COVID-19 Reflections
Pastor Rod Thompson
Midland SDA Church
June 27, 2020
The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, was the deadliest in history, infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide—about one-third of the planet’s population—and killed somewhere between 20-50 million people worldwide, including some 675,000 Americans. The 1918 flu was first observed in Europe, the United States and parts of Asia before swiftly spreading around the world. At the time, there were no effective drugs or vaccines to treat this killer flu strain. Citizens were ordered to wear masks, schools, theaters and businesses were shuttered and bodies piled up in makeshift morgues before the virus ended its deadly global march.
Despite the fact that the 1918 flu wasn’t isolated to one place, it became known around the world as the Spanish flu, as Spain was hit hard by it. (Even Spain's king, Alfonso XIII, reportedly contracted the flu.)
After that pandemic the Pastor of the Presbyterian church in Washington D.C. (Francis J. Grimke) gave a message to his church in which he said these words.
“We know now, perhaps, as we have never known before the meaning of the terms pestilence, plague, epidemic, since we have been passing through this terrible scourge of Spanish Influenza, with its enormous death rate and its consequent wretchedness and misery. Every part of the land has felt its deadly touch – North, South, East and West – in the Army, in the Navy, among civilians, among all classes and conditions, rich and poor, high and low, white and black. Over the land it has thrown a gloom, and has stricken down such large numbers that it has been difficult to care for them properly, overcrowding all our hospitals – and it has proven fatal in so many cases that it has been difficult at times to get coffins enough in which to place the dead, and men enough to dig graves fast enough in which to bury them. Our own beautiful city has suffered terribly from it, making it necessary, as a precautionary measure, to close the schools, theaters, churches, and to forbid all public gatherings within doors as well as outdoors. At last, however, the scourge has been stayed, and we are permitted again to resume the public worship of God, and open again the schools of our city.”
Does that sound familiar? It should! But there is another piece to the Spanish Influence pandemic that we need to understand.
The first wave of the 1918 pandemic occurred in the spring and was generally mild. The sick, who experienced such typical flu symptoms as chills, fever and fatigue, usually recovered after several days, and the number of reported deaths was low.
However, a second, highly contagious wave of influenza appeared with a vengeance in the fall of that same year. Victims died within hours or days of developing symptoms, their skin turning blue and their lungs filling with fluid that caused them to suffocate. In just one year, 1918, the average life expectancy in America plummeted by a dozen years.
If you look at what happened then and you look at what is happening now, if we are honest with ourselves, we would have to say this thing may not be over yet – and the worst may be yet to come.
I want to pause for a moment and let that sink in. This COVID-19 pandemic may not be over yet. It started in the spring (just like the Spanish Influenza pandemic) which seemed to die down during the summer but then in the fall it came back with a vengeance and one third of the world was infected. Brothers and sisters, the worst may not be over yet.
I don’t say that to instill fear or bring a sense of depression or sorrow. I say it simply as a matter of observation and reflection. I have been thinking, as no doubt you have, of the large numbers who have been sick, the large numbers that have already died, and the many homes that have been made desolate, the many, many, sorrowing hearts that have been left behind.
And I have been asking myself the question, what is the meaning of it all? What should it mean to us? Is it to come and go and we be no wiser or better for it? We could spend hours debating whether this is the act of our arch enemy who realizes that he has but a short time left or whether it is the will of God. I don’t mean to enter into any controversy over it.
1 John 4:8 God is love
James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift comes from God
Matthew 13: 27 -28 (parable of the wheat and tares) An enemy has done this
But this much I know. God is still in charge and whether you think the devil is responsible for it or you think God is. If it is happening, then its because God has allowed it. And if God is allowing it, then surely God has a purpose in it, and it is our duty to find out, a much as possible, what that purpose is, and to try and profit from it.
So, as we examine our situation, as we reflect on what has happened so far, what are some of the things that should stand out in our minds?
1. It should impress upon our minds the ease with which large portions of the population may be wiped out in spite of the skill of man and all the resources and science available. Suddenly this pandemic came upon our world, nation, state, and community. And though every physician has been employed and every available nurse has been at work, day and night, thousands have died, and the death toll continues.
Throughout history we see populations thinned out this way. Not in ordinary, but in extraordinary ways.
One night in Egypt death found its way into every Egyptian home.
Numbers 16:49 we read of a plague that broke out among the people and 14,700 souls perished.
2 Samuel 24:15 we also read of another plague that broke out during the reign of David and in three days 70,000 were dead.
In our own lifetime we have seen thousands perish suddenly as the result of volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunami’s.
Think for a minute about how easy it would be for God to wipe out the whole human race, in this way, if He wanted to;
We simply need to think about the worldwide flood of genesis 7 and we can see that terrible pandemics, plagues, floods, all the mighty forces of nature are at His command. If He willed it, vast populations or portions of it could be destroyed in an instant.
2. Why, of those that were infected by the coronavirus did some recover, and others did not? The reason may be found, in one sense, in purely natural causes – some were physically better prepared to resist the disease, were stronger in vital power, and so they pulled through. Others, not having sufficient vitality, went down under the strain. But then we can look at some of the specific cases where you had healthy, strong young men, women and children who, from a logical perspective, should have pulled through but didn’t. What do we say about those? And how does the sovereignty of God figure in to all of this? Why does God allow some to live and others to die? Some day we are all going to die (except that last generation who is alive at Christ’s coming) but how, or when, or where, we do not know; that is with God alone.
Read Matthew 10:29 ( doesn’t happen without His consent or approval )
Remember the story of Job? Satan was told that he could take away Job’s possessions but he couldn’t touch the man. Then he was told that he could afflict him with painful sores but he couldn’t take his life
In Job 12: 10 we read, In whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?
In Psalm 104:29 it says, You hide Your face, they are troubled; you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
We speak of accidental deaths at times, but with God there are no accidents. All things are within the scope of His providence. Some did not recover because, in the providence of God, He allowed it.
3. To go along with the question of why did some recover, and others didn’t we might ask the question why were some people infected and others weren’t?
As you go out into the streets and to the stores, as you look at the people and come into contact with them, it is a sober feeling to think that anyone of them may be carrying the virus. You may be carrying it, and at any moment anyone of us might be infected.
It is like an army going into battle – you never know who is going to be hit. Some of us may get the disease – others may not. The question is why?
Read Psalm 91: 1-7
Here there seems to be the promise of immunity in the midst of plagues and pestilences. What this means I do not know. How far we may expect immunity under such circumstances, I do not know. These words cannot mean that all good people will escape and only the bad will be smitten; because we know as a matter of fact, that during every disaster there are some good people who escape and other really good people that don’t.
And therefore, I say, I don’t know what is meant by the promise contained in this psalm. It refers to those who “dwell in the secret place of the Most High.” But who are they? How shall we know them? How do we differentiate between them and all others? It won’t do to say, all who are smitten are excluded, or that all who escape are included, because we know that is not the case. It is one of those things we cannot explain and have to leave it to the will and providence of God.
4. Another thing that should impress us, in connection with this pandemic, is the fact that conditions may arise in a community which justify the extraordinary exercise of powers that would not be tolerated under normal or ordinary circumstances. This exercise of power was resorted to by the federal government and the Governor of our state. She closed up businesses, schools, churches, forbidding all gatherings of any considerable number of people and even restricting the numbers who could be present at funerals. Families were not able to gather to together to grieve and morn, spouses couldn’t go into the hospital when their husband or wife was having major surgery.
The grounds for this exercise of extraordinary power was found in the imperative duty of the officials to safeguard, as far as possible, the health of the community by preventing the spread of the disease from which many people are suffering. There has been considerable grumbling, I know, on the part of some, particularly in regard to the closing of churches. There have even been protests at the capital.
But it seems to me, that in matters like this it is always wise to submit to such restrictions for the time being. If it is dangerous to meet at restaurants and stores and schools, then it is no less dangerous to meet in the church facilities. The fact that the church property is a place of religious gatherings and the others are not does not change the health risk question in the least.
If avoiding crowds and limiting exposure time lessons the danger of being infected, it is wise to take the precaution and not needlessly put ourselves in harms way, and then expect God to protect us.
And so as anxious as I have been to get back into the church, I have patiently waited until the order was lifted. As I reflected on all the evangelism efforts that we were planning for this spring, summer and even looking toward the fall I was disappointed. But then I was reminded that God knows what He is doing. His work is not going to suffer. But rather, this is going to help in the end.
I believe Romans 8:28 which says, And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. I believe that all the churches, as well as the community at large, are going to be stronger and better for this season of distress that we have been passing through and may have to continue in for a while.
5. Another thing that has impressed me in connection with this pandemic is that while the world was dealing with a deadly virus, and Africa and India with billions of flying locusts, while Midland was dealing with flooding and the coast of El Salvador received the havoc of tropical storm Amanda racism once again reared its ugly head.
Whether you are talking about Amad Aubrey, Briana Taylor, George Floyd or any others who have suffered the unnecessary tragic loss of life at the hands of another my heart is filled with sorrow and we pray for God’s peace in a world that is filled with anger, war, vengeance, bigotry, racism and hatred. It should cause us to remember that a sin against another man is to Jesus as though it was done to Him.
In Matthew 22: 37-39 Jesus said, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. The second is like it; you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
That means this awful race prejudice, this colorphobia, out of which so much evil has come, so much suffering, so much heart burnings to those who are victims of it, but which is regarded so lightly by the white man – so lightly that even in revivals of religion it is never included by him among the sins to be repented of. It is not the little thing that he thinks it is, for it is an offense against the great law of love – against the law of brotherhood, righteousness and justice. Racism and prejudice against those of any other race than our own runs directly counter to both of these great commandments.
6. The sixth reflection that I would make about this pandemic is that sometimes we don’t realize what we had until we lose it. We hadn’t thought, perhaps, very much, of the privilege we have to live in a country where we are free to come to a house of worship each week, but the moment it was taken away, I hope that each of saw how much it meant to us.
I’m sure that there were people who regret the closings of the theater, bars, and restaurants. I don’t know whether the children regretted the closing of the schools. But I do know that every born-again Christian has been saddened and affected by the closing of the churches. Not that we completely closed – thank God for technology - but closed to in person worship.
One shining star in all of this, for me, has been to see how the churches responded in the Midland area to the great need for those most affected by the flood. There were many different churches out bringing water, food, and prayer to those who needed it the most. Our Conference disaster response team and church members were involved as well.
There is no single influence in a community that you should be able to count on more than Christian churches. It is one of the institutions, particularly, that ought to be strongly supported; that ought to be largely attended, and that ought to have the hearty endorsement and well wishes of every right-thinking man and woman within it.
It is a great mistake for anyone to stand aloof from the Christian church. Everybody in the community ought to have a church home, and ought to be found in that church home every sabbath. And it is my hope and prayer that we will cherish every moment we have left to be able to do it, because we know the time is coming when we will lose it permanently.
7. There is another thing connected with this pandemic that is worth noting. While this is going on it has kept the thought of death and eternity constantly before the people. As a general rule I don’t think most people think about this kind of thing until it gets close to home. They are not pleasant things to think about, so we avoid it if possible. It is only when we are forced to that we give it any consideration.
But they are both subjects of vital importance - involving the most momentous consequences. For there is a judgment going on in heaven right now. And God is summoning us to render up our account. A fact that we often lose site of, we forget about it, but it is to be rendered all the same.
Daniel 7:10 The court was seated, and the books were opened
During the weeks and months of this pandemic, in the long lists of deaths from state to state, God has been reminding us of this accounting that we must make with Him. He has been projecting before us in a way to startle us, to the thought of eternity.
Anyone who is here today, or watching the live stream on the internet or within the sound of my voice on the radio, if you have not repented of your sins, if you have not surrendered yourself to the guidance of Jesus Christ, if you allow these repeated warnings that you have had, day by day, week by week, month by month, to go unheeded -if you still go on in your sins, should God suddenly cut you off in your sins, you will have no one to blame but yourself. Your fate is in your own hands.
Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live
My earnest appeal to you is, let it be life, and not death; and let the choice be made at once. Before you move on to the next thing – think it through. Make up your mind to the right thing, the wise thing, the only sensible thing you can do. You (thus far) have survived this pandemic, while others have perished.
Are you going to spend the rest of your days in service to sin and Satan, or in the service of God?
8. There is another reflection that we can make in light of this pandemic; that is the blessedness of a closer connectedness with God. I don’t know about you but as I had more time at home it wasn’t time waisted on watching the news but it was in extra time spent in time with God.
I felt, as no doubt many of you did, the blessedness of a firm grip upon the Lord Jesus Christ, a sense of being anchored in God and His precious promises. While the plague was raging, as thousands were dying, what a comfort to feel that we were in the hands of a loving father who was looking out for us, who had given us the great assurance that all things work together for good. That whether we were stricken with COVID-19 or not, whether we live or die, we could know that it was well with our soul.
Paul said in 2 timothy 4:6 I am already being poured out as drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.
Death had no terrors for him.
He goes on to say I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
And it was the Apostle who shouted those words “O death, where is thy sting? O grave where is your victory?
In his message to his congregation at the end of the Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918 pastor Grimke said these words.
In the presence of such a faith, in the realization of God’s love as revealed in Jesus Christ, in the consciousness of fellowship with him, what are epidemics, what are scourges, what are all of life’s trials, sufferings and disappointments? They only tend to work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory
But, of course, if faith is to help us; if it is to put its strong arms under us; if we are to feel its sustaining power under such distressing circumstances, it must be a real, living faith in God – it must be the genuine article – a faith that works, that works by love, and that purifies the heart. Any other faith is of no value to us in the midst of the crisis of life.
So, it is a time for us to reflect, to examine ourselves to see exactly how it is with us. Is your religion helping you to be calm, self-possessed? Is your faith anchored in the sure foundation of the rock of Christ? The result of this epidemic should be to lead us to that careful heart-searching on our part.
We ought to come out of this plague with more determination then ever before to run the race with patience the race that is set before us. More determined to make heaven our home.
Let us draw near to God in simple faith. Let us re-consecrate ourselves, to Him. Let us make up our minds to be better Christians.
Is that the desire of your heart?
We have seen for ourselves that things can literally change overnight. Are we ready for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Does our life record reveal that we have a living faith, a living connection with Jesus? Are we ready for the second coming?
Do we have a faith that works?