Lessons form our European Covid Tour 2020 (Deuteronomy 31:6, Proverbs 17:22, Matthew 6:25-34, Romans 15:13, 1 Corinthians 6:12 & 10:23-24,Philippians 4:19

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 02 August 2020 by Captain Michael Ramsay

This Flight Tonight

Proverbs 17:22 "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."

Romans 15:13: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

We were on vacation in Europe in March when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the continent full force. I never really had a chance to chat with us as a congregation about our trip. It is August now and today is only my second time speaking with you here since March. I don’t think anyone could have predicted all this. Today, I thought that I would share some thoughts from our time away.

On our flight to Europe Sarah-Grace and I were watching movies with sub-titles (we didn't have headphones). One very funny movie we watched was Blended about these two previously married people falling in love and their families coming together. The lady was divorced. The man's wife had died of cancer. Sarah-Grace and I were laughing out loud so much that Susan (who was sitting a couple of rows up with Heather) came to see us. She asked what we were watching that was so funny; all she could find was some sad movie about some lady who died of cancer. It wasn't the same movie but Sarah-Grace and I couldn't help laughing all the more! The possibility that her not funny movie was exactly the same movie as our funny movie to us was very funny!

Now, of course, there is nothing funny about someone dying of cancer or Coronavirus or anything else for that matter. But a lot of our healing and wholeness comes from how we remember and how we process things over time. In the midst of all the sadness, anxiety, and real tragedy in our world at this time I encourage each of us to look for someone to laugh with and something to celebrate: front line workers, volunteers, healing, recovery, friends, family, the Grace of God... It is my hope that even in the very real struggles of the pandemic and beyond that we will all find some joy today.

Proverbs 17:22 "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."

Romans 15:13: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
     

A Much Need Sleep

Hebrews 13:5b and Deuteronomy 31:6b: God has said: "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you."

Philippians 4:19: "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

Our first night in Europe - before we even could have guessed how COVID-19 was going to paralyze the world - we were exhausted. Susan and Sarah-Grace were so tired at 4pm that they just couldn’t stay awake. It had been a long day-and-a-half of travel (driving down to the states and then flying to Germany via Iceland) without much sleep for any of us. With Susan and Sarah-Grace asleep I took Heather to the park, the playground, and the grocery store so that we wouldn't disturb them. (This was before any lock downs or social distancing were in effect.) At the playground I made a mistake: I sat down. I sat on a bench while Heather was playing and I just could not stay awake! No matter what I did, I couldn’t stay awake - so we headed to the apartment.

When we got there we noticed that there were not enough beds for us and there were even less blankets. Sarah-Grace was sleeping on the couch with one blanket and Susan was sleeping on a very small double bed with the only other blanket we could find in the whole place. Cold and crowded, Heather and I lay down beside Susan and we soon fell asleep.

We slept for a few hours and then we were awake again because the conditions for sleep were not very good! We were cold and uncomfortable. We then left the bedroom and read quietly on the floor outside the washroom so as not to wake the others until morning.

It struck me that even though conditions were not conducive to a good night's sleep, when we were so tired that we could not possibly continue to go on, God granted us the rest we needed to survive: even though under other circumstances there is no way that we would be able to sleep like this, when we needed it the most God granted us rest regardless.

Since then, we like many others have been in and out of quarantine. The struggles and concerns surrounding the epidemic are everywhere still. As Salvationists we are doing our best to support our community, coordinating much online, by phone, and in person as we are able. We are working to feed and provide for those in need; we are praying for and encourage people both near and far.

One encouragement I have for all of us during the uncertainty and anxiety of our lives today is this: Just as when we desperately needed rest, the Lord provided it even though the conditions were not the best; so now with those of us who are struggling with isolation, fear and other covid-related and non-covid-related things, even when conditions are not the best, the Lord will provide. In the midst of our very real struggles, the Lord cares for us and He is here with us. He will neither leave us or forsake us.

Hebrews 13:5b and Deuteronomy 31:6b: God has said: "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you."

Philippians 4:19: "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

Domo Arigato Mister: Autobahn:

1 Corinthians 6:12 and 10:23:

6:12: “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.

10:23-24: “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.

I did like driving in Germany. It was much better than driving in England. We were in England and Scotland in 2015 and I did not like driving in England – especially London. The roads are small and of course everyone drives on the wrong side of the road. I am still amazed that I didn’t get us all killed. It was a little tense.

Driving in Germany was very different. The roads were very nice. The highways were in great shape. We could drive on the right side of the road and, of course, in many places there is no speed limit. That was a lot of fun. The roads were large, open, and the traffic was very fast. I must admit that I really liked the idea of seeing how fast I could comfortably travel. After all, that was permissible for me; however, it was not necessarily beneficial.

Now there are a number of reasons why that it was not beneficial. The autobahn does post – not speed limits – recommended speeds to travel. If you would have an accident you would not have as good coverage with your insurance if you were traveling much quicker than the recommended speed, many things can happen at fast speeds, it isn’t necessarily as safe… but the main reason that driving very fast, though permissible, was not beneficial for me was… my wife didn’t like it… for all of those good reasons and more. You don’t want to upset your navigator when driving in a foreign country and, of course, you never want to upset your wife because you love her.

So while it was permissible to drive over the recommended speed it wasn’t beneficial. This is the same with a lot of our Covid regulations today in this country and province. Relating to masks, social gatherings, various events, etc.: 1 Corinthians 10:23-24: “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. [however] No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.

Dane-for-us Times

Matthew 6: 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

A lot of things went wrong with our trip. We did not see a lot of what we wanted to see. This was Sarah-Grace’s grad trip. Susan had been planning this for a long time down to the last detail and Sarah-Grace had been dreaming about it for a long time. I wanted to see especially the little mermaid statue in Copenhagen because when I was a child my great grandmother gave me a little statue of the little mermaid and so I have always wanted to see it – and we did – on the morning that we were fleeing Denmark because the army was going to seal of the border with Sweden, we were able to stop and pose for a picture with the mermaid before we fled over the bridge. There were many things that Susan planned to see too – mostly in Germany – that we didn’t get to see but we did get to see an ancient cathedral in Mainz where kings were crowned and we were able to see the Guttenberg Bible and we were able to see Hameln of Pied Piper fame before we had the flee Germany. Again we just made it over the border to Denmark in time and had a chat with some very nice military personnel on our way out.

Sarah-Grace, I think, was feeling more than a little bit upset. These things we saw in Germany - before we had to flee – were great but it was Denmark she wanted to see and the moment we got there everything was closed and it got really scary. We didn’t even know if we were going to be able to make it home at all. The Americans closed their border and we flew out of the US and now were not allowed to fly back. We were on the phone all night long with insurance agents who still refuse to reimburse us to this day and I am sure they never will. We were on the phone all night long with airlines trying to book new flights home by new routes. We were on the phone with relatives trying to find someone to pick up our car from the aero port so that we wouldn’t have to pay a million dollars to store it – we still haven’t been able to get it from the States. (The US seems much more willing and able to stop Canadians from entering the US than the other way around judging from our trip to the border the other day and seeing who is crossing from which direction) Our first night in Denmark is when everything shut down. I was on-line with our Member of Parliament who said we should come home now and so we were on the phone with relatives trying to beg borrow and not quite steal enough money to fly back home before our border closed.

There were so many things Sarah-Grace wanted to see in Denmark but Denmark was now closed. Anyone who knows Sarah-Grace knows she is a big music fan, particularly an 80’s rock music fan. She really wanted to see something to do with the band Metallica. She is a big fan and their drummer Lars Ulrich is from Denmark. This was one of the main reasons we were in Denmark. One night, the night before we had to leave the country, I was walking around the deserted streets of Copenhagen and I providentially stumbled across the Hard Rock Café in Copenhagen – and it was open! It was almost the only thing open in the whole city; so a ran back to the hotel as fast as I could and got Sarah-Grace, Susan, and Heather and we all went to the Hard Rock Café. We got to see Lars’ drum set, Slash’s guitar, a Curt Cobain guitar and many items of memorabilia from rock musicians. We even were able to request songs to be played at the restaurant. We had a good meal and a great time. The Lord really did provide this gift for Sarah-Grace, and all of us, right in the middle of all the worry – and there was a lot at this time – and right in the middle all of the very real struggles of our Life. The LORD, God gave us this gift.

And so it is with us today, Matthew 6:32-33, we don’t need to panic, to be overwhelmed with worry. Our Heavenly Father knows what we need and as we seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness He will provide.

Philippians 4:19: "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

For, Hebrews 13:5b and Deuteronomy 31:6b: God has said: "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you."

Proverbs 17:22a "A joyful heart is good medicine...”

So Romans 15:13: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Let us pray...

www.sheepspeak.com

https://www.facebook.com/Salvogesis

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Paul J. Achtemeier, Romans. Interpretation: (Atlanta, Georgia: John Knox Press, 1985)

M. Eugene Boring, Matthew (NIB 8: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1995)

N.T. Wright, The Letter to the Romans (NIB 10: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1995) and Part 2: Ch 9-16 (Louisville, US: WKJ, 2004)

N.T. Wright, '1 Corinthians' in Paul for Everyone, (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004)

Michael Ramsay, 1 Corinthians 6-10: In Tents Storm of Life: Everything is Permissible but Not Everything is Beneficial. (Swift Current The Salvation Army: Sheepspeak, 01 June 2014) On-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2014/05/1-corinthians-6-10-in-tents-storm-of.html

Michael Ramsay, Matthew 6:25-34: WHU's Blowing Bubbles. Presented to The Alberni Valley Men's Breakfast (Port Alberni. The Salvation Army: Sheepspeak, 16 June 2019) On-line: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2019/06/matthew-625-34-whus-blowing-bubbles.html

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Romans 14:1-15:7: The Kingdom of Heaven is more than masks and social gatherings.

Presented to Alberni Valley Ministries, 19 September 2020, at the Legion Hall by Captain Michael Ramsay

Alberni Covid-19 Community Response Update:

Here in Port Alberni since March 17th we have provided for people in need more than 43 500 times. We have provided:


·         Food, hygiene kits, water,

·         Deliveries to people’s homes (up to 700 a day)

·         Hot meals off the mobile kitchen (up to 175 a day)

·         Items from the store in (12 to 4pm, Tuesday to Saturday)

·         Emotional and spiritual care

·         Many other supports

Many people praise the Lord for the work He has done with and through us. And many people have come to appreciate the work of the Army so that the Lord is able to use us to do even more for people in need.

One new thing that we have today is that ‘church’ – Sunday Meeting -has resumed.

Hebrews 10:24-25

I have heard that a lot of preachers have been speaking on Hebrews 10:24-25 in the last while:

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

The trouble of not meeting together is, like everything else, you get out of the habit. You get out of the habit of getting up at a certain time in the morning, you get out of the habit of getting ready for church, you get out of the habit of making sure you have your cartridge (offering), you get out of the habit of worshiping with your friends, you get out the habit of signing, you may get out of the habit of reading your Bible. You get out of the habit of encouraging one another in the Faith. You get out of the habit of… I know I have gotten out of the habit of preaching and preparing a sermon. It is like a muscle that has not been in use. All of this is why we are encouraged to not stop meeting together.

Many of you have not stopped during this time. Some of the things that many of you have been faithfully been doing have been:

·         Calling one other

·         Encouraging one another

·         Praying for each other

·         Meeting together at an appropriate social distance

·         Connecting over Zoom, Skype or facebook

·         Helping out at the Army

·         Making and serving food for people during Covid-19

·         Watching church on-line

·         Reading your Bible and studying

·         Connecting through prayer lists and mail-outs

About on-line and other forms worship, some of you have told me that you have never done so much church before as you are now during covid.  And that is good. For those of us who have maybe gotten out of the habit of meeting together on-line, by phone, or now in person I encourage you to get back into the routine. It is like a muscle. It gets easy to use the more you use it. For those of us who are involved in worship more than ever I encourage us to keep it up. You are doing great!

Romans 14:1-15:7 speaks about a few controversial issues:

Romans 14:1-15:7, which we read from earlier today, addresses some controversial issues. Some people were eating meat and some ‘weak people’ it says were eating only vegetables (Romans 14:2). Now, of course we know that there were a few famous vegetarians in the Bible too who God used to do many amazing things, notably Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Some people held that one day, Sunday or Saturday, was a special day to be held as holy. (Remember we used to have the Lord’s Day legislation in this country. Saskatchewan, Ontario, and some of the eastern Maritime Provinces had this legislation in effect a lot longer than we did out here too.) Other people argued that ALL DAYS are supposed to be holy.

In the Bible the Hebrews historically held the Sabbath as a special day. Later they and other Christians would hold the Lord’s Day as a special day to do nothing but meet together. In the first century Jewish Christians would often meet together in ‘synagogue’ on Saturday and in ‘church’ on Sunday. The Ten Commandments themselves speak about the importance of one holy day. In the New Testament it points out that that is a good place to start but in reality EVERY DAY should be set aside as holy unto the Lord. This was – and still can be – a significant controversial issue.

A third point of controversy: Some people would eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols and others wouldn’t want to risk eating meat that might be sacrificed to idols.

In Bible times there weren’t secular, non-religious, or areligious butcher shops for you to just pick up your meat from. There weren’t Safeways, Save Ons, or Buy Lows. Your butchers who cut up your meat for you were often priests or religious officiants of some kind. When they butchered your animal for you they would often sacrifice some of it or dedicate it to a deity or an idol. If you went to eat at someone’s house you might not even know if the meat had been sacrificed to an idol or not. This was a significant thing for many people and as such some people wouldn’t eat the meat that may or may not have been sacrificed to an idol- they didn’t want to risk it – and others would argue that it really didn’t matter.

Both sides of all of these arguments had some very good points – but Paul here is pretty clear that he has an opinion on which side of every argument is right in his eyes BUT he says the most important thing for him is this:

14:19-20: Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food.

14:13: Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.

15:1-2: We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.

15:7: Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

Here and Now

I think this is a very important message for us today during the pandemic. We have a very real pandemic around us. We know that the only way it travels is through contact with infected people. We know how to stop it. The only way to stop it is to stop having contact with infected people. If the Island here is clean then – Like New Zealand - we don’t let anyone else come to the Island unless the place they come from is clean. If the province is clean then we can allow people from the rest of BC (if they also don’t allow people to come there); if then Washington or Alberta or clean then we can expand our ‘bubble’ to include them…however, for whatever reason, the powers that be aren’t willing to do this (and I assume they have good reason and certainly know more than I do about it) so we are left with other precautions:

·         Masks (important even though the experts originally advised us against wearing them and even now apparently some people can’t wear them)

·         Social distancing (even though there is no covid-19 in our community)

·         Ceasing meeting together for certain activities under certain circumstance.

This is all important but also important is that we need to stop putting stumbling blocks in people’s ways and we need to support other people rather than pleasing ourselves.  We ought to bear the concerns of others rather than act to please ourselves.  Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. Do not judge someone who isn’t wearing a mask! Put on a mask if you can - even if there is no illness in your community - if it makes someone else feel safe. Don’t judge people who come to permitted activities like ‘church’ and other things and don’t judge people who stay home. The Kingdom of God is more than a mask or attending approved gatherings.

So today, everyone, let us bear one another’s burdens and live to please God and others rather than ourselves. Let us accept one another, just as Christ has accepted us in order to bring praise to God. For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of masks and gatherings but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God.

www.sheepspeak.com

https://salvogesis.blogspot.com/

Further reading on this matter:

Paul J. Achtemeier, Romans. Interpretation: (Atlanta, Georgia: John Knox Press, 1985)

W.E Vines, “Week in Faith”, in Vine's Word Studies of New Testament Vol. III. (Nashville, Tennessee: Royal Publishers Inc., 1939), p. 166.

N.T. Wright, The Letter to the Romans (NIB 10: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1995) and Part 2: Ch 9-16 (Louisville, US: WKJ, 2004)

N.T. Wright, '1 Corinthians' in Paul for Everyone, (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004)

Michael Ramsay, 1 Corinthians 6-10: In Tents Storm of Life: Everything is Permissible but Not Everything is Beneficial. (Swift Current The Salvation Army: Sheepspeak, 01 June 2014) On-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2014/05/1-corinthians-6-10-in-tents-storm-of.html

William Hendricksen, Exposition of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, NTC (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic: 1981), 458.

The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 2919: ‘Krino’, (Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1995), 51.

Alan Le Grys, The Expository Times 122 (11). ‘11th September: Proper 19: Vision and Reality’.(August 2011), 549

John Stott, Romans, (Downers Grove, Ill., IVP, 1994), 369.