Palm Sunday Amid the Coronavirus

A virus is a tiny thing.  Miniscule, in fact.  While they come in a variety of shapes and sizes, the one thing that they all have in common is that they are small.  Most viruses are too miniscule to be seen by an optical microscope, and would be about one hundredth the size of most bacteria.  For a little more perspective, the polio virus is about 10,000 times smaller than a grain of salt.  So, a virus is a tiny thing.

For people who are into viruses, there is even a healthy debate about whether or not a virus is a living thing.  It would not be an interesting debate for most of us, and I would doubt that the debaters resort to fisticuffs and name calling, but it is a question some people like to discuss. 

One of the arguments against viruses being alive is the fact that rather than being a cell, they are nothing more than particles containing strands of genetic material.  Because of this, they do not have the material that drives the processes which allow for reproduction.  This inability to reproduce is another argument against them truly being living organisms.  You can see how this would turn into a pretty lively debate. 

In order to replicate itself, a virus attaches itself to a plant or animal cell, and inserts it’s genetic material into the host cell.  This material then hijacks the reproductive processes of the host cell and redirects it to ‘photocopy’ the genetic material of the virus.  This material is then sealed inside a new container and a new virus is formed. 

   

As you can tell by my simplistic, inadequate explanation of the life of a virus, I am not a virologist and this will never be the go-to explanation on the life-cycle of a virus.  The point is, in the eyes of many experts, a virus is not a living thing.

And this particle, that is not even alive, that is not a living object, has brought the world to a stand-still.  The majority of the inhabitants of the planet are isolated in their homes, world leaders are stymied, medical systems are overwhelmed, grocery stores are struggling to keep shelves full, and economies are brought to their knees as this tiny, little, lifeless particle moves uninhibited throughout the earth, commandeering one cell after another. 

In much the same way that I am not a virologist, I am also not a theologian.  But as I peruse the news headlines every morning, I am struck by the number of articles, in both secular and Christian publications, that discuss the possibility that the apocalypse spoken of in the bible is upon us.  I don’t pretend to be an expert on the end times, but I do like what Dr. David Jeremiah said concerning the coronavirus:

“Is this a sign of the Second Coming of Christ?  I cannot say with any sense of certainty that it is. But neither can I say with any certainty that it is not.  It could be the early evidence of number three on Jesus' sign list, the coming of pestilence”  

I like that.  Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t.  Kind of the camp I was falling into even before I saw the quote from this end times scholar.

I also liked what N.T. Wright wrote in his article for Time Magazine:

“No doubt the usual silly suspects will tell us why God is doing this to us. A punishment? A warning? A sign? These are knee-jerk would-be Christian reactions in a culture which, generations back, embraced rationalism: everything must have an explanation. But supposing it doesn’t? Supposing real human wisdom doesn’t mean being able to string together some dodgy speculations and say, ‘So that’s all right then?’ What if, after all, there are moments such as T. S. Eliot recognized in the early 1940s, when the only advice is to wait without hope, because we’d be hoping for the wrong thing?”  (https://time.com/5808495/coronavirus-christianity/)

So, I will leave the talk of end times and the return of Christ to the experts, but a couple of thoughts have gone through my mind as I have walked through this season.

First, with Holy Week before us, Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter, my mind goes to our resurrected Savior.  He was crucified, raised from the dead, spent forty days appearing to his followers, and ascended into heaven.  According to the gospel of Matthew, Jesus leaves his disciples with a wonderful truth.  A truth that we, as believers, can cling to even through the most difficult of times.  He gathered them together and left them with these words:

“And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”  Matthew 28:18 (ESV)

And then Matthew ends his gospel with this wonderful promise from Jesus:

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”   Matthew 28:20 (ESV)

Friend, if you are a follower of Jesus, that promise is for you.  He is with you every moment of every day.  Wherever you are, he is with you.  Whatever you are facing, he is with you.  In the middle of the most fiery ordeal, he is with you.  Even when you feel alone, isolated, and maybe even abandoned, the absolute truth is that Jesus is with you.  The author of Hebrews reminds us of this truth when he writes, “There is absolutely no way whatsoever that Jesus will ever, ever leave you or forsake you”  That’s a paraphrase of Hebrews 13:5.  But that promise makes the following verse even more true for the believer:

So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:6 (ESV)

And, it is a comfort to know that someone is walking with us through the fire.  Someone who will never leave us or forsake us.  Someone who will always be with us.  But what makes it even more comforting is the truth Jesus speaks just before that promise to always be with us.  Jesus says, “ All authority in heaven has been given to me.  All authority on earth has been given to me."  He says, “I have authority over everything.”  Jesus does not say, “I have authority over almost everything,” or, “I have authority over everything, except this little thing over here.”  He doesn’t say, “I have authority over everything except the things Satan has authority over.”  Not at all.  Jesus says, “I have absolute sovereign authority, complete lordship over everything in heaven and on earth.”  So, the one walking next to me, the one who loves me and  who promises never to leave me, has absolute sovereign jurisdiction over all things.  As R.C. Sproul said, “There is not one stray atom in the universe.”  That truth should bring us peace….and security…and rest.

While, for the believer, there is this place of peaceful trust in the authority of this Savior who will never leave us or forsake us, there are also questions.  Why does a loving God, allow this virus to run rampant through the population of the world?  Why do negative things happen in my life?  Why are loved ones taken away?  If he has, “All authority in heaven, and all authority on earth,” why did he allow this to happen…whatever it is?  Some will say that he is giving us a wake-up call.  Others will say that he is judging a world that has, to a large degree, rejected the one who created all things.  Still others would say that it is God preparing the stage for the return of his Son or that bad things happen because we live in a fallen world.

 

In my younger years, I most certainly would have been tossing in my opinion, trying to answer all of the “why” questions.  As I have grown older, I am content to realize that many of our “why” questions will only have answers that make sense in eternity.  The purposes behind the most fiery of trials will only come into focus and been seen with clarity when we begin to walk in God’s dimension.  It is then that we will see that this Jesus, having authority over all things, has truly never left us or forsaken us, and that he has worked all things to the Father’s glory, and to our good.  My hope is in that truth, and my contentment flows from knowing that, for now, I only see in a mirror dimly, but the day is coming when I will see him face to face.  That, in this moment, I only know in part, but the day is coming when I will fully know all things….and that promise is more than enough for me.  (1 Corinthians 13:12)  

I have always been a fan of God’s grace and mercy.  Over the years, as I have preached and taught and written, I have heavily leaned toward grace.  I am fully aware, and often tell people, that if God’s grace and mercy are less than I think they are, I am in trouble.  If the grace and mercy that was poured out on Calvary is any less than I think the Word of God tells me they are, I will never see God.  I will be doomed to hell.  It is by God’s grace alone that I will ever stroll through heaven with him.  It is by his mercy alone, that I will escape the pit of hell.  So, I am a fan of the tremendous breadth of the grace and mercy of God.  I am a radical believer in radical grace.

Having said that, it needs to be pointed out that the preaching of the wrath of God has fallen on hard times.  It is much easier to stand in the pulpit and tell people of the love God has for us, to talk of grace to people who need grace, and mercy to hungry souls needing to hear some good news, than it is to talk about God pouring his wrath out on a world that rejects him.  But the wrath of God is as real as the love of God.  The wrath of God will be as real for those who reject him as the love of God is for those who receive him through Jesus Christ.

I only mention this because as people talk about this virus that has shut the world down, being a judgement from the Creator, or the beginning of the apocalypse, I am reminded of what scripture tells us about the wrath of God.

Without a doubt, this pandemic is taking the lives of people, it is hurting families financially, it is isolating communities, and nations are walking into an uncertain future.  All of this havoc because a miniscule lifeless particle has taken the world captive one cell at a time.
 

As serious and devastating as this disaster is, it cannot be compared to the time when the Creator will pour his wrath out on a sinful and rebellious creation.  When this very alive, all powerful God finally says, “Enough,” it will not compare to the damage done by this inert virus.  When God pours his righteous indignation out on a world that has rejected him, a world that has held the sacrifice of his son in contempt, nations will fall, rulers will hide their faces, and the earth itself will tremble.

When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.  Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
Revelation 6:12-17 (ESV)

Maybe this pandemic will be a wake up call for many.  A poll commissioned by “The Joshua Fund," and conducted by McLaoughlin and Associates interviewed one thousand Americans, both Christian and non-Christian, to find out their spiritual reactions to the crisis.  The poll found that one in five non-Christians said that the crisis is causing them to, “Start reading the bible and to listen to bible teaching and Christian sermons on line even though they usually don’t.” 

It is my prayer that multitudes will have their spiritual eyes opened through what is happening and turn to the Father through Jesus Christ.  This lifeless virus slipped up on us and caught the world unaware.  The life-giving Creator has promised throughout his word, that he will pour his wrath out on this world that has rejected him, and we will not have the excuse that we were not aware of what was going to happen.  God has promised it. God has warned us of what is coming.  And God will bring it about.

But the Father has also provided a Savior to bear our sin, to make us right with the Creator and to rescue us from his wrath.  As we approach the remembrance of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on Good Friday, and the celebration of his resurrection on Sunday, it seems like a good time to reach out by faith and receive the grace and mercy poured out on that cross, and allow Jesus to clothe you with his righteousness.