Hello, my friends!
There’s a change in the air. Maybe it is simply Spring, with its crisp, bright mornings and intermittent refreshing rains. Maybe it is the encouraging covid numbers and lifting restrictions. Maybe it is just the fact that there finally appears to be some light ahead. Whatever the case, it feels good, right? We can all do with a bit of hope.
I have been reflecting on what life will look like as we begin to resurface from our various levels of isolation. How quickly will things bounce back? How long before we feel safe? What will life look like when we reemerge?
The truth is, it is still too early to tell. There are so many variables at play. We’ve learned some things through all of this, and the truth is, we’ve unlearned some things as well.
So much of church during Covid has been reduced to screens, and all that screen time has taken a bit of a toll. We’re exhausted by it, but we’ve also adjusted to it. In fact, some of the convenience it has afforded has shaped the way we do things, like Sunday mornings. Instead of getting all the kids dressed and packed into the car on the way to church, we can pour a cup of coffee and settle into a chair in the living room and click on a service.
What’s missing in all of this? Community. Connection. Belonging. Relationship. Not just with our friends, but that sense of sitting with a whole family of people, many very different than ourselves, and lifting our voice into one chorus of gratitude, or praise, or petition. Of greeting others that we might otherwise walk past and never notice. Of learning to care and make room for others, even when it isn’t the most comfortable. Maybe especially when it isn’t.
Often we have a romanticized, Thomas Kinkade picture of what church should be…covered with snow with a light shining on the steeple. But the fact is, the church is messy because it is full of people. Being a church takes work. It takes investment. And it isn’t always convenient. I don’t think it is meant to be. Instead, it is a place where God’s love can shine, and that means something supernatural is occurring. It is beyond us.
During Covid, I’ve been reminded just how vital this gathering together is for our souls. Not simply for what we can gain, but what we can give. It is the testimony of God’s love poured out to the world. It is a counter-cultural movement where the one thing that matters above all is faith working through love.
This Sunday, we are looking at the passage on being light and salt to this world. And this light begins with the church loving the church. And not just the ones that are easy to love. No, the profound testimony of the church is its love for everyone…as Jesus says, “You are the light of the world.”
It has been such a joy to be back in person on Sunday mornings. I understand if you are still carefully reemerging. But for those of you who are feeling more secure, we’d love to have you here with us in person. You are loved. You are needed. And you belong.
I sure love you guys! We’re getting there!
Jeff