According to President Trump and his COVID-19 task force, over the next two weeks death rates will shoot up. In all, he said, between 100,000 and 240,000 Americans will die of the coronavirus. Such a grim and specific predictions--perhaps over 2000 per day by April 17--will show, one way or the other, how serious this epidemic is. We will know starting NEXT WEEK.
Here is an intense prayer "In Times of Pestilence" from the Lutheran Prayer Book of 1860.
The coronavirus epidemic throws the doctrine of vocation into high relief: not only our economic vocations, but also our vocations in the family, the church, and the state.
An article in the "Wall Street Journal" suggests that the COVID-19 epidemic could spark a revival of Christianity. It quotes a British historian who shows that catastrophes--such as World War II--often cause a resurgence of faith by unsettling human complacency and making people realize their need for God.
In times of quarantine, when church services are shut down, many Christians are turning to online worship. This is not the best way, but it is a form of "meeting together" and doesn't have to mean just passively watching a screen. Here are some tips for worshiping online.
In Edward Young's "Night Thoughts," an unusual poetic meditation on death, the poet turns around the convention gibe that Heaven will be boring. This world, he says, is the realm of boredom. Eternity is the realm of adventure, surprise, novelty, curiosity, and pleasure.
"So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three" (1 Cor 13:13). We hear a lot about faith. We hear a lot about love. But we don't hear so much about hope. Luther explains "hope" in an illuminating way, showing its relationship to "faith."
An article by Lyman Stone, entitled "Christianity Has Been Handling Epidemics for 2000 Years," surveys how the church dealt with plagues throughout its history, drawing from that tradition to help us deal with today's COVID-19 pandemic.
All pastors and their congregations should take advantage of this free resource on what churches need to do in this coronavirus epidemic. It's by Lyman Stone, an LCMS missionary to Hong Kong who worked with churches in their COVID-19 and SARS pandemics. His advice is scientific, practical, and theological, with suggestions for ministry even when corporate worship is shut down.
I would like to invite you to our church; that is, to our online service. If your congregation has had to cancel worship services because of the coronavirus and isn't able to offer an alternative, you are welcome to join us. This can also introduce you to the liturgies of Lutheran worship--not the full Divine Service with Communion, of course, but Matins and Vespers, with outstanding sermons.
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