Dear Trinity Family,
First, a devotional thought (such as it is):
As we think on what our lives and living have become in this time of stay at home orders, we are reminded that what is being done is in a sense being done for our good and for the good of others. We do well to protect ourselves and others from those things that can hurt or harm us, like the spread of this virus.
That being said, we must also remember that while we look to have safety and do things to promote it, does that mean that we are ever free from danger? Safety is not the absence of danger, it is only the things that we can do to mitigate and protect ourselves as best we can. As Trinity and other churches look towards the day when we can worship together again, we want to do things that promote safety even while we know that there is no such thing as 100% safe, especially as we deal with this contagion.
Theologically, (as I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV), this is just one more manifestation of the hold that the “unholy trinity” of sin, death, and devil still hold on this world and on each one of us. Ever since that dreadful, fateful day in Eden, “danger” has been a part of our life as human beings. Work stopped being safe: “You will toil by the sweat of your brow and the earth will grow thorns and thistles for you”. Relationships stopped being safe: “And Cain rose up and killed his brother Abel”. Even God’s ways of saving us weren’t safe: a flood, plagues, destruction and exile, and ultimately the death of His only-begotten Son.
To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, “Our God is good, but He is not a tame God.” So many times, such as the one we find ourselves in, we may well wonder, “What in the world is God doing?” For us to try to ascertain the mind of the Lord is certainly “above our pay grade.” Only the Lord Himself knows His reason for what He does, or for what He allows. But even though it may not be apparent to us, or even understandable to us, what we can know is that our God is and will always remain Love, and in that love, He remains in control, seeking our good, especially everything that will draw us to “fear, love, and trust in Him above all things”.
Perhaps we need to learn again that God does not promise us safety in the way we think that safety ought to be–the absence of danger. Instead what we must hold onto is that God promises to be our Safety in the midst of danger–that He promises to be with us, to hold us as His own in His love, and keep us close to Himself so that we do not fear but trust ever and only and always in Him.
Perhaps even better than my own words are those of the Danish Lutheran Pastor, Bishop, and Hymnwriter, Hans Adolf Brorson (1694-1764). Perhaps more well-known to us is his hymn, “Behold, a Host Arrayed in White” (LSB 676). But there is another hymn of his which I remember singing during my seminary days, “I Walk in Danger All the Way” (LSB 716). These words are quite appropriate to this moment we are in, and may we pray them as we entrust ourselves to our God, who alone is our Help, our Hope, our Health, and our Salvation.
I walk in danger all the way.
The thought shall never leave me
That Satan, who has marked his prey,
Is plotting to deceive me.
This foe with hidden snares
May seize me unawares
If I should fail to watch and pray.
I walk in danger all the way.
I pass through trials all the way,
With sin and ills contending;
In patience I must bear each day
The cross of God’s own sending.
When in adversity
I know not where to flee,
When storms of woe my soul dismay,
I pass through trials all the way.
And death pursues me all the way,
Nowhere I rest securely;
He comes by night, he comes by day,
He takes his prey most surely.
A failing breath, and I
In death’s strong grasp may lie
To face eternity today
As death pursues me all the way.
I walk with angels all the way,
They shield me and befriend me;
All Satan’s pow’r is held at bay
When heav’nly hosts attend me;
They are my sure defense,
All fear and sorrow, hence!
Unharmed by foes, do what they may,
I walk with angels all the way.
I walk with Jesus all the way,
His guidance never fails me;
Within His wounds I find a stay
When Satan’s pow’r assails me;
And by His footsteps led,
My path I safely tread.
No evil leads my soul astray;
I walk with Jesus all the way.
My walk is heav’nward all the way;
Await, my soul, the morrow,
When God’s good healing shall allay
All suff’ring, sin, and sorrow.
Then, worldly pomp, begone!
To heav’n I now press on.
For all the world I would not stay;
My walk is heav’nward all the way.
(Tune available for listening at http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/i/w/a/l/iwalkdaw.htm)
And now…the news
The bulletin for Sunday is available here, along with the notes and news for this week.
We are scheduled for having a Zoom Fellowship this Sunday at 4 PM. We hope that you can join us for this opportunity for “face time” with each other. Connection information will be going out in a separate email. (If you did not receive it, please contact Pastor by email at trinity-elc-pastor@verizon.net, and he will forward a copy to you.)
We are hoping and praying that we may be getting closer to seeing the County moving towards the Phase One reopening outlined by the Governor which will bring us closer towards our reopening of Trinity for public worship following these long two months plus of being apart from one another. As we make plans towards this end, we invite you to contact Pastor or any of the MPG members with any input or questions you may have.
We will continue to monitor the announcements from the County Executive and let you know of our plans for our return to worship together. One thing that can be announced is that we do plan to continue livestreaming our worship services, even when we return, for those who may not yet feel comfortable in coming back to worship just yet, as well as for those whom we have been able to reach out to through this video ministry.
I hope and pray that everyone has a wonderful and restful weekend, and Lord willing, we’ll “see” you at worship on Sunday.
May the Lord watch between me and thee, while we are absent one from another. God bless!
Peace and blessings,
+Pastor