Sermon: The Spirit of Christ
March 15th, 2020 Rev. Betsy Perkins
First Baptist Church, Delavan WI
Scripture passage: Psalm 46, 2 Timothy 1:1-10
I am not sharing with you the sermon that I thought I would at the beginning of the week. I’m not even sharing the one I began to write on Thursday afternoon. Everything has changed – at least for this moment. Realities are changing moment by moment. It is somewhat surreal. But God has not been caught off guard or unprepared! God has prepared us for such a time as this with the faith that God gives us and with the rescue plan for the world that God has put in place through Jesus, long before we ever knew we would need it! So in this moment I believe it is essential for us to remember who we are as children of God, and that we live within God’s fortress of love.
The world seems to be having a hard time knowing how to respond to this global threat of a novel (new) coronavirus. On the one hand there is the hype, the tendency of some media sources and especially social media, to sensationalize the news to make it more like entertainment and drive up the ratings, drive up ‘likes’ and ‘shares’. This reaction feeds fears. It drives panic. It sends people running out to buy a 3-year supply of toilet paper.
On the other hand there has been the equal but opposite reaction of those who would prefer to live in denial. This is a foreign virus, those voices say, it can’t come into our nation without a visa so we’re safe. Just ignore the hype, you can keep doing whatever you want to do. All is fine, hakuna matata, no worries, everything’s going according to plan. This response may also be driven by fear, but rather than acknowledge the fear, it is ignored, denied. It’s the ostrich with its head in the sand.
As followers of Jesus Christ we are called to a different way. Timothy reminds us that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, and of love, and of self-discipline. (2Tim.1:7)
We are given a spirit of power, of strength. Very often in the disasters/health scares this world has faced, it has been Christians that have stepped up to give leadership and to show the way. We do this because of Jesus’ example of caring for the sick and the suffering, for seeking out the lost and lonely. Jesus said, “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you visited me.” (Mt.25:35-36)
It was these words that inspired Missionary doctors. One of the missionary doctors that my parents worked with in India was Dr. Paul Brand. Dr. Brand’s faith in Jesus Christ, his love for Christ in the people he met, and his willingness to face the unknown, enabled Dr. Paul Brand, to overcome a centuries-old fear of leprosy to discover its cause and pioneer treatment, so those who have contract leprosy do not have to be shunned but can stay within the love and care of their families and communities.
Our ABC missionaries Bill and Ann Clemmer wrote a blog about a month ago titled “Danger all around us, yet peace in the middle” they write:
As we enter our 29th year of overseas service with International Ministries, we only need to look at our past… to know that He will walk with us tomorrow.
I think back to our commissioning service in the summer of 1992 in Green Lake, Wisconsin, with three young children and a fourth on the way; never could we have imagined on that memorable day the number of countries that God would send us to, the unique challenges and opportunities along the way, and the daily evidence of his abiding presence.
I’ve gotten used to the fact that I don’t know today what God will ask of us tomorrow, but I do know it will have a purpose and it will be part of His plan. Very little of what they taught in medical school, internship, residency or even an MPH program would prepare me for the ever changing roles I have taken on during these past years as a doctor in Africa: rounding on patients (two to a bed), preparing lessons for med students and nurses in a language not of my own, tracking down the origin of an unknown disease, fighting Ebola in a remote corner of the Congo, setting up emergency clinics in refugee camps in South Sudan, restructuring a clinic in the mountains of Burundi, or clearing a container of medical supplies across the Kenyan border. Only a surrender of my will and trust in His call would prepare us for the task at hand.
Yes, there have been bumps along the way: evacuating our home in Haiti with an infant and three children never to return, two more evacuations in the Congo during prolonged civil wars, scattering our family across three countries, riots in the street, gunfire at night, an active volcano behind our house and a methane-imbued lake in front, calls for medical assistance over HF radio, suturing lacerations on our back porch, a spinal tap on a kitchen table, a snake in our bedroom, a band of rebel soldiers at our door…and now a seemingly never-ending outbreak of Ebola with thousands of casualties. These are the some of the memories that have tested our faith.
His mercies, however, are present each morning and we know the One who holds our future days. We wouldn’t trade this life, these opportunities, these memories for anything. Despite the threats around us we know we are never alone. His provisions in the past and promises for tomorrow …are all the assurance and strength we will ever need!
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
The Clemmer’s post just a few days ago was about teaching children the skill of washing their hands. We have the opportunity to respond to this COVID crisis with strength and service. This does not mean throwing caution to the wind, but it may be staying in touch by phone with someone who is scared and lonely, being their buddy, praying together over the phone. Perhaps praying aloud with another makes you nervous and you may not feel like you have words to pray, but we can always use the Lord’s Prayer. Say it together over the phone. We can find ways to bring food to those who are isolated and unable to go out. There will be many who suffer financially in this crisis, who lose jobs or pay because they need to stay home with children. There will be opportunities in the future to help those people by contributing to food pantries, supporting homeless shelters, giving to our national offerings so that those within our wider church body who have the call to serve those in need will have the funds to do so. God has given us a spirit of strength.
God has also given us a spirit of love. As Christ-followers we are to be known by our love – Jesus said, It is by our love that the world will know that he was sent by the Father. And his disciple John wrote to new believers to say, “He has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.” At all times, but especially in times of crisis, we are called to respond with with love and compassion.
Unfortunately, the fear of the coronavirus has led to widespread discrimination against Asians – here in the US and other nations as well. My son-in-law, Peder, works in a small office in Philadelphia for an organization that works to provide small loans for people who can’t get loans from large banks because they are poor, or minorities, or women. This week he stopped by the desk of an Indonesian American co-worker and when he asked how she was doing, Peder was stunned as she began to share the hateful words that have been directed at her in the past few weeks as she goes to and from work, into stores or restaurants. I’ve heard that in many communities, people have stopped going to Chinese restaurants as if simply eating food prepared according to a Chinese recipe is infectious. Rather than respond with fear and hate, we must lead the way in responding with love. God has given us a spirit of love.
In addition, God has given us a spirit of self-discipline. Medical science has discovered so much about the wonderful way God created our bodies, and how they work and the way illnesses work. While there is much they are still discovering about the COVID-19 virus, there is a tremendous amount we do know. We do know that washing our hands, for a full 20-seconds, with soap is very effective in preventing any infectious disease from spreading. We know that this virus is spread in coughs and sneezes, through droplets that land on surfaces and hands. We know it spreads efficiently when lots of people are crowded close together.
So now is the time to exercise the self-discipline of following good medical advice: wash your hands, long and often; cover your cough; stay home if you are sick. It may be tempting to just run out to get one more thing at the store – but we must be self-disciplined to resist that temptation. It may get lonely, being isolated at home – but we must be self-disciplined and take all the precautions that are advised. My daughter Anna sent me an article yesterday titled, “Social distancing – This is Not a Snow Day.” It warned that unlike a snow day, the cancellations of events and school is not an opportunity to get together with friends, to set up sleep-overs and family reunions, to go out to the movies. That would be actively undermining the extreme measures that are necessary to allow our health care system to deal with the outbreak in a measured, controlled manner. There have already been significant lessons learned from other countries who are ahead of us in this battle. The biggest lesson is that early and disciplined social distancing can slow and reduce the spread of the illness, allowing health care systems to keep up. Many in Italy are sharing regret that they did not take the threat more seriously, sooner. But in recent days, with the entire country on lock-down, Italians are embracing the discipline of keeping themselves isolated as a patriotic expression of their love and concern for one another.
When I am self-disciplined about following hand-washing, cleaning and social distancing guidelines I am not just serving myself. I must be self-disciplined because I love my neighbor, because I love my community, because I love each of you. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of strength, and of love and of self-discipline.
I would also add that God has given us a spirit of hope. As those who trust in Jesus Christ, we can see beyond this emergency, this fearful time, to a hopeful future. In 4 weeks, or 8 weeks, or whatever the time it takes, this too will pass. We will emerge – certainly not unscathed, but we will emerge. Bible promises that God can bring good out of every situation. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.”
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of strength, of love, of self-discipline and of hope! We have been given the Spirit of Christ!
Closing Song: “It Is Well With My Soul” # 519
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