Saturday, March 14, 2020
696 - What I Really Really Think
Spirituality Column #696
March 17, 2020
Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
What I Really Really Think
By Bob Walters
“And surely I am with you always, even to the very end of
the age.” Matthew 28:20
For anyone who thinks church is only about the building, the
preaching, the music, or the gathering on Sunday mornings … we’re about to find
out if they are right.
Spoiler alert … they’re not.
The true church of Jesus Christ is in the human heart; the rest of it is
a grace blessing that we get to share in good times and may have to adapt,
adjust, and overcome in times like these.
The Christian spirit of love and peace will shine now just as surely as
the mischief of Satan’s sour, divisive, glory-robbing character will attack.
Pick your path, discern your conviction, choose wisely.
What we make of this Covid-19 inconvenience – and I’m
talking about the procedures and the politics of it, not the virus – will
govern our spiritual and mental health in the weeks (months?) to come. Somebody said, “Don’t expect a blizzard;
expect a winter.” If that’s so, Jesus is
my overcoat, galoshes, hat, scarf, gloves … and love is my snow shovel. (I
just looked outside and whaddya know … it’s snowing. Seriously.)
I see America through the lens of freedom, opportunity, and
hope … always hope. We’ll be better
tomorrow than we are today, even when that brightest “tomorrow” may be a ways
off in eternity with Jesus. That’s the
Christian promise, but so is Christ’s promise cited above at the very end of
the Gospel of Matthew: “And surely I am with you always, even to the very
end of the age.” Everything else
passes.
I was buoyed on Friday by all the online activity I saw from
not just my own East 91st Street Christian Church but churches all
over that were resolved and scrambling to adapt, adjust, and overcome this
public-gathering shutdown. Online
services, outreach by cards and email, helping neighbors, special
accommodations for the Holy Mass and Communion so critical to our Roman
Catholic brethren – ideas and love in full-bloom.
We mustn’t immediately demand answers from the church for
“How are you going to fix this for me?” because the healthy attitude and
reality is, “I am the church.” This
is an opportunity for each of us to look in new places for peace, serving
others, helping our community, and aiding our churches and staffs. Read the fruits of the spirit in Galatians
5:22-23, and get creative. If you’re
angry, look at Galatians 5:19-21, noting especially “hatred and discord.” That’s a bigger danger than the Covid-19
virus.
My minister friend David Faust noted smartly in an e91 blog Take
Five, Give Five (link) the joy we can seek
in this “pause” from church business as usual.
We get to reimagine and investigate our own sense of adventure and
relationship with Christ and other Christians by our actions, prayers, and
creativity in what for us is this extraordinary time.
It occurs to me early Christians were fed to lions; this
isn’t that bad.
Jesus is always with us.
The Spirit is always with us. God
is always on His throne. Out of
curiosity I googled “I will always be with you” and the second thing that
popped up was this link: What Does
the Bible Say About I Will Always Be With You?
Our attitude conditions our actions, and fear kills faith
and unity. Even as we are apart, it is
critical that we are spiritually present for each other. Congregate online, read your Bible, and help
a neighbor. Shine the light of Jesus;
the world surely needs it.
0 comments:
Post a Comment