It is time to come back to church. I know that this might be a controversial statement, because in our congregation the opinions about the virus and the risks associated are all across the board- just as they are anywhere else. I’m not writing to convince you of anything regarding COVID-19. Instead, I am writing this to encourage you. I’m writing to remind you of the promises God has made to you in His Word, promises that cannot fail. And I’m writing to remind you of the blessings and responsibilities that are ours as members of the Body of Christ.
I want to share with you some of the main points from a presentation that I gave at a LYA convention several years ago called The Devil Hates Crowds. As I looked back at that presentation, I was blown away at how much it applies to today! It reminded me who our real enemy is, it reminded me about the biggest threat to us in the midst of this pandemic and social isolation. It’s not a politician and it’s not a health official. It’s not someone who doesn’t hold the same views as us or even the virus itself. Our greatest threat during this pandemic is Satan. He looks for any and every opportunity to attack and divide Christians and in what is happening, he has found the scariest opportunity that we have seen in our lifetimes.
To illustrate this, I want to point you to a YouTube video. At first it doesn’t seem related and admittedly it’s a little violent and very intense, but it is worth the watch. It’s called the Battle at Kruger. Watch it before you read on if you’d like to prevent spoilers.
This video was filmed from a tour bus in Kruger National Park in South Africa. In it, an unsuspecting herd of water buffalo approach a small group of hidden lions. As the lions attack, the herd scatters but a small baby water buffalo is caught. It’s sad to watch. As they struggle in the water, it just gets worse. A crocodile comes out of nowhere and starts wrestling the lions for the kill. It’s a literal tug-of-war for this small, isolated water buffalo. But the surprises keep coming! The lions pull the baby away from the crocodile, but then the camera pulls back and you see the giant herd of water buffalo has returned. Together they have enough courage and strength to attack the lions, launching a few in the air and scaring them away! The baby then stands up and walks back to the safety of the herd. It is so awesome.
Scripture uses animals as illustrations a lot and we as believers are most often compared to sheep. Docile, a little dumb, and very dependent animals. Satan on the other hand is illustrated as a roaring lion looking for someone to devour! He is cunning like a serpent and in the book of Revelation he is even compared to a dragon! We are the prey; Satan is the predator. What hope do we have?
We have all the hope. We know that we don’t have to defeat the apex spiritual predator, because Jesus already has. The mission of Christ has already been accomplished, the devil is defeated.[1] So if the victory is already won, why do we still need to fight? Because we live in this world. 1 John 2:16 says, “For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, boasting about material possessions—is not from the Father but from the world.” We are not fighting for our own salvation, our battle is a fight against temptation, and apathy, and laziness, and worry, and indulgence, and everything else that comes from this world!
In this battle, God provides tools to help us. First and foremost are the Means of Grace—these are God’s Word, Baptism, and Holy Communion. We focus on these tools all the time in our sermons and services. They bring before us our sin and our Savior, and then personally apply all the blessings of Christ to us. There is another tool, though, that we often forget about or neglect in this battle and that tool is the Communion of Saints. This is God’s gift of people. Not just people—brothers and sisters who are united with us in Christ![2]
The implications of this unity in the battle against temptation and the deceptions of Satan are huge! God is reminding us that we aren’t just lone, solitary sheep, through the blessing of the Communion of Saints we are a giant herd of angry water buffalo! There are huge blessings, ones that we often grossly underestimate, in being an active part of a spiritual herd. When God recreated us at our baptism, He designed us to be together.
Scripture breaks down the blessings of being a spiritual herd into three big categories:
Admonishment: Admonishment means to urge or advise someone urgently, to warn someone of something to be avoided. We advise and warn with the law as we remind each other of what God wants us to do.[3],[4]
Comfort: Romans 12:15 encourages us to be empathetic, to “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 reminds us that being comforted by God’s Word isn’t just a blessing to be kept, but to be shared, “Blessed be the… Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our trouble, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the same comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” To do these things, the first step is to know when our brothers and sisters need to be comforted! When we are isolated, this is so much harder to do!
Building Up: As a herd, our weaknesses are covered by other’s strengths. Together the Body of Christ builds itself up in love. Look to Hebrew 10:24-25, which tells us, “Let us also consider carefully how to spur each other on to love and good works. Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have the habit of doing. Rather, let us encourage each other, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Look too to Romans 14:19[5], Proverbs 27:17[6], and Ephesians 4:11-16[7] All of these things are necessary functions of the Body of Christ, and they don’t happen when we are isolated, when we are only watching the service online.
Our faith, the faith taught by the Bible, is a communal faith. It’s tempting to think that we can walk away from the communal aspects (gathering together for worship, prayer, hymns, Bible study, and friendships with other Christians) and be just fine. But if we do this, we are walking straight into one of the great deceptions of Satan. Many people say that they don’t need church because they know what they believe and don’t need other people in order to hold on to that. But what does a ‘personal relationship with God’ look like when we try to maintain it alone? It looks like whatever I want it to look like, and nothing like the real thing. When we try to do it alone we have no one to admonish us when we go astray or are wrong. We have no one to comfort us when we mourn or are overwhelmed or troubled. We have no one to strengthen us, to build us up, and we have no opportunity to exercise our faith by doing the same for them.
You are under spiritual attack. Satan loves it that we have become so divided and isolated! He sees that the herd, the Church, has scattered. So, run to our source of strength. Run to the Word and Sacrament. Then utilize your gifts and abilities to serve, support, comfort, and build up your fellow believers, and allow them to do the same for you.
Why does the Devil hate crowds? Because alone, we are weak and helpless baby water buffalo likely to be eaten by the Lion. But in a crowd, a cloud of witnesses, we have people watching our back, calling us out, sharing in our hardships and joys, and building us up[8]. We are surrounded by people who love us and who will continue to point us to the source of our unity, our comfort, and our salvation—Jesus, God’s own Son.
I know and fully admit that coming to church is still a risk. Be assured that we have been working very hard to reduce that risk—following every guideline and mandate. But we know that it is also a risk to stay isolated from fellow believers. I have seen the effects of Satan’s attacks on others and I’ve felt them on myself. As our isolation continues, Satan’s opportunity grows. So, come back to church. If you are not yet ready to come back to in person worship, I still urge you to return to the Church, the herd. Gather in small groups, read the Word together, pray together, invite Christian friends over for a meal, grieve with each other, celebrate together, encourage one another, contact your pastors to bring you the Lord’s Supper. Give yourself an opportunity to use your God-given gifts and abilities in service to other Christians and give them an opportunity to do the same for you.
As we do this, we profess our faith and what our focus is in our life on this earth. Our first and foremost priority as His people is not to preserve our health and life—our times are in His hands[9]—our priority is our Spiritual Life, fed and nourished through Word and Sacrament, strengthened, sharpened, and exercised as we gather with other believers in the unity of our faith.
Satan is a powerful, deceptive, fear-inducing enemy. The threat he poses is greater than anything else in this world.[10] But thanks be to God, because He gives us the victory through Christ Jesus our Lord. Come find that comfort, that confidence, and that courage that exists only when know that we wear Christ’s Victory as our own, when we are surrounded by fellow believers who will admonish, comfort, and build us up just as God designed the Body of Christ to do!
In Christ our Victorious Lord,
Pastor Ben Wiechmann
[1] 1 John 3:8b, “This is why the Son of God appeared: to destroy the works of the Devil.”
[2] Romans 12:45, “For we have many members in one body, and not all the members have the same function. In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another,”
[3] Galatians 6:1, “If a person is caught in some trespass, you who are spiritual should restore such a person in a spirit of humility, carefully watching yourself so that you are not also tempted.”
[4] 2 Timothy 4:2, “Preach the word. Be ready whether it is convenient or not. Correct, rebuke, and encourage, with all patience and teaching.”
[5] “Let us pursue those things that lead to peace and building up one another.”
[6] “Iron sharpens iron, and a man sharpens the insight of his friend.”
[7] “He himself gave the apostles, as well as the prophets, as well as the evangelists, as well as the pastors and teachers, for the purpose of training the saints for the work of serving, in order to build up the body of Christ. This is to continue until we all reach unity in the faith and knowledge of the Son of God, resulting in a mature man with a stature reaching to the measure of the fullness of Christ. The goal is that we would no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, when people use tricks and invent clever ways to lead us astray. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we would in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. From him the whole body, being joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows in accordance with Christ’s activity when he measured out each individual part. He causes the growth of the body so that it builds itself up in love.”
[8] Hebrews 12:1-3, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us get rid of every burden and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and let us run with patient endurance the race that is laid out for us. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who is the author of our faith and the one who brings it to its goal. In view of the joy set before him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of God’s throne. Carefully consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinful people, so that you do not grow weary and lose heart.”
[9] Psalm 31:15, “But I- I trust in you, O Lord. I say, “You are my God.” My times and in your hand. Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who pursue me.
[10] Matthew 10:28, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”