It is heartbreaking to hear on the news that there are pastors who will encourage their parishioners to risk death in order to attend Easter services.
In Matthew 4:5-7 Jesus was tempted in the wilderness to risk death to prove his faith. The devil even quoted scripture to make it sound spiritual.
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus says that by loving God and loving our neighbor we satisfy all the requirements of the Bible. Paul says, in Romans 13:10, “Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
If you get within 6 feet of someone or attend a large gathering, you are giving in to one of the first temptations of Jesus (and literally doing the devil’s work as described above). The only reason any church staff person would encourage you to endanger yourself and others is so that they can make money off of you. Jesus chased the money changers out of the temple in Jerusalem. Think for a moment about who is chasing you to go in there and why.
There. I got that off my chest.
Have a blessed Easter at home with your loved ones. The God of love, who died to conquer death and its power, be with us all until we meet again.
