Monday, March 16, 2020

A Grave New World - or is it?

Philippians 4 has never had more pertinence for me than right now.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice! Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7)

Throughout the week most of us have tuned into various news networks, social media platforms and good old fashioned newspapers to get constant updates on the pandemic. The coronavirus scare has injected the oldest enemy of all - fear - directly into our veins and the symptoms of this fear are manifesting and multiplying daily:

Pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth. You may have heard of these before - Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman come to mind, the seven deadly sins.

In times of crises, humanity generally goes to equal and opposite reactions: some surface to great heights of servanthood and care, while others sink precipitously to the bottom of the barrel of fear.

In the first century, the Apostle Paul wrote to an ancient community in Philippi suffering from an epidemic of Roman oppression marked by these soul-crushing sins. I'm sure that some of the Christian world was draped in a blanket of fear, wanting to huddle in the dark, isolate from the rest of the world to take care of themselves and their children. The power of fear is that it paralyses people by worry. The great question of 'What if?' becomes hopelessly difficult in these crises.

And yet Paul reminds us not only that we should not worry (not in a naïve, Pollyanna-ish, 'she'll be right, mate' kind of way) but that we should rejoice. In the midst of these difficult and grave times, this is where the light of Christ and the people of God shine through graciousness, gentleness, peacefulness, self-control - the blessed fruits of the Spirit.

We should rejoice that we are given the opportunity to be the Church as it was intended. Perhaps this is the moment when the world sees us not as a one-hour-per-week kind of community, but an every-hour-per-week culture which looks well past the boundaries of fear and engages in the practical applications of faith:

Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world (James 1:27)

Perhaps this is the time that we take care of all people who are orphans from the world, who have lost significant people and be the people who are not stained by pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth? Remember, the Lord is near...

Here is the antidote to fear in this the brave new world?

Finally, people of God, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable - if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy - dwell on these things.  Do what you have learned... (Philippians 4:8,9a)

2 comments:

stab said...

Wow thanks Reid. You highlighting St Paul’s call to rejoice in the midst of hardship reminds me of the Bethel song “Raise a Hallelujah”. Awesome work dude :)

Carol Voigt said...

Thank you Reid! We need to be reminded that fear comes from Satan and he's having a field day at the moment. God is in control and He will continue to bless His people!

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