Plagues in History

By Pastor Mike

Plagues have often felt distant in time and place.  The Roman Empire had plagues, and the Middle Ages, the Black Death.  There were genocidal plagues of European diseases that afflicted indigenous American peoples.  Plagues happen in Africa (Ebola) or during war (Spanish Flu).  They are for others, not us; but here we are.  A pandemic has now touched us, and we understand in a more complete way what people experienced in those distant times and places.  They, too, experienced fear, and denial, and anger, and blame, and confusion, and surprise, and . . . compassion, patience, faith.  

In the Roman Empire of the 2nd and 3rd centuries it was the Christian church that held society together during the plagues.  The church opened hostels and hospices, cared for the most vulnerable in society; and it was that same Roman society that had repeatedly persecuted the Christian!  “Love your enemies,” Jesus said, and those Christians took Jesus at his word.  The Christians so impressed the pagan world with their acts of kindness that by the 4th century, Christianity had become the official religion of the empire. 

I mention this because the world has historically faced and endured many pandemics and, and so has the church.  The trauma and disruption of disease have threatened and challenged the church of the past and very often the church has met and adapted to the new reality and became a positive influence on society. 

We are now also facing not only a pandemic but a new reality, and new opportunities.  Already we have glimpses of the future.  Surprisingly, we have many more people worshipping online than who typically attended on a Sunday morning. Our Caring Fund has been generously supported.  Friendships and family, we now fully realize, are not to be taken for granted.  These insights will launch us into opportunities for mission and service we hardly imagined before the crisis. 

God bless your moment of devotion today and may your faith be the anchor that holds you firmly in this storm.

If you have ideas on how to improve HSLC’s presentation of the Daily Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer, please reach out to John Sparkman, director of music, at music@hslckirkland.org.

SERVICE OF MORNING PRAYER      

Everything most folks need to participate in this service is included in the video. If you like to follow along with a liturgy in written paper format, please click here for a pdf of the service. 

SERVICE OF HOLDEN EVENING PRAYER 

Everything most folks need to participate in this service is included in the video. If you like to follow along with a liturgy in written paper format, please click here for a pdf of the service.