Letter from Exile 3
God’s Word: Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
What if a pestilence of this variety is a merciful opportunity before the judgment day to ask the question: Do I know him? Am I crucified with Christ?
Reflection:
Okay, I will be honest. I did not expect our Lenten reading to bring us to this passage, but let's lean into it a little bit. There is a strange providence to all of this. In our family devotion this morning, the most tender Garcia kiddo (Adeline), asked immediately upon reading it: “Do I know him? How do I know I know him?” What she immediately (and rightfully) concluded was that we can do “religious” things (good things!) and still be a perfect stranger with Jesus.
Lord, why did you give us this verse on this day, in the midst of this pandemic? Here’s why: So that we would hear Jesus’ words and ask Adeline’s question: Do I know him? How do we know that we know Him if it is not by good works “in his name”?
What if God, in his peculiar providence, is downshifting the American church into a gear of simplicity and deep identity with Christ so that we can answer this question more confidently. No more therapeutic gospel. No more self-service gospel. No more performance. All that is replaced with a theology of the cross—to join Jesus there. What if a pestilence of this variety is a merciful opportunity before the judgment day to ask the question: Do I know him? Am I crucified with Christ?
What if our certainty in Christ was more contagious than COVID-19? What if we were known as people who were the least fearful? What if we spoke freely of the resurrection? What if our children were shaped by our trust, instead of our anxiety? Could repentance and conversion spread farther than the virus?
Please, listen carefully. Christians are not careless or reckless. We are not super-spiritual so as to be insensitive to the realities of sickness. We are not flippant about the intrinsic goodness of this life. But this life is not our God. God is our God. What would happen if the American Church—more specifically, what if Trinity, prayed not simply for survival, but revival? What if our certainty in Christ was more contagious than COVID-19? What if we were known as people who were the least fearful? What if we spoke freely of the resurrection? What if our children were shaped by our trust, instead of our anxiety? Could repentance and conversion spread farther than the virus?
For you tender conscious people (like Adeline and me), who are asking, “Do I know him?” You belong to him—indeed, you have been crucified with Him. Let your union with Christ set you free to move beyond the American, performance based, gospel-less religion, and into simple, deep, contagious trust in Jesus.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, I want to confess that dying for you (and with you) sounds romantic until I am actually faced with death. I really need a new experience of faith. Spirit, I beg you in your mercy to give me faith. I don’t suppose that my trust in you is particularly contagious. In fact, Lord, I am sorry because my fear and anxiety is the most contagious thing about me. I am rubbing off on my family—in all the wrong ways! Have mercy on me. Father, I find comfort knowing that although my good works don’t earn my salvation, neither do my bad works disqualify me. I know that my profound need for Jesus—his blood, his life, his good works, his crucifixion—are the only things that give me certainty. Father, would you help move this certainty into confident and gracious living during this corona crisis? As you sanctify me, break my rhythms of fear, and replace them with confident living on this day. I love you, Lord. Complete my joy. In Jesus’ name only do I pray, Amen.
Praying outside of ourselves:
Pray for the church to be sanctified through this crisis and to return to the simplicity of the gospel.
Pray for families with newborns and pregnant mothers who are understandably nervous about being in a hospital.
Pray protection (and endurance) for our doctors and nurses who are serving COVID-19 patients.
Pray for hourly-wage workers and business owners who are severely affected by the stalled economy.
Pray for seniors in High school and college who are anxious about finishing school and all the uncertainty that school stoppage entails.
You all are my favs, ronnie