Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
How is your patience? Back in December at a university in Germany they suffered a malware attack. The school network was taken down and each campus computer had to be scanned. As a precautionary measure the school had to reset every password for every email account issued by the school. Because of German law the new passwords could not be mailed out. The new passwords were handed out to 38,000 students on slips of paper and it took five days! How is your patience?
These last 10 days since schools began shutting down and life changed, the days have been a drag. The boys and I missed our beloved Illini in both the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. We also missed the Boys State High School Tournament. The other night I found a live sports program – Australian Rules Football at 12:30 a.m. No fans but something new. What have you been missing? How is your patience?
Have you had to stand in grocery lines? Was there a line for milk, butter, bread? What’s the deal with toilet paper? Crazy. The flip side is that some places have no lines because people are staying home. Driving, which can test our patience, finds less cars on the road. Gas stations, even with the low prices are easier to get in and out of.
Are you impatient about being back in worship? This is the hardest for me. Word and Sacrament ministry is done in person. We miss the fellowship, the human contact with the handshake after worship, the presence of Christ’s body and blood on our lips and in our mouth. We do our best at home, but many of us need someone to help us carry a tune – the organ or that God blessed singer that sits near us. How is your patience?
The Lord gives us perspective. “This too shall pass.” History shows us that. Think about the patience of God. He creates a beautiful world and man and woman mess it up. They lie, they blame, they kill, they turn their back on Him who gave them breath. It continues for thousands of years. The pain, the pestilence, the disregard for one another. His heart must ache. But the world will wait.
Then at just the right time, He sends a Savior, His Son, Jesus Christ. The world is where it needs to be so that this message of salvation can be spread far and wide. As opposed to a virus, one person after another through the Holy Spirit tells about the love and forgiveness of His beloved Son. His Son goes to a cross. He dies for disease and death and denial. He’s placed in a tomb. How patient will the world have to be?
Three days. He has Risen. Disease and death and denial are forgiven and conquered. There is hope. There is a future. The world waited and God sent the greatest gift. As you wait, ponder these thoughts, look to a hill closer than you think, where the Lord’s people gather to worship. The wait is over. Thanks be to God.
In Christ’s Love,
Pastor