Sermonette: August 24, 2020

Greetings dear friends in Christ.

It’s hardly news anymore. I can’t imagine there is any person, anywhere, that isn’t aware of COVID-19. In actuality, it hasn’t been that long since the coronavirus first made the news even though it seems like it's been around forever. As I recall, back then it was a news item but not of any particular importance. IT was just another bug, somewhat reminiscent of the Swine Flu or the Bird Flu of a few years back. We would just let it run its course and all would be fine.

Well, it hasn’t worked out that way. Not only in the United States but nations around the world are witnessing unprecedented growth. Of course, due to differences in gathering statistics, reports procedures, testing practices, and so forth from nation to nation, state by state, it is difficult to truly measure the virus' actual growth. Although in a vast majority of the deaths attributed to COVID-19 there have also been underlying health issues with the victims, that doesn’t mean that the virus is not a dangerous one. Two major reasons why that is so is because, for one, there are not always symptoms present to make it obvious we have it and two, it is very contagious. With the flu we are most accustomed to, we get the virus, we get sick. We get a fever, have headaches, throw up, have running noses, and so forth. With the coronavirus, we can have it and be passing it on to others and not even know it. I recently read that there are a couple of countries now ready to begin vaccine testing on humans. Let’s pray they are successful.

I imagine most of this information so far is not new to you. But there is one aspect of this that doesn’t, or at least hasn’t, been discussed very much. The psychological issues and how it is affecting our mental health. There are those among us who need community support, need the interaction of friends, relatives, and loved ones, but for months were denied this. Churches had to shut their doors to worship. Bible study classes had to be discontinued. Even leisure activities that some of us rely upon for our break from the hassles of everyday life in our complex world were at first postponed and eventually canceled. And if all this wasn’t bad enough, every newscast, every newspaper article on the virus tells us it's not getting better, but is getting worse with higher case counts nearly every day.

I didn’t mean for this article to be a “downer”, to rain on your parade. I hope I haven’t made you lose hope. I do have great news. In the 8th chapter of Romans, we are told that nothing, nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God. In the Gospel accorded to Matthew Jesus says not to be afraid because he will be with us until the end of the age. And it doesn’t stop there. In His Revelation to John, Jesus says that He will return. We can take heart on this. In spite of what happens here on a daily basis, we can rest assured that God is with us, and always will be. We can call upon him for guidance 24/7. Let us pray for our own strength and courage as well as to help others. We can pray for those working on vaccines. We can pray for those in the healthcare profession that face this virus every day. We can pray to God for comfort and peace of mind. He will not desert us. He loves us.

Correction: The sermonette published in last week’s paper was written by Pastor Joe Greiner, Evangelical Free Church, not Jeff Halvorson. We apologize for the error. Greiner is credited in the online version.