Giving Thanks During A Pandemic

Giving Thanks During a Pandemic

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

2020 has certainly been one of the most challenging years in recent times. It started with the spread of a new virus originating in Wuhan China which spread rapidly throughout the Earth. Many millions have caught the virus and many hundreds of thousands have died. We have seen multiple lockdowns, collapse of economies, anger fear, and other adverse effects. There are many who have profited from the chaos. The merchants of was and death thrive under these conditions which are part of the universal human virus which has effected humanity from the beginning, from which there seems no earthly cure. There is much false information being released as well. One side tries to make it nothing more than a severe cold. But I have known people who have died of this virus, some of whom were younger than me and in what appeared to be good health. Others think this worse than the Bubonic Plague which is a total exaggeration. The only fear greater than the virus itself is the fear generated by the lack of scientific information. Are masks effective? There is censorship on data. The result of this is confusion.

They told the church to cancel Easter. Then Pentecost. Then they tell us we must cancel Thanksgiving and Christmas as well. This has caused dis-ease in the Church community as we are commanded not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. The church never cancelled Easter, even in worse times of plague, war, or other calamity. It seems that those in power are also using this virus as an opportunity to crush the Church itself. To them, the church is unessential. Buying alcohol, the abuse of which has killed far more than the Coronavirus will ever kill is essential. Cigarettes which have killed millions are essential. The sale of lottery tickets are essential. Abortion which kills millions is essential. Mass protests in the name of social justice are essential. But the only message which can save is squelched.

These things make it hard during the time of Thanksgiving in America, and Advent and Christmas worldwide to have a thankful and joyful spirit. We look at this text and we can agree that we should pray without ceasing. We also look for words of prophetic hope. But it seems strange that we are commanded to also “rejoice evermore.” The command “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” We realize that God is not giving us suggestions here. We have to find out how to be joyful and thankful in the circumstances we find ourselves.

When we look at Paul’s First Epistle to the Thessalonians, we will realize that the situation the Thessalonians found themselves was troubling. Paul tells us that they had been persecuted greatly just like the Christians in Judaea had been persecuted by the Jews. Paul knew much of the persecutions of Christians by Judaism. He had been one of the chief persecutors before his miraculous conversion. The 8th Chapter of Acts tells us about just one of the persecutions. Paul also admits in several places that he pursued the Christians even unto death. The same Book of Acts tells of many stories of persecution including those in Thessalonica. Yet Paul still commands them to be joyful and thankful.

We are also told of more disturbances in the Church of Thessalonica. Some of the membership had died. As this is one of Paul’s earliest epistles which was written not long after he had evangelized there, these deaths were quite recent and the community was in deep grief. Word had gotten out that those who had died before Jesus returned were lost forever. They would not partake in the Kingdom. Paul had to address the misconceptions. Those who had “fallen asleep” were not lost. They would be included in the final gathering of the saints. So times weren’t so great in that church.

When we look at the history of the Christian church, we can find many times of distress. There was great distress when the City of Rome was first sacked. St. Augustine writes about these times in his City of God. There was the great outbreak of the Bubonic Plague during the reign of Justinian the Great which seems to have resulted from a volcanic explosion on the other side of the earth which darkened the sun and made the moon blood red. This sounded like the end of time, a time of great fear and little joy. I could mention many times of war, plague, and famine throughout Christian history. We can see times of terrible persecution of Christians during the Reformation. Yet in all these times, Paul’s words still call us to be joyful and thankful.

When we come to the first Thanksgiving in America, we remember the hardships of the Pilgrim fathers. Half of the colony died of disease and starvation in the winter of 1620-21. They would all have perished had it not been for the help of a freed Native-American slave named Squanto. He had been taken as a slave by English raiders and sold to a monastery in Spain. At some point he learned the English language and found occasion to return to Massachusetts. When he got there, he discovered that his tribe had been destroyed by the smallpox. He was adopted by another tribe. This tribe showed mercy to the starving Pilgrims. The first thanksgiving was held to give God thanks for sparing the colony from other destruction, to which the Native-Americans were invited. From the deepest distresses they had suffered, they chose to give thanks rather than wallow in pity.