Some hymns are happy, others are downers. One I always put in the latter group was written by Martin Luther, “In the very midst of life snares of death surround us.” As a kid in the 1950’s, life was good; I had no clue about the twenty years before I was born, the Great Depression and World War II. And as an adult? Yes, death can come suddenly but that seemed an aberration from normal living. Now the pandemic makes the hymn very real.
Many people avoid talking about death. “Don’t be morbid,” they say, but we’re learning how present death really is. A current TV commercial is set in ancient Rome. Amid a severe drought, a crowd is gathered around the rim of a volcano. A young man comes up to Roman officials who order him to jump into the molten lava as a sacrifice to appease the gods. When the man suggests they build an aqueduct, the crowd mocks him. So, into death he jumps. The commercial isn’t as outlandish as it seems. Ancient Roman society was cruel. Thousands filled the Colosseum to cheer the deaths of gladiators. Crucifixions were spectator events.
“Who shall help us in the strife lest the foe confound us?” Luther saw the devil lurking in the shadows of death. “In the midst of death’s dark vale, pow’rs of hell o’ertake us.” Death is the result of sin in our world (Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:56), and sin begets sin. You can see how the grim Coronavirus reaper multiplies sin. Some go into public places with no concern for their neighbor’s health. Others make masks partisan, self-promoting statements. Love your neighbor as yourself? (Matthew 22:39). And now Satan’s guile would rob you of your confidence in God. “The old evil foe now means deadly woe” wrote Luther in his famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress.”
“In the midst of utter woe when our sins oppress us, where shall we for refuge go, where for grace to bless us? To Thee, Lord Jesus, only!” Roman cruelty invented the cross; Jesus’ used it to take on sin and conquer death. In our terrible times, don’t give me happy religion or happy hymns…unless they’re rooted in Jesus’ death for our life, in the giving of His Spirit to give us confidence in the middle of Covid-19. “Lord, preserve and keep us in the peace that faith can give. Have mercy, O Lord!” (Lutheran Book of Worship 755).
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