Jeremy L. Berg

Dear church in quarantine:

I woke up this morning with the sunrise in my eyes, blinding me as I rolled over to hit snooze on my alarm. Two thoughts immediately flooded my mind. First, I thought about what new updates on the coronavirus this day would bring, and the increased levels of anxiety across our land. Second, I thought about the brightness of that sunrise and felt this giddy surge of excitement that I have good news to share with people who are afraid, and I can’t wait to start sharing it! That’s why I’m sharing these letters.

Grace and peace to you all as we receive the gift of another day. I hope these pastoral letters are an encouragement to you in these anxious times, and that they help anchor your soul in the unfailing love and goodness of God. 

Any student of history knows that our “light and momentary troubles” aren’t worth comparing to the hardships and sufferings people have faced in other times and places. Virtually every word of our New Testament was written in the midst of hardship and persecution—much of it from a dirty prison cell by a man in chains. 

Today let us eaves drop on the Apostle Paul near the end of his life as he offers encouragement and instruction to a younger Timothy—words I think we need to hear today as the Coronavirus advances its march across our land like a an army indiscriminate in its attack on a civilian population.

1Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus… 3Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them …8Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach.

“We’re a nation at war,” declared the President of France yesterday in speaking about the virus. The Apostle Paul also used military language to describe the high calling of Christians in advancing the cause and message of Jesus. He saw himself as a soldier enlisted in God’s army—an army fighting against life-draining powers of death, despair, sin and selfishness and fear. We wield the weapons of faith, hope and love in this ongoing skirmish. Our uniforms are decorated not with pins and medals; we are clothed with Christ and we flaunt not our own heroic acts but his victory over death, sin and the powers of darkness. Every new day we put our feet on the floor, and stand in His power remembering that “the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead now lives within us” (Rom. 8). This is very good news that we need to bring to a world paralyzed by fear of death.

But I love, love, LOVE the next part of Paul’s letter to a young, anxious Christian:

 9And because I preach this Good News, I am suffering and have been chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained. 10So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.

Paul was involuntarily “quarantined” in a Roman prison cell, unable to get out and be with the people he loved or the people he so longed to share the good news of the Resurrection with. But listen Church of America now in self-quarantine: a virus can’t quarantine our message! A virus can’t keep us from gathering for prayer and worship using the latest technology. A virus can’t stop me from waking up each day and sharing a bit of the Sunshine that pours through my window each morning. Our hope in the Resurrection and our message of love can’t be quarantined!

So, keep spreading light and hope all day on Facebook and Twitter, with a calm smile at the grocery store checkout counter, as you walk past people with anxious looks and escalating fear. As you tune into the news—I recommend just once or twice today, not all day long—may you remember Paul’s words to Timothy that I leave us with today:

 11This is a trustworthy saying:

If we die with him,we will also live with him.

12If we endure hardship,we will reign with him.

If we deny him, he will deny us.

13If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.

14Remind everyone about these things, and command them in God’s presence to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them.

P.S. I thought I would include verse 14 here as a warning to Christians to rise above the unhelpful politicization of the media coverage of this pandemic. Left and Right cable news outlets spend more time “fighting over words” and in “useless arguments” that “can ruin those who hear them” rather than build up and unify a nation in crisis. Refusing to get embroiled in this game is another way Christians can be a beacon of light in these uncertain times. 

Grace and peace in Christ Jesus,

Pastor Jeremy