Let Us Go To The House Of The Lord

I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. (Psalm 122 KJV)

It was a troubling time in my life. It was the early 70's. We were home on vacation and I had decided to go to the house of worship that I had been baptized and confirmed in to pray. To my dismay the doors of this little country church were locked!  They hadn't been locked on previous visits. But, were now locked for fear of intruders and possible damage to the church when no one in authority was there to oversee the building.

I have served at a couple of congregations that locked the doors during hours even when someone was in the building; again, to my dismay. They insisted that the door stay locked even when I was in the building. The councils were afraid that whoever might be working in the church might be attacked. There were doorbells on these church doors so that whoever might be in the building might answer the door. I have not been able to surmise why these congregations thought that I or the secretary would not open the door to anyone ringing the bell. How can one tell through a closed door if the person on the other side is a terrorist or someone who is in serious need. I do not believe that any of the secretaries that I have served with would ever turn away someone in need.

Today, churches around the country have been closed because of an invisible enemy. Many will not even be able to go into the house of the Lord to celebrate the resurrection on Easter Sunday. 

Fear of what might happen is a dangerous thing. It is good to be cautious. But, caution and fear are not the same thing. For the time being the church on earth is restructuring what the house of the Lord is by turning to social media and live-streaming or taping and posting worship services. I cannot say that this is a bad thing. We will hear the Word of the Lord which is essential to living life in Christ. But, there will be something missing. That something will be the fellowship within the Body of Christ. That something will be communing with other believers. 

"And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." (Heb 10:24-25) 

For the sake of others; it is prudent for many congregations to go to social media even while we have to accept that many of our seniors as well as others may not have social media. They may not even have the internet. But, pastors cannot neglect the needs of others no matter who they are or where they are. During the Bubonic Plague, Martin Luther continued to serve the people in spite of risk to his own health and life. He would not leave Wittenburg in order to keep himself safe. Mother Teresa of Calcutta and those who served lepers with her put their own health and safety at risk. But, they did it because they were called to serve those in need. That need may require social distancing for a time to keep others safe. It may also require that we meet them face to face; hand to hand.

It saddens me to know that fear has closed church doors. Each decade manages to close the doors a little more than the decade before. Where will it all end?

An evangelical pastor was arrested in Florida this past week for unlawful assembly and a violation of health emergency rules as he led worship for his large congregation in spite of government guidelines against it. Yes, some of our constitutional rights have been curtailed for fear that the COVID19 outbreak might become worse than it is. 

There are people all around the world where it is illegal to even be a Christian. But, the Church grows even, maybe especially, in these places. Families and small groups gather together to worship in homes; albeit, illegally. They are arrested when found out. They are sometimes tried. They are sometimes imprisoned. They are sometimes put to death.

In times like this, let us thank God for social media and for the opportunity that pastors have of staying in contact with their parishioners. Let us thank God that we can tape or live stream the word of God so that others might hear and believe; so that others might step out of the darkness into the glorious light of Jesus the Christ.

Let us pray for the day to come soon when we can all say: "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord." (Psalm 122 KJV)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Pork Is Unclean

So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

                                                                                   (John 21:15-17 KJV)

Most of us are fully aware that many in our government have no clue about the hardships a vast number of people in this country suffer with. There appears to be a major disconnect between our government officials and the people they serve. A few at least appear to think that if a household makes less than 150,000 a year you are dirt poor. Way too many have no clue that people actually struggle and survive with way less and many consider themselves most comfortable with 40 or 50,000 a year. I know lots of people who are living on much less than that. Many are happy that they have a roof over their heads and food for their families. 

I have wondered and prayed about the homeless every day since we started self-quarantining and in some states mandatory quarantining. How do the homeless self-quarantine? How do they eat when there is no one on the streets to donate to their daily needs? And, if they are able to scrape enough money up to eat how do they purchase it? Can you walk through a drive thru window to get a muffin and coffee? 

According to the Department of Homeland Security, as of January 2020, there were estimated to be somewhere around three and one half million people who were homeless; that is actually living on the street or in shelters. That estimate does not include people who live with others because they cannot afford housing on their own. 

The CDC reported over 48,000 suicides in 2018. We have a serious mental health crisis in this country. Resources are very limited. Those in crisis who are seeking help could wait months for any real psychiatric help, if they ever get it. As a pastor, I have buried too many suicide victims who might still be alive had help been more available. Most of them were young and had no clue where to turn. I have attempted to get help for more than a few who had serious mental health problems.

One particular person who I attempted to get help for had PTSD. He was a former law enforcement officer who had served in a pretty rough area of the country. He was involved in at least one "suicide by cop." No, I could not find him any help for his PTSD. 

I attempted to find another young man assistance for his mental health illnesses. He had been previously diagnosed with such a slew of Acronymns that beyond the Schitzophrenia, Bi-Polar, ADHD, and OCD, I could not recall all the others that he had been diagnosed with. His medication had run out and so had his Medicaid as he was not able to manage these things on his own. He found himself without a home of his own and living with friends and family. I attempted to help him straighten it out and get him assistance to no avail. Here was a man with serious mental health problems and the state mental health people would not talk to me. They would only talk to  this very confused young man in crisis. I listened as they asked him if he was suicidal at the moment. No, he said, not at the moment. He received no assistance. He did not qualify to see a counselor in person. The phone interviewer disqualified him. A few months later he was dead.

According to the CDC, this flu seasons (October thru Mar 19) there has been an estimated 23,000 deaths from influenza in the United States; of which 149 of them were pediatric deaths. Medical science has not been able to figure out any way to prevent this. 

As to COVID 19... It appears that we will overcome it for this season. But, the threat is still there and now that it is loose on the world, it will probably always be there until our scientists figure out a permanent fix. Will they figure it out or will it be figured out only as well as the influenza virus has been figured out?

My question and frustration this morning is: Where should our government be allocating our tax dollars? To help those in need? I realize that millions for arts and humanities is but a drop in the bucket for millionaire and billionaire public officials; but, I cannot fathom why all those drops in the bucket are not being directed towards helping those in dire need. Directing our tax dollars towards the humanities rather assisting those in dire need reveals the lack of humanity in our elected officials. 

Pork is an unclean meat. Many people, including myself, have a real hard time digesting it. Some simply cannot and/or do not eat it. Maybe it should be gotten rid of it from bills and resolutions put forth by Congress and the Senate, as well.

Peter turned his back on Jesus when he was standing trial. Now, Jesus tells Peter and tells us if we love him we are to feed his sheep!" 

God's Peace - Pr. J.