Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne

From chapel this morning, sermon preached by Dr. Peter Scaer, Professor and Chairman of Exegetical Theology

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Dear Friends in Christ,

I’ve never seen anything like it. Not in my life, or in this land. Overnight, the world has become a strange place. The abnormal has become the new normal. In the blink of an eye, the world has turned upside down. We can no longer take anything for granted. Schools closed, workers sent home, along with libraries, museums—just about everything. When they shut down the NCAA tournament, we figured it was real. Even more so when they shut down restaurants and bars. Churches, too. All are told to practice social distancing, some are under complete quarantine. Still others are self-sheltering, and will have to deal with cabin fever, which will have its own challenges and opportunities. It’s a mix of trivial and tragic.

I went to the grocery story yesterday. Something I’ve tried to avoid as much as possible. But people are nervous, on edge. And what’s happened to our retirement nest egg? Will we still have jobs? What about those who have already been laid off, or whose businesses are already in jeopardy? And who’d have thought that toilet paper would somehow become currency?

My prayer is that we will all get through this soon enough. In fact, I have every reason to think so.

So, what do we do in the meantime? Well, medical workers are doing their jobs. Truck drivers are doing theirs, as are the cashiers at the grocery store. Firefighters must be on the ready, policemen on patrol. Researchers are busy in their labs, and we pray and give thanks for them all. So also teachers, factory workers, farmers—the list goes on and on. It’s funny how you see things differently when the chips are down. The evil of the day is sufficient, and while the sun shines, we will do what the Lord has given us to do. And that includes us here at the Seminary.

Don’t visit our Seminary now. It’s shut down to the public. But we are not really shut down, at least in our mission and the carrying out of our vision. Our classrooms have no students, yet students are in class. We do not gather together for prayer here at the chapel, and yet we still pray together. This is a time for courage, but not foolishness. A time to move forward, but not recklessly, always mindful of our neighbor. So some of us old dogs learn new tricks, and we thank God for the technology that allows us to teach and learn.

Our heart goes out to all who are suffering, all who are struggling. All who will have trouble to make ends meet. All who are alone, and lonely. All those who work in businesses where work is not an option. All who wonder how they will pay the bills. Anxiety spreads in, with, and under the virus. But so also the opportunity, the need to see things as they truly are.

And we know that whatever may be happening, the fundamentals have not changed one bit. One common sin infects us all. The virus reminds us not only of our frailty, but of our faults and failings. The world is under the curse of sin, our sin. Good time to remember that. But it is an even better time to remember that God’s grace is greater than our sin. Love, grace, and mercy endure. Our mighty God has a cure for what ails us; Christ’s blood washes us clean, and takes away the leprosy of sin that keeps us apart from God and each other.

Perhaps we’re living in the end times. Five hundred years ago, Luther thought the same. St. Paul warned about it, as did Christ. So we do well to consider the signs. Our Lord told us of false prophets. Check. He warned that lawlessness would increase, and that the love of many would grow cold. Check and check. He told us to expect persecution, famines, and pestilence. Check, check, and check. When will our Lord come? On what day or hour? God only knows. But as every day passes, our Lord’s return draws nearer. But that is a good thing, a very good thing. So prepare your hearts, for he comes to save us. And we are a people in need of saving.

In this world of fallen men, we see distress and perplexity, people fainting with fear and with the foreboding. For those who feel faint of heart, for those who feel overwhelmed, place your burdens upon the Lord. Say a prayer and give your trouble to the Lord. Sing a hymn, and let your heart live in joy and hope. For Christ is still Lord. And He is with us, and He shall return with all His angels. Redemption draws near.

So, what do we do in the meantime? Be of good courage and joy, such that your neighbor will ask you the reason for your hope.

And at the Seminary, we will continue to preach like sowers who go out to sow. Broadcasting the gospel over the internet, offering encouragement when we have the opportunity. And this Word will not return empty. We will not worry about tomorrow, but we will plan tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and the summer, when, we pray, this crisis will have passed. So also we will continue to teach our seminarians, so that they might reach the lost, and continue to teach our deaconess students, that they might care for all.

Yes, this season of Lent seems more Lenten than any I can remember. But if it is a time to remember our mortality, then well and good. “All flesh is like grass and all [of man’s] glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord [endures] forever” (1 Peter 1:24-25).

If it is a time for repentance, then let it be for repentance. A time to reflect on the sin that infects us all; a time to consider those sins which especially beset us; a time to remind ourselves about the emptiness of the world, its many false idols; a time to read Genesis, about the basics of male and female, man and wife, and the value of children; a time to tune out the voice of the scoffers who have little to offer in this age, and nothing for the next.

If it is a time to draw closer to the Lord, to remember our first love, then let it be that as well. Let the Words of the Scriptures resound sweetly in our ears.

And if a hard rain is gonna fall, if the waves rise higher, don’t jump ship. Every faithful little church is an ark of salvation. With Christ on board, we will get safely to the other side. And don’t think that our Lord is sleeping, or that He has abandoned us. Far from it. Be of good courage.

Take care of your families, and all who are in the family of faith, the body of Christ. Read good books, talk to one another. Be kind to your neighbors. Let your kindness and patience give opportunity for them to ask concerning the hope that is within you.

And if you have more time on your hands, pray. Pray that our Lord will deliver us from all evil. Pray for doctors and nurses, for those who are struggling, or struggling to make ends meet. Pray for those who are alone, or those who feel alone. For leaders, that they might have wisdom. And also for those of the household of the faithful. Pray especially for our faithful pastors and congregations, that their work might continue. Even as we give thanks for so many faithful pastors and lay leaders, whose stories inspire us with their courage and kindness, ingenuity and fidelity.

And we pray all the more fervently that whatever happens, good or bad, that it would draw us closer to our Lord. That we would use this time to remember what really matters.

Whenever we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we hear the words “Do this in remembrance of me.”

So remember that His body has been given for you, His blood has been shed as a sacrifice for our sins, to propitiate the wrath of God.

And remember that our Lord lives among us. And where two or three are gathered in His name, there shall He be.

And remember, just as surely as Christ was raised from the dead, we too shall be raised to live with him eternally. So the basics are covered.

And on that great day of resurrection, pestilence will be cured, and death will have been put to death. And social distancing will give way to the great communion, where in Christ we have communion with God and fellowship with one another.

And in a world of bad news, that’s good news indeed. Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Amen

Preached from the field this past Sunday, March 15, 2020:

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Martin Luther wrote the following, titled, “Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague”:

“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 [or test] God.”

Luther lived amidst a plague that, when it came to town, didn’t send 5% of the population to the hospital, it sent 60% to the grave. Yet here he offers a reasoned response in the face of death. It is, on the one hand, to not despair – our days are in the Lord’s hands, every one of them, and each hair on our head is in His care – but on the other hand, to not put the Lord to the test by high-fiving everyone in town as if the Lord only works outside of His normal means. And so, when the plague came to town, he stayed behind to serve as pastor. We, likewise, exercise Christian freedom and charity as people make their decisions to come to church or stay home.

Regardless, let us be of good courage. Most of us are aware of Martin Luther’s Hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” It was written in 1529 during, you guessed it, the plague. It was a hymn based on Psalm 46: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling” (vv. 1-3).

And Luther writes in the final verse that, though we lose everything, “goods, home, child, and wife,” he reminds us that the “Kingdom ours remaineth.” So in Luther we see a pastor who thought about the risk but bravely faced the plague confident of God’s salvation. He stood in the middle, between foolhardiness and panic.

May we do the same. May we stand in the middle, on brave but reasoned ground. We know this isn’t as dire as the plague, but at the same time recognize there are people at risk. We are confident God is still the King and in control, but we lift up the fourth commandment to honor the authorities. We are confident of our Lord’s salvation, but lift up the fifth commandment that says we ought to care for those around us. We know God’s truth in His word, but want to be aware of some of the, albeit imperfect, reporting on the subject. We walk the middle ground, brave and reasoned.

So perhaps in this crazy time, when we try to walk this middle road, we can put things in perspective. Our Lord has told us in Mathew 6:25-33:

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

What do you NEED? What do you HAVE to have? The Kingdom of God and His righteousness! If you have that, given in Jesus, you have all you need. Because then you have eternal life! And let us not forget the startling reality that we all, unless the Lord comes back first, will die someday—Coronavirus or not. So, why should this virus, one of a million other ways we might die in this broken world, cause us to panic? When the fear of death grips us, it is we, the Christians, who, being reasonable and cautious, can ultimately say, “We need not be afraid.” Because we know the One who conquers the grave.

We have the Kingdom, brothers and sisters. What’s the worst case scenario for us? St. Paul says, “To live is Christ, to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). We either recover and continue in the ways God has given us to serve, or we die and go to the feast! We win either way, because our Lord is victorious. So what do we really need? The toilet paper, for some crazy reason? No. We need Jesus.

In our Gospel lesson [John 4:5-30, 39-42] there is a woman in need. She needs water, so she is at a well. She needs love, because she sure doesn’t have it at home as she has been burned by so many husbands before while her current man will sleep with her but not marry her—what a gentleman! But then she finds what she really needs: the Savior. The One who will die to wash her clean, who, in that same death, will show her unconditional love, and who will, as He promises, give her the water of life—sustenance forever.

In a world that looks for love in all the wrong places, that looks for security in Walmart or WinCo, we are reminded today of where we find love, value, security, and sustenance: in Jesus. You find it in His Word, in the Sacraments, which we cling to at home or away, and are distributed here. Which is why we will continue to offer it as long as it reasonable.

And we will stand and confess the First Article of the Creed. “I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.” God gives us the blessings of His creations. We have brains, we have elbows to cough in, we have soap. Diligent use of such things is a blessing and a blessing to your neighbor. And so as long as those gifts give us good reason to gather, we will do so. Acknowledging, like Luther did in his letter, that some who are at risk may reasonably withdraw.

But in either case, may we uplift the message of what is needful, what is confessed in that Second and Third Article of the Creed about Jesus and His gifts: forgiveness from a cross, resurrection from a tomb, and the Good News of a resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. And with those certain promises we can be confident and brave whether here, at home, or even in the hospital.

One more quote from Luther: he describes an idol as something you “fear and trust in” more than God. And there is a whole lot of fear out there these days. Let us repent, for we know something bigger, stronger, and scarier than this virus. Our Lord is holy and mighty. But He has used His power to save us, in that He came to this broken world that we might be forgiven, washed clean, and receive His Kingdom and righteousness. So we need not fear Him at all. What hope is ours!

Yes, we see in these wild days that creation groans. There are plagues, pestilences, wars, and rumors of war. These should not surprise us, as our Lord said Himself they will come. It is an evil, broken world, riling, rebelling and being judged by a holy God. And here we are caught in the middle of it. May we use our reason, but not be overcome with fear, because we know the One who has overcome the world and death itself. Let us trust that the Lord has seen His Church and people through worse; truly the gates of hell will not overcome us, because we have the one thing needful: a Savior. That is our confidence.

Rev. Garen Pay
Hope Lutheran Church, Idaho Falls, ID

[The full letter from Martin Luther to Rev. Dr. Johann Hess on “Whether One May Flee From A Deadly Plague” can be found by clicking here. ]