Lord, Have Mercy!

Acts 2:41–47 ESV

So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Introduction

Life has certainly changed for us and for all Christians across the globe this week. Threats that the pandemic COVID19 is spreading rapidly throughout the world claiming countless lives. Regulations have been enacted that prevents pretty much every church in the world to scramble to find new ways of continuing to feed the sheep and reach the lost through non-traditional means, like this video today. Panic has grasped many, and we are afraid. The economy is failing, people are out of work, the stock market has had historic plummets, and the governmental restrictions become more extensive with each passing day. We are told that this is to protect us; we shall see.

I’m sure your lives have changed a lot. Fewer and fewer are going to work. Even though we don’t have a “stay-at-home” order yet, it’s a good practice until this passes. I find that not knowing when this is all going to end has increased the stress level. The fact is we don’t know.

Beloved, I believe the Lord is using this time to cause us all to step back from the harried life that we have become used to and begin to focus on what is important: God’s love for us as shown in Jesus Christ our Lord. As a nation we have become so distracted. We have stopped trusting in the Lord. We have gone against His commandments both individually and as a nation. The Lord is speaking to us through this situation and we dare not miss his voice in this.

Today is Laetare Sunday. It is the Sunday where a little joy sneaks into the service. The color is rose. Just like on Gaudete Sunday in Advent, the somberness of Lent is broken by a small glimmer of hope. Light in the darkness, even though the light may seem faint.

Our Epistle lesson sets the tone for our worship today. St. Luke, in his Acts of the Apostles gives us a glimpse of the earliest church and what they did despite the threat of death. And it was during this time of crisis that the Church grew and flourished. We pray that the same thing will occur because of the Corona Virus. That many would repent, and come to the saving knowledge of Christ Jesus.

The Early Church was a Worshiping Church

I’m sure you know the Sunday School song, “I am the Church, you are the church, we are the church together, all who follow Jesus all around the world, yes, we’re the church together. The Church is not a building, the church is not the steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is the people.”

While there is some truth in this little ditty, it is not really correct. Yes, the church is the people. Not just any people, but those whom the Lord has “calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies.” The Church is the bride of Christ, those baptized into Jesus. What it is not, and sometimes implied by this song, is some kind of abstract, mystical union of all those who believe in Jesus. The church requires the flesh and blood presence of those who are called. It requires gathering together by the Holy Spirit for the upbuilding of each other. It requires the enlightenment that comes only from without, not from within through God’s Word proclaimed. The Church is made holy through the Body and Blood of Jesus. One cannot be a Christian outside of a fellowship that provides all of these things.

We see this to be the practice of the early church. This section of Acts begins with giving us a picture of what the Church truly is and does:

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

There’s nothing here about the church simply being the people. Rather it is people who gather together devoting themselves to three different practices: Hearing the apostles teaching and preaching; to the fellowship— which is the breaking of the bread (Holy Communion), and to the prayers— those written prayers of their Jewish liturgy that now took on total meaning fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

So this virus is causing us to miss out at least one of these components of worship: The fellowship- the breaking of the bread. In some ways this makes me angry because it is so needed right now for our people. We are working on some ways to get communion to you safely. We will let you know once we come up with a plan.

True Christian worship does require “physicality.” One pastor sent me a picture of a bombed out church in Germany during the war. The building was in ruins. But the pastor was standing in the pulpit and a handful of the faithful were standing in front of him hearing the Word of God. The font was there, as was the altar. Nothing else was left. Corporate worship is vital to being a Christian.

So what does this say to us today watching this service on our computers or phones? It shows us that while we cannot gather physically, and by the way this may go through Easter, the devil has not stopped us. We still have two out of the three things that the earliest church had: The apostolic teaching, and the prayers of God’s people. It’s not the optimum way of gathering, but the Lord has graced us with a means that we didn’t have even ten years ago. We will have church each and every week online until that day when we can gather together to devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching, the fellowship-the breaking of the bread, and the prayers.

I believe a time like this will break us from the deception of taking worship for granted in the future. It is in God’s Word that awe and wonder still happen in our midst.

The Earliest Church was a giving Church

And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

The earliest church lived in community and cared for each other. The description tells us that in this Christian community, everyone came together, sold what they had, and used the money to care for each other. This was something that was voluntary, not forced, like communism. It was motivated out of total love and care for their neighbors. While the Lord did not permit this system to last— he scattered them with persecution— their support of the Gospel and each other was phenomenal for a time.

Remember, these were Christians under threat. Christianity was illegal. Christians were hated by the Jews who thought the believers had been duped. It was feared by the Jewish and Roman governments as treasonous and that Christians were working to overthrow the government. So persecution and murder were commonplace. We heard about the Churches of Revelation last year in our sermons. Not a one was safe, and yet their faith prevailed. Yet in this text these Christians were so moved to support the Gospel and each other that they did not care about the world situation at the time.

God calls us here and now to care for our neighbors. This happens in a few ways.

FIFTH COMMANDMENT

You shall not murder. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every bodily need.

Here is the primary reason we are not gathering. We are keeping the fifth commandment. To gather together could be very detrimental to our neighbors. If someone has the virus and comes to church, it could be contracted by others. Since our membership at church is largely considered an “at risk” group of people due to our ages, this could be disastrous. If someone infects someone else unknowingly and then that other person becomes sick or dies, is this not murder, though unintentional? And from what we are hearing about this disease, it is very deadly to the elderly. So we will voluntarily follow the recommendations of the CDC and others until the threat has passed.

The great plague of the 16th Century caused Luther to write the following:

What else is the epidemic but a fire which instead of consuming wood and straw devours life and body? You ought to think this way: “Very well, by God’s decree the enemy has sent us poison and deadly offal. Therefore I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine, and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others and so cause their death as a result of my negligence.

If God should wish to take me, He will surely find me and I have done what He has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. if my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely, as stated above. See, this is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt/test God.”

The first way we keep this commandment is to do our part to protect our neighbor.

But in what Luther says, we should also be willing to die for our neighbor in our care of them if that is what God calls us to do. God is showing us the extent to which He calls us to love our neighbor.

Second, we keep this commandment by caring for our neighbor.

We don’t know how long this plague will go. But we all have basic needs. Food. Shelter, Water. Warmth. And some of those whom the Lord has put in our lives may require our help. Check in on your neighbors. If they have needs try to meet them as best as you can. If they’re out of food, buy food for them. If you cannot afford to do this we have a fully stocked food pantry here at church. Call me, I’ll arrange to have it delivered to them by our deacons or myself. Check up on your neighbor. Call them on the phone and talk to them. Send them a card with a note. Don’t let them feel forgotten. And pray for them.

Third, we keep this commandment by caring for our Church

This will be a very tough time for our congregation. We have financial obligations here that we have committed ourselves to upholding. We cannot let our mission slip out of our hands. Now is not the time to stop supporting the mission of Christ Lutheran Church. We are asking that you send your offerings to the Church mailbox- information is under “Offering” on today’s order of service that you’ve downloaded. We cannot break the seventh commandment by withholding our responsibilities. Yet we give out of joy to the Lord, worshiping Him as only Christians can, with our tithes and offerings. The Lord will bless you for it.

The Earliest Church was a growing Church

And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

The Lord tells us that the time is short. Plagues and pandemics like the Corona Virus are not a sign that the Lord forgot us; they are a reminder that He is coming soon. Many need to hear the Gospel yet or they will be lost when Jesus reappears. That’s the hard, cold facts given to us by the Lord Himself in the Scriptures. Since we know that things like this that bring so much suffering will precede the coming of the Lord Jesus in Glory the Church— now as never before— needs to get the Gospel of Jesus’ salvation out into a very darkened world, a world that moves farther away from the Lord each day.

So this time is a warning and a “time to wake from our slumber, for the day is nearer now than when we first believed..”

During this time be a people of prayer. Be a people of commitment to the love of God by gathering with us each Sunday and Wednesday as we transmit our service on the web. Here is an easy evangelism tool: Forward this service to people in your address book that don’t normally go to church. It can be a great outreach tool. It is non-threatening and anonymous. But if we reach one person for the Lord it is worth it. I believe that durning scary times like these people are more open to hearing about the Lord’s love for them. So let’s seize the moment.

During this time be a people of action. Show your love for your neighbor by assisting them with those physical needs that they have. No one should go hungry. No one should face this alone. God has graced you with His Holy Spirit and will provide the means by which we care for our neighbors.

And pray that through this the Lord adds to our numbers as well.

I conclude with the collect for plagues and sickness: