God's Got This....God's Got Us!

Messiah Lutheran Church, Fargo, ND

Lent 2/March 15, 2020

Psalm 91:1-2, 5-6

You who live in the shelter of the Most High,

   who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,

will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress;

   my God, in whom I trust.’…

You will not fear the terror of the night,

   or the arrow that flies by day,

or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

   or the destruction that wastes at noonday. 

Dear friends in Christ:   grace, mercy and peace be multiplied unto you through Jesus Christ our Savior, Lord and Healer.

Less than 2 ½ weeks ago I was among thirty community leaders in the Fargo-Moorhead area who attended an information session sponsored by the Cass Clay Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster--and the disaster that was “front and center” that afternoon was an anticipated flood.

Together we assessed the likelihood of a “Top 10” or even a “Top 5” major spring flood here in the Red River Valley.

As we stared at charts, graphs, maps and statistics…the information we received was very sobering.  The high water saturation we had in the ground last autumn, combined with record snowfall this winter, pointed toward a flood that would at least match if not exceed the flood of 2009.

As the meeting was winding down, one of our local emergency management directors declared:  “Before we adjourn, we should probably ALSO factor into our planning the possibility that we may be dealing with both a major flood AND a viral pandemic at the same time.”

Today, smack dab in the middle of March, fears of a spring flood have taken a back seat to the fact that we’re under both state and federal states of emergency due to the global COVID-19  pandemic.

Wherever we turn these days, we’re constantly bombarded by news, information and dire predictions of how this pandemic might run its course.

As frightening as the physical health issues might be…we also have a nagging sense that overwhelming mental and emotional pressures are also bearing down upon us.   We’re facing not just a biological pandemic, but a spiritual pandemic marked by paralyzing fear, panic and anxiety. 

Because the critical challenges we’re facing are both physical and spiritual in nature, we realize that as Christians we need to be re-grounded in the bedrock reality that whatever happens, God is still in charge.

As dismal as things appear to be God will not allow anything to stand between us and God’s unfailing love.   God accompanies us and will keep on accompanying us through whatever may come our way.

Or as our younger generation might put it:  Don’t be afraid--God’s got this!

“God’s got this” is a 21^st century way of expressing the sentiments of  the psalmist in our text:

You will not fear the terror of the night,

   or the arrow that flies by day,

or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

   or the destruction that wastes at noonday.  

In other words:  Have no fear!   God’s got this!

But let’s also be clear that when we say:  “God’s got this!” we aren’t just assuming God is going to whip out a magic wand and make it all better just like that!

To declare that “God’s got this” is so much more than “magical thinking.”   

If God’s got this—this pandemic—let us also lean into the promise that God’s also got us.    

God’s got this….because God’s got us--you and me--living human instruments through whom God’s intends to guide us through this unsettling time.  

But what does that look like?  

First and foremost, it looks like the church of Jesus Christ continuing to be the church—faithfully, fervently and winsomely serving God’s mission of making us and all things new through the life, death and resurrection of  Jesus Christ.   

So even though TV, newspapers and social media constantly bombard us with the latest bad news, we also keep listening for and proclaiming God’s Good News in Jesus Christ.    Which means we’re going to continue worshiping and praying even if we maybe won’t be able always to gather together as we are here, this morning.   We will not stop praising God and seeking God’s blessings---whether that happens in our homes, or around our family circles, perhaps using words and songs we share together using social media platforms like Facebook.

Second, God’s got this…because God’s got us…means that we expect our faithful prayers to lead us toward righteous, healing actions.  We’ll follow the trajectory of our prayers and follow our Lord’s leading…. toward supporting our governmental leaders, our first responders, our medical personnel, our military men and women, our pastors and deacons and lay ministers, and all our neighbors.

Third, God’s got this because God’s got us means that rather than getting completely lost in our understandable concern for ourselves and our families….we’ll also keep turning our eyes and our hearts toward the lost, the last and the least…whether they’re sick, grieving, poor, frail elderly—all our neighbors in deepest need.   To undergird our care for those who need it the most, we’ll also make sure that we continue to give our offerings to our congregations along with generous gifts to a whole array of frontline charities and helping agencies that also are doing God’s work in this critical time.

Fourth, God’s got this because God’s got us….means that in this time of disruption God is opening us to new practices and pathways to do what matters most.  To be faithful and fruitful in the midst of this global pandemic, we ask God to make us flexible in how we do God’s work and also to give us the foresight to realize that what works today might need to be replaced by other ways of serving God and our neighbors in the days to come as this crisis unfolds. 

Fifth and finally, God’s got this because God’s got us---persons who are being given a cornucopia of creative resources for doing what matters…like…

·       Staying in touch by phone or email or the U.S. mail with nursing home residents and hospitalized persons when we can’t visit them in person;

·       Providing meals and care for youngsters who’ll need nutrition and loving guidance if it becomes necessary to close our schools; and

·       Opening up and offering our church buildings to fill gaps and provide services that our community might need as the pandemic grows and spreads.

So here we are, facing a public health emergency none of us anticipated just a few months ago.    How will we live through these disturbing days without losing our minds or our bearings?

We can face this challenge because--in the long, winding history of God’s people--challenges like this one often become critical moments where God’s saving, intervening arm becomes most visible….calling forth from us a bravery, an imaginativeness, and a resolve we didn’t even know was in us!

Take a good look at the whole biblical story, at the center of which we see the crisis of Christ’s cross becoming the paradoxical means whereby God rescues us and gives us new life….

Take a good look at the whole biblical story, and notice that this is actually what God does best:   rescuing, preserving and leading us through whatever crisis comes our way.

So, my dear friends:   have no fear!   God’s got this…because God’s got us!

In the name of Jesus.   Amen.