jesus was born, things were different. The promise of hope was that a Messiah would come to free the people, to bring them back to the Lord; and with Jesus, that hope was fulfilled. The long winter was over; spring was here.
No matter how bad things in this life are or how bad they get, we enjoy the privilege of living in this time period, a period that Jesus has entered into. He came and died for the sins of the world, He defeated death and rose from the grave, He sent us the Holy Spirit, and now He, Jesus, rules and reigns.
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for
he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with
the robe of righteousness. Isaiah 61:10a
I was taking a walk around the neighborhood early this morning, and I noted all the bags and containers of trash waiting to be picked up. I waved at the trash collector when he drove by, but the Marine inside me wanted to salute. Thank-you to all our waste disposal workers who remain on-the-job!
We're a people with a lot of stuff, a lot of junk, and a lot of trash. We're constantly throwing stuff away.
Not only that, but we have a lot of trash on the inside of us, a lot of sin, struggles, hurts, temptations, guilt, covetousness, sloth, envy, pride. The list goes on. We have a lot of trash.
And this "inside trash" we like to hide it, and just carry it around with us. It's on the inside, so nobody sees it or knows what we're bearing or what our insides actually look like. Even carrying this "inside trash" is more trash - our shame - that we also bear.
Paul puts it this way...
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh...Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Romans 7:18 and 24
And David prays...
Have mercy on me, O God...my sin is ever before me...Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:1, 3, and 10
Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, the Son, was born into this world as a baby, as one of us. He lived among us. He fed people and healed them; He taught and loved them.
But He also came to save them. And He came to save us, to rid us of that trash inside of us, to crush it. That's why He went to the cross.
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:2
But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our
iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and
with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
And just like that faithful trash worker, Jesus takes my "inside trash" again and again and again, as many times as I need Him to take it, He takes it. And He forgives my sins and makes me clean and sets me free.
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36
A friend recently tried to convince me that "we all pray to the same god." His argument included the fact that "there are other religions that also pray to the god of Abraham."
Okay, he's correct, sort of.
Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you." Genesis 12:1
And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. Genesis 17:7
There are other religions that use these verses to trace their origins back to Abraham. But that's not the whole story.
Yesterday I made a quick trip to the store, and I happened to see a sign on a display stand - "Celebrate Easter, April 12, 2020."
I was glad of that reminder. It gets to the heart of the difference between Christianity and other religions that claim to "worship the god of Abraham."
Abraham was also told:
...and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. Genesis 22:18a
Christians believe that this offspring that blesses all nations is the promised Messiah; that He's Jesus.
And this Jesus is God incarnate - God who took on flesh, the little baby whose birth we celebrate during Christmas, and the servant leader we read about in the New Testament who taught and healed people.
This Jesus is the One who bore the sins of the world, who died on the cross for those sins, for my sins. And He's the One who rose again on that first Easter morning. He overcame sin, death, and Satan to be that blessing to all nations, to me.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14
...but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:23–24
And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:30–31
I know it's not Easter yet, but, Jesus is risen, and He's on the throne. Our God.
I love this verse:
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. Psalm 20:7
In the Old Testament, during the times of the kings, people trusted in their nation's military strength and power. And chariots and horses were "state-of-the-art" military equipment.
These days, our "chariots and horses" are:
- comfort and health
- money and success
- relationships and popularity
- entertainment and leisure
As this virus has progressed, and people are wandering what to make of it, I keep thinking about plagues and where we put our trust.
Most people are aware of the ten plagues that happened in Egypt during the time of Moses. But there's also an incident recorded in Numbers.
In this account, the Israelites have been living in the wilderness for many years, and all this time the Lord has provided for them. But they forget His provision and start complaining about having no food and no water. And the Lord sends...
fiery serpents among the people, and they [bite] the people, so that many people of Israel died. Numbers 21:6
But it's what happens next that's significant. The Lord tells Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole. When anyone who was bitten looked at the bronze serpent, he would live.
Now I don't know the reasons behind what's happening in the world today and I wouldn't dare to speculate. But I do know where to look and what to trust, or rather Whom to trust.
About Himself, Jesus said:
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. John 3:14–15
In the midst of this uncertain life, and life is definitely uncertain these days, it's the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus that's absolute, undeniable, and the one thing to trust. Look to the crucified and risen Christ.
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 16:33
About 30 years ago, I was given a pamphlet on the Lord's Supper. It was a trifold. One side of the page had the Roman Catholic stances, the other side had the Protestant viewpoints. In the middle of these positions, there were the relevant Bible verses on the Lord's Supper.
Like a good Bible student, I read through the pamphlet and looked up the verses. My conclusion was, "The Roman Catholics are reading into and beyond the text; the Protestants are ignoring the text. Why can't people just take Jesus for His Word and believe what He says?"
Take, eat; this is my body...Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Matthew 26:26-28
At that moment, I embraced a position that I now know is similar to the Lutheran understanding of the Lord's Supper.
Our God, in the second person of the Trinity, Jesus, the Son, took on flesh, and He became one of us. He walked and lived among us. He lived a perfect life. And in accordance with Old Testament prophecy, He died as a sacrifice for our sins and for our salvation. And He overcame death and rose again, and He's still alive, seated at the right hand of power. Because of that, when we die, we will pass from this life, to life with Him. And we look forward to the physical restoration of our bodies. Right now, He physically gives us faith, strength, and understanding through His Word, and in His sacraments.
Lutheran Pastor Jonathan Fisk's new book is called Without Flesh: Why the Church is Dying Even Though Jesus is Still Alive. The title refers to many in today's church who are in a...
...constant state of decay and endless search for renewal. Having a Word without flesh, they are Christians in churches who, by definition, do not believe that Jesus is among them.
The book is on the Lord's Supper. But rather than writing an argument for the Lutheran teaching, Pastor Fisk, in various ways, explores the implications of Jesus coming in the flesh, and of our Lord continuing to come to us in a physical way.
Words matter. That Jesus is alive and ascended to power - that matters. That He promised to be present and with us - it matters.
We often live like He's gone, like He's not here. Why is that, when we read, we hear, and we know His promises?
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20
Whenever I read a book, I ask myself, "What parts of this book especially impact me and are parts that I will be considering and thinking on?"
- Chapter 2 - Where Might Jesus Be?
The chapter explores the impact of Jesus's ascension, and that it's "something far more marvelous than mere omnipresence."
- Chapter 3 - Where Has Jesus Been?
Pastor Fisk gives a scientific picture of how our words and what we say to one another actually affect us. He examines how physical words from one person can "touch" another person, and make "things" happen inside of them.
- Chapter 8 - What Did John Touch?
This chapter includes teachings on Greek words, grammar, and verb tenses.
Without Flesh is a short book, but it's not a quick read. It's a book that will challenge and impact one's Christian faith in a positive way.
As I was waiting in a church lobby to serve at a military funeral, the church service ended, and the son of the man who had passed away started talking about his father. I felt like a "fly on the wall" listening in to a very private conversation.
The son told how his father had always worked hard, had served people, done the right thing, and never tried to draw attention to himself. His father loved his mother, and he told his sons that, if a boat ever went down, the boys had better know how to swim, because the father was saving their mother.
The son said that he'd always wanted to be like his father. But he admitted that he'd never seen his father cry, and his father had never told him that he loved him. And, he, the son, had never spoken those words of love to his father.
Again - "fly on the wall."
And I started thinking about my own life, my family, and the people I know.
My sons know we love them, and my husband and I tell them that. But I know we miss times, in the midst of conflict or stress, to reassure them of that love.
And, as much as I'd want my husband to put my life first, he'd better be saving my drowning son, and leave me to fend for myself. (I am a Naval Academy trained swimmer!)
But the truth is, no matter our situations, we all get that feeling of "not loved" or "not valued enough." And we get it even though we may be told that we're loved or even shown that we're loved.
We're needy, sinful, hurting people.
But for Jesus...
While He was with them, Jesus told His disciples of His love for them.
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. John 15:9
And in His Word we also read, we hear, and we know of His love for us.
Jesus showed His disciples His love for them by dying on the cross, by saving them...and by saving us...by saving me.
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:12-13
Life's hard. It's hard when you feel alone and not loved. And there's times when it's really hard to love other people. But our hope and our trust, my hope and my trust, is in the One who loves me, the One who laid down His life for me, the One who's promised to come again.
It's in Him, in Jesus, that I know I'm loved, and it's because of Him and His love, that I can love other people, both in word and in deed.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7
About a month ago, just as we went into this stay-at-home mode, I happened across John
Donne's Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions - meditations relating to
sickness, death, and trusting in the Lord during trying times. 
