Name something that Covid-19 hasn't affected...go ahead...I'll wait.
Listen, I know that our lives have been changed significantly in the last twelve months. I get it. To say it's been hard would be the understatement of a lifetime. As a pastor, I, and my fellow ministers have had to make some really difficult decisions over the last year. Decisions that they didn't teach us to make in seminary. Our church closed for a significant time last year...we weren't able to gather for Easter! During our closure, we transitioned to online services. Then we had a brief time of parking-lot meetings (What in the world?! What even is that?!) We were finally able to reopen but did so in a slow, methodical way. Many of our annual events were either cancelled or radically changed. The pandemic is still effecting us as, even as I write this, we have people from our congregation who are sick with the virus. It still wreaks havoc on much of our lives. It seems that literally everything has changed. Flashback to 2019 and this would seem like an overdramatic dystopian novel. Our lives are not the same.
But one thing that has not changed is the sovereignty of our God. Yahweh is still on the throne and Jesus is still at His right hand and the Holy Spirit is still active in our hearts and lives. And He is still worthy of our worship. Church, I am convinced that it is time to come back to corporate worship. I do not write this in a cavalier, nonchalant, laissez faire way. I am still wrestling with making sure that we do everything that we can do to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone who enters the doors of our sanctuary. But I believe we must be intentional about worshiping our God. There are certainly still many who have legitimate health concerns that may forestall their return but for others, it is time to come back home.
Why?
Because as I mentioned, God is worthy of our worship and that is enough, but we will return to that in just a moment. There are other reasons as well. I recently read an article from the magazine, Christianity Today. In it, Tyler VanderWeele, Director of the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University's T. H. Chan School of Public Health, was cited as saying, "Bible reading - along with other forms of community and discipleship, such as going to church or participating in a small group - appear to contribute to people's sense of well-being and happiness. The churches have an important and profound role in contributing to people's well-being in general - and especially so during this time."* God has designed us to be in communion with Him and with other like-minded believers. We find our strength together. When you don't return to worship, there is a lack that the whole body feels in your absence. You are loved and missed by your family.
Back to the importance of the sovereignty of God. Worshiping God is intrinsic to the Christian life. Yes, of course, it is possible for us to worship God alone, and it is highly recommended. After all, our faith is a deeply personal one. But, God, through Christ, established the church as the avenue that we might come together as a body to proclaim His greatness. In His power, God gave us the church as a beautiful display of grace for our good and His glory. There is no other institution in the world more powerful. No other organization that can bring hope to a pandemic stricken world like the church. All because the church has been infused with the power of the Almighty Sovereign God.
But the church consists of people. Without people who are committed to being the church, the church flounders. God will always preserve His church but do not take it for granted that He will preserve your church. That, in fact, is never promised. Many of you who will read this have come home and for that I am eternally grateful. For those who haven't, please see this as only a compassionate plea from someone who loves you and misses you. As Smokey Bear so eloquently said, "Only you can prevent forest fires." And only you can prevent your church from closing its doors and losing its impact for the Kingdom by your presence and active participation. So come home. Be cautious and responsible, but come home nevertheless.
* Macinnis, Adam. "COVID-19 Hurts. But the Bible Brings Hope." Christianity Today, December 21,2020. Accessed February 25, 2021. https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2021/january-february/bible-hope-covid19-flourishing-study.html
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