It’s complicated. That’s what love is. It compels us to do things that we never would do before. I found myself proposing to my wife in the middle of a blizzard in November. The conditions didn’t stop me from bearing through sleet and snow to get Heidi and I to the venue where we I got on one knee and proposed and to meet with family and friends for an after-party engagement celebration. Some might see that as putting Heidi and I’s life in danger and others would see it as “you go, guy!”
It was love that compelled Jesus to lay down his old life so that we could experience redemption and forgiveness at the cross (John 3:16). As a matter fact the greatest commandment is to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself. Love never ends because God never ends. It continues to go on and on like an unstoppable and uncontainable force. Love is so potent that God encapsulates all 783,137 words in Scripture into 7 words: “Love God and love others as yourself.” So when the love for God and love for your neighbor rises up, it will move you to do things you normally wouldn’t do, defy rationale and throw caution to the wind.
Jesus loved beyond reason and rationale. He loved outcasts by healing them, He loved His persecutors by forgiving them, He loved the religious by teaching them, He loved the politicians by honoring them and He loved the unlovable by saving them. Jesus seemed to defy boundaries because he “saw what the father was doing” (John 5:19). And that love was contagious. Once caught, Paul crossed religious boundaries by reaching the Gentiles. Peter and John crossed civic boundaries by preaching Jesus acts 4. The disciples, like Thomas, crossed cultural boundaries and became a missionary to India and being martyred for his faith.
Love moves you.
As a church, loved has moved us. Despite quarantine lockdowns, we have moved into action by creating an online expression to bring our weekend experiences right into our living rooms. We have rallied and delivered hundreds of pounds of food into our local food shelves at my church to help provide for those who are struggling during this time. We have mobilized many to deliver "boxes of hope” and bring necessities directly into the homes of many who are without. We have mobilized into prayer groups to pray for our government officials, our civic leaders in many who are in positions of power and making decisions. We have improvised discipleship in community through Zoom, Google, FaceTime, etc. to be able to connect and study the Bible together. We have loved by honoring our government leadership and supported those in power who are leading us and caring for us. We have sent out care baskets to health care workers in our community to show the love and support that they deserve. These are actions we have taken during this time because we cannot not do something.
While love has moved us to be unified and acting in solidarity, a recent move has caused some tension.
Love has moved us to open up the church.
Acting out of love has always been the mission since the beginning of Christianity to the beginning of this pandemic. While there will always be Christians and churches that act out of spiritual arrogance and foolishness instead of wisdom, most are trying to act out of the best interest of the greater whole. Even during the beginning of Covid, some churches and pastors in the beginning, whether well-intentioned or not, added to the panic by doing more harm than good. They refused to close, dishonoring the government, resisting local authorities, etc. It’s hard to see the love in that. It’s easy to see the pride in that. But most churches seem to have acted honorably with their state and local guidelines. While those actions are noteworthy, the recent decision made by the church to open has caused some tension and is being met with criticism and the result is a divided congregation.
In our MN context with our churches (which is where I’m sharing from), we have been asked to open with a 25% capacity while following all the CDC guidelines. My church is honoring the guidelines and is practicing all of the regulations with the best of our ability. Not only that, the church has recently been deemed an essential service by the President. While many view this as an exciting win for the church, it has unfortunately proved divisive. Instead of provoking the church to positive action, it has reacted and divided into two factions: those that don’t agree with the opening and feel it is unsafe and those who agree with it and are ready to reopen. Each side is very much still part of the body of Christ and loved. They are not wrong for feeling the way they do. Their motive are pure and their hearts are right. Each side of the argument feels a moral obligation to do the right thing. But that still doesn’t mean there’s not a tension that we have to face as we are living from our own political, social and religious contexts.
Generally speaking, on one side of the spectrum, there are those who have obeyed the orders and have followed the rules. And while they have prioritized honoring and surrendering to the government and officials up to this point. But their conscience and convictions are speaking (and thankfully along with our own Governor) that it’s time to open up the church. Their own cognitive understanding of the facts and figures confirm and affirm that what we did worked. The moral imperative that they feel to get back to work, get back to school and also to get back to church again, justifies the greater good Of personal choice to attend church and be physically present in their church community enjoying corporate faith. Loving God and loving your neighbor can be confidently and authentically expressed while opening up the church (while following the CDC guidelines, etc). They have assessed the risk and understand that not only is Target, Home Depot, etc essential but so is the church-and so is faith, worship, prayer, and teaching all being done in the presence of each other. Loving God and loving others means getting the church doors open again so people can Worship and pray together again.
Generally speaking on the other side, there are those who adhere to what the experts and government officials are asking per the data and their interpretation of the current facts. When the government says to stay in another month, there is some cognitive security and moral certainty that confirms and affirms that that is the right thing and the smart thing to do. To love and God and others is best expressed through submitting to the doctors, the government and staying in isolation. This side of the spectrum believes that the others should follow the guidelines in place and if others don’t, they are not only in a civic violation but an ethical violation that could ultimately harm them and others in their community.
Talk to anyone in these two generalized factions, and you will get passion, research, emotion and strong feelings about their position. Both of these sides in the church are equally Christian with the moral determination and the ethical motivation of love. Love for Jesus is present on both sides of this spectrum and Jesus chooses to love and live inbetween both.
Jesus had Simon the zealot and He had Matthew the tax collector in the His worship community. Simon the Zealot was one of the disciples who was on the end of the disciples who was resistant to the governments rules, restrictions and regulations. The Romans at the time of Jesus life were restricting and enforcing government law and regulation that felt not only discriminatory but but fueled social and political tensions. Simon and his group of zealots chose to resist the governments orders in exchange for freedom and autonomy.
On the other side of the discipleship community was Matthew the tax collector. He was a God-believing Government employee who surrendered to the rules and regulations of what the Romans were enforcing daily. He worked in partnership with Rome and on behalf of Caesar, he chose to comply with the Roman government’s orders…even when it was difficult. He understood the benefit of serving under the Roman rule for the greater good of everyone.
Both of these men served Jesus and had to get along as a body of believers. Jesus loved them both and lived between both of them. He loved and believed in the compliant Matthew and loved and believed in the resistant Simon. Jesus knew that both of those men were necessary to complete His discipleship community. Both of those disciples represent the personality, politics and the passions of those who love their personal choice and religious freedom as well as those who serve, honor and live out their civic duty. We will always be surrounded by these two sides: Those who “share my faith but don’t agree with my politics” and those who “share my political view but don’t agree with my faith.” Jesus new best what it was like to live under the authoritative role of the government in a politicized Rome while living under the authority of God. And He did it perfectly…you can too!
The tension of Government and Church is nothing new to our culture. Especially in times like this. And this creates the tension many are feeling during these times: Do I obey God or do I obey the government? Thankfully we have a Governor who has given us 25% capacity to open and my church is following that. But it goes even beyond church for many of us. We have a civic duty to be an outstanding citizen and yet we simultaneously have a spiritual duty to be a heavenly citizen.
Peter knew the tension well. Living under Roman rule and jurisdiction as a Jew, Peter had his fair share of wanting to resist for the sake of his own personal beliefs. Even when Jesus was being restrained, Peter chose to resist law enforcement by pulling out his sword and cutting off an officer’s ear. Peter wanted to stand up to the government order but instead choose to stand down and comply,
“Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) Jesus commanded Peter, 'Put your sword away!’” John 18:10-11
Peter faces the difficulty of finding the right time and the right reason to act. Here, Peter resisted at the wrong time. He felt it was an injustice as to what was happening, so he reacted intstead of acted. Reacting can usually be traced back to its source: our flesh. But under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we act and move according to God’s will and his timing. Peter, under the inspiration of the power of the Holy Spirit acted under the influence of God rather than his emotions. In Acts 4, when the Government put a rule in place for Peter and John to not preach about Jesus, he resisted the government for the sake of the move of God in the moment. We can see not just Peter’s response but the government’s as well below:
“But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened.” - Acts 4:17-21
You will experience moments in your faith where you will experience an “enough is enough” and you may find yourself drawing your sword (metaphorically speaking I hope!). Many are feeling that with the current Covid situation now. The question for us will always be when is the time to stand up or stand down. Peter followed Jesus advice of standing down when facing the Romans in the Garden. But He also followed the advice of the Spirit and stood up leading thousands into salvation in one day (Acts 4:4). Honoring God and honoring those in charge will always be a challenge and requires a spiritual finesse. How you handle yourself in moments of “lockdown” and forced surrender will determine how God can use you. God trusted Peter because he had a practice of honoring authority on a regular basis. Peter knew the power of honoring those in charge as a follower of Jesus and practiced it well. It was such a strong believe to him that he wrote about it in one of his letters:
“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.”
-1 Peter 2:13-17
Peter lived a life as a businessman in a Roman community, a Jewish citizen, a Christian and a martyr. He honored the Government, his religious beliefs, his faith and Jesus. He lived a life of standing down and standing up throughout his life. Not only that, he was killed for his faith for spreading the Gospel when the government didn’t agree. Being compliant towards the Government and being adamant with Jesus were both part of Peter’s journey. It wasn’t either/or but both.
Scripture gives a nuanced picture of government. And it presents Christians with a challenge to keep governments in their proper role. Jesus understood that as He was under the authority of God (Matthew 26:53) while handling the pressure by refusing to condemn Roman taxation. Even Paul refer’s to the government as a legitimate authority in the lives of Christians,
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. 6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.” Romans 13:1-7
Yet Christians, above all people, should recognize the government is not infallible, as it is made up of fallible humans and has made significant mistakes in the past (it ultimately was the Government that put Jesus to death by Roman crucifixion revealing both the political and religious leadership got it wrong). Even early Christians violated Roman law when they declared Jesus, and not Caesar, Lord and Savior. This was in violation of the government ordinance of the day. But the government rulers knew that worship was essential for Christians and it’s essential for us today. We have to recognize that there will be times when we follow orders as good citizens and that there will be times when God is doing something bigger and we have to follow God above all else. There will be times when we feel the need to just stay at home and there will be times that we feel we need to go out and love. There will be those that will go to church and worship and there will be those that will feel compelled to stay and to remain safe at home. Your not wrong for staying home and your not wrong for going. Follow the leading of God for you and your family. But don’t think less of those that do go to church this Sunday. And don’t think less of those that desire to stay home. We are one body and we follow God the best that we know how.
Because when Love compels you to action… not everyone will always agree. Jesus grew up knowing the quarantine rules of lepers. He followed those rules. But then an instance came in Jesus’ ministry when He broke those rules and broke the social norms and chose to engage others by breaking quarantine rules and entering a leper colony. Self-isolation is nothing new. Jesus and all the religious leaders of the day, knew the practice of self-isolation when it came to this contagious disease. It began during the Israelites trip out of Egypt to the Promised Land, where Moses was our first public health official. In Leviticus, Moses tells us what to do with those with a leprous affection:
“[H]is clothes shall be rent, his head shall be left bare, and he shall cover over his upper lip; and he shall call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’” Leviticus 13:45
The point is for over 30 years Jesus chose to abide by those rules and to honor the quarantine of the lepers and to separate himself from them. But there came Divine moments in His ministry when He chose to enter into unclean and contaminated areas, to defy the community quarantine orders and love a community that needed it most,
“Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[a] met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” Luke 17:11-19
Those lepers were healed and the result was the worship of Jesus. Did it make moral or logical sense at the time to others watching… No. But Jesus knew that there’s times when quarantines must be broken in order to for the greater good of healing the broken. He knew the cost and he knew the push-back the community would give him. This is part of the tension we are facing right now. We understand when Christians follow government and medical advice to drastically reduce all social contacts, this is not an expression of unbelief but an expression of wisdom. The equation is simple: The flatter the rate of viral infection progresses, the smaller the number of vulnerable people who will die. Wherever we can contribute to that outcome, we should! But there are also times when Jesus calls us to go, just like He did. He was ridiculed for it. People didn’t understand it. But Jesus knew what the people needed and what God wanted.
Wisdom and love will lead us to participate in containing the current epidemic as far as possible, but just like Jesus was felt compelled to go, there are times in history where the love of Christ compeled the church to shine in dark times of infectious disease. In fact, Christians overcame the impulse to flee to safety and isolate themselves from the suffering of others by leaving their homes and loving others:
“In 165 a plague swept through the mighty Roman Empire, wiping out one in three of the population. It happened again in 251 when 5,000 people per day were dying in the city of Rome alone. Those infected were abandoned by their families to die in the streets. The government was helpless and the Emperor himself succumbed to the plague. Pagan priests fled their temples where people had flocked for comfort and explanation. People were too weak to help themselves. If the smallpox did not kill you, hunger, thirst and loneliness would. The effect on wider society was catastrophic. Yet following the plagues the good reputation of Christianity was confirmed, and its population grew exponentially. Why is this? Christians did not come armed with intellectual answers to the problem of evil. They did not enjoy a supernatural ability to avoid pain and suffering. What they did have was water and food and their presence. In short, if you knew a Christian you were statistically more likely to survive, and if you survived it was the church that offered you the most loving, stable and social environment. It was not clever apologetics, strategic political organisation or the witness of martyrdom which converted an Empire, so much as it was the simple conviction of normal women and men that what they did for the least of their neighbours they did for Christ.”[Stephen Backhouse quoted in Simon Ponsonby’s Loving Mercy: How to Serve a Tender-Hearted Saviour (Oxford: Monarch Books, 2012), 155.]
Ravi Zacharias has said it beautifully, “Love is the greatest apologetic. It is the essential component in reaching the whole person in a fragmented world. The need is vast, but it is also imperative that we be willing to follow the example of Jesus and meet the need.” Love will look different to you compared to me. To some of us reading this post, it will be to stay home. To others, it will look like going to church. Regardless of where you find yourself this Sunday, remember what love looks like,
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.” 1 Corinthians 13
Maybe we need to take a lesson from Wesley Autrey. Autrey is the man who became celebrated in 2007 as the “Subway Samaritan” after he was standing on a New York subway platform and a man next to him had a seizure and fell onto the tracks. Autrey dove onto the tracks. He thought he would be able to take the man off the tracks, but Autrey realized there was not enough time to drag Hollopeter away. Instead, he protected the man by throwing himself over Hollopeter's body in a drainage trench between the tracks, where he held him down. Though the operator of the train applied the brakes, all but two cars still passed over them, close enough to leave grease on his cap. When asked about his decision, he replied,
“I did what I thought was right,”
is how Autrey put it back in 2007. When the coronavirus epidemic at last passes into history, it will be to the credit of both sides of the spectrum in our churches today if we can echo those words while living it out in love.