Weekly Update | July 14th

 The Pandemic: An Opportunity for Fifth Street 

 Part III 

 This is the third part of my three-part article describing how God can use our church during the second wave of this pandemic. My article is inspired by an insightful piece by Caleb Morell, a staff member of Capital Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C., that discussed the way churches there ministered during the second wave of the Spanish Flu (1918). His article answered the question: “What did DC churches do when the Spanish Flu struck again?” Morell makes several important points that I think are applicable to our ministry at Fifth Street during this second wave of cases. 

Last week, I discussed the ways that people in the church are impacted by the pandemic. (click here to read last week’s article). This week, I discuss how we should respond when COVID-19 hits close to home or in our home. 

Many of you probably received the email on Sunday night explaining that someone attending the morning worship service (July 12th) tested positive for COVID-19. If you haven’t seen that letter, click here to read it. As many of you know, churches, businesses, and even our governing authorities are in a constant state of learning and adaptation during this pandemic. Once we learned that some of those in attendance on Sunday could have been exposed to COVID-19, the leadership of our church engaged in a process of developing an action plan for our church. This involved prayer, Bible study, consulting wise counsel, and research. I believe that we developed a plan that honors the Lord and supports the spiritual and physical health of our congregation. The development of our plan left me asking the Lord another question: How do we minister to those in our church and community who have COVID-19? 

When Jesus walked on this earth, it was difficult for sick people to receive love and care from their community. In fact, Jesus broke a lot of social rules by spending time with the sick. He healed them, taught them, and loved them. One day the religious leaders tried to lure Jesus into a theological conversation that would help them build a case against Him. They asked Him which commandment is the most important one? (Mt 22:36). Jesus, of course, answered perfectly and told them that we must first love God and second love our neighbor as ourselves (vv. 37-39). 

The command for us to love others as ourselves profoundly impacts the way we minister to those infected with COVID-19. 

First, we should love them. Biblical love is defined by specific actions and attitudes. We should demonstrate our love for the sick without expecting anything in return. Our attitude is one in which we love the sick whether they (or anyone else) appreciate it at that moment. Jesus calls us to love those sick with COVID-19 with this kind of love. This means that we do not shame them for being sick. Nor do we gossip about them. We don’t criticize their decisions and we don’t make them feel like a pariah. We just love them through attitude and action the way we would want to be loved if we were sick. 

Second, we should care for them in the same way that we would want to receive care if we were sick. Sometimes we behave like the religious leaders in Jesus’s parable about the good Samaritan. In this parable, one expects the priest or the Levite to stop and care for the wounded man left on the side of the road. They ignored the injured man, however, and even crossed the road to avoid him. Instead, the Samaritan, who was part of a people group whom the Jews despised, was the one who stopped and cared for the injured man. Jesus concluded the parable saying, “Go and do likewise,” (Lk 10:37). How do we obey Jesus’s command during this pandemic? 

I think that we have the potential to use social distancing as an excuse to “cross to the other side of the road” when our brothers and sisters need our care. We should obey the instructions from our doctors while also looking for opportunities to care for the sick. I think there is room within social distancing protocol to care for the sick. 

Third, we should pray for the sick. I think we can all agree that prayer is an essential part of the Christian life. In principle, we believe that prayer is a powerful tool in our spiritual toolkit. In practice, however, we often forget to use prayer in our spiritual and physical battles. Is it possible that God desires to do a great work through our prayers? YES! We need to pray our way through this health crisis! So let’s get praying church. Let’s also pray specifically for those in our church and community who are infected with COVID-19. 

We are living in unprecedented times. Unprecedented times provide opportunities for believers to shine the gospel light for the world to see. Like our brothers and sisters who served well during the Spanish Flu of 1918, the Lord gave us the opportunity to advance the Great Commission today in new and unprecedented ways! Let’s do it! 

In His Service,