March 22, 2020
Rev Doug Gray
Welcome and Introductions
Good morning! On behalf of Jesus Christ, welcome! On behalf of the members of the First Church of Squantum, welcome to the first of our Coronavirus Sundays. I’ve been thinking and praying for you each day this week. Right now, everything feels different. I know we would all want to be together for worship, but our desire for worship is greater than either our sadness or our frustration. So here we are to worship God together! Let’s pray!
Prayer
Lord, today You gather with each of us, wherever we are. We gather in Your Name to seek Your Presence, Your guidance and Your peace. Most of all, O Lord, we gather to worship You. You are the One who made us, Who blessed us so abundantly, Who guards our paths, and holds us in tender care…and You are worthy of our worship. So come Holy Spirit and link us across the miles so that as we worship You, our lives might change and our world might shift. We pray all these things in the Name and Spirit of Jesus Christ who still teaches us to pray, saying, “Our Father…”
Song Let It Go (31:05–34:42)
Scripture John 14:27, 16:33
John 14:27Peace I leave with you; my peaceI give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
Song I Love You, Lord
Devotion Finding Peace
Welcome to Frozen Sunday! All this Lent we have been spending time with different Disney movies. It’s been a lot of fun watching the movies and singing along in worship. As it turns out, Frozen hits some high notes that speak to some of what Jesus had to say, some of what the spiritual greats have taught.
The first great insight is that fear is the enemy. In the movie, little Elsa and Anna are playing around using Elsa’s cold powers. Little Elsa accidentally hits Anna with some of her freezing magic and Anna’s head is pierced. The head troll warns Elsa.
7:30–8:12
Lots of people think the opposite of love is hate, but that’s not true. The opposite of love is fear. Fear builds walls, hides from sight, clenches us inside. Fear keeps us from trusting, leads us to act out of anger, or demand our own way. Fear causes all sorts of problems for Elsa and her kingdom. The song Let It Go we saw earlier is about Elsa letting go of her fear of herself and her great gift.
The greater insight is that love is the antidote to fear. When Anna’s heart is pierced by another of Elsa’s freezing magic, Anna is told only an act of true love can warm her heart. Everyone thinks it’s going to be true love’s kiss, given by one of the men in her life.
1:25:50–1:28:46
Choosing to love and protect her sister, Elsa, not only saves Elsa, but Anna herself. Love is what allows Elsa to truly know and control her gifts. Love is what makes her safe, strengthens and opens her to the life she has always wanted. So fear is not just the enemy, but love is the antidote to fear. In his first letter, John writes, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love [mature love] drives out fear…”
Which is why I’m thinking about love and fear today—and about peace. Things are crazy right now, aren’t they? The novel coronavirus seems to be growing, something we are fighting by staying home and driving ourselves and each other crazy. We could get scared, and for sure there’s lots to make us anxious or worried. But remember, mature love—God’s love for us, and our love for God and each other—casts out fear. If we are like a cup, love fills us up until there is no more room for fear.
This week, I found a letter from a pastor in Wuhan at ground-zero of the Covid-19 pandemic. He writes,
“As for the church, the safety of the congregation, a faithful witness, the possibility that members could contract the illness, have all become a great area of struggle. It is readily apparent that we are facing a test of our faith.
“The situation is so critical, yet [we are] trusting in the Lord’s promises, that his thoughts toward us are of peace, and not evil (Jeremiah. 29:11), and that he allows for a time of testing, not to destroy us, but to establish us. Therefore, Christians are not only to suffer with the people of this city, but we have a responsibility to pray for those in this city who are fearful, and to bring to them the peace of Christ.
“First, we are to seek the peace of Christ to reign in their hearts (Hebrews 3:15). Christ has already given us his peace, but his peace is not to remove us from disaster and death, but rather to have peace in the midst of disaster and death, because Christ has already overcome these things (John 14:27, 16:33). Otherwise we have not believed in the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15), and, with the world, would be terrified of pestilence, and lose hope in the face of death.
“… Christians may with the world face the same tribulations, but such tribulations are no longer punishment, but a new opportunity to grow nearer to the Almighty, to purify our souls, and an opportunity to proclaim the gospel….
“Spoken for today, Wuhan’s pestilence cannot separate us from the love of Christ; this love is in our Lord Jesus Christ. These words are so comforting for us, we have already become one body with Christ. We have a part in his sufferings, and we have a part in his glory, all of Christ’s is ours, and our all is Christ’s. Therefore, Christ is with us as we face the pestilence in this city; the pestilence cannot harm us. If we die in the pestilence, it is an opportunity to witness to Christ, and even more to enter into his glory.
“Thus, my brothers and sisters, I encourage you to be strong in Christ’s love. If we more deeply experience death in this pestilence, understanding the gospel, we may more deeply experience Christ’s love, and grow ever nearer to God.”
That’s my prayer for us, dear friends. Remembering how much God loves us, allows us to embrace ourselves, our giftedness and to embrace others…maybe with a little social distancing these days. Amen.
Song Blessed Be Your Name
Prayer
Benediction
We gathered in hope today, and now we head into the rest of our lives. We trust that You will go with us, Jesus, and that Your guidance and strength will come when we most need it. May others see Your grace shining through us, and know the power of the new life we are finding in You. Amen.