Post-Pandemic Possiblities

Pandemics force us all to change, whether we like it or not.  Among the most drastic changes are restrictions on travel, gathering with others, and going about our business—literally our means of livelihood but also our range of activities outside our homes.  Pandemics claim our attention, require us to do life differently than before, and raise questions about whether we can go back to the way things used to be.  Or whether we really want to go back, should that be an option.

Isn’t it odd that for many followers of Jesus, the most obvious and painful change is the inability to gather in our church-buildings for worship?  Indeed, for some the restriction feels like a kind of suffering, even persecution.  It is as though Jesus commanded that we assemble with others in a given space at least once a week to do all the things we’re accustomed to doing.  And, now, we are required  to disobey Jesus, which by the way also violates our rights as guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution!

Now, you can relax.  It is important, even essential, for followers of Jesus to gather for worship, mutual caring and sharing, praying, learning, and equipping for serving others in his name.  And, I miss this along with a host of other kinds of gathering.  And, yes, there is also an important right, guaranteed by our Constitution, to assemble and to worship according to conscience.

Yet, Jesus did not give such a command per se, and he certainly did not issue a command to worship in the ways and places that have come to mean so much to us.  Similarly, though I would venture to guess that Jesus would be pleased with the U.S. Constitution on this point, he failed to mention assembling for worship among the few critical matters he did stress after he was raised from the dead.

You might be thinking that Jesus wouldn’t have to issue commands and instructions on worship because he would assume it was unnecessary.  His disciples would not need such a command.  Fair enough.  But this fact does not diminish the priority and even urgency of what Jesus did stress.

Luke tells us (Acts 1) that Jesus stressed the reality of his being alive and with his disciples.  Alive!  From the dead!  With them!  Then, he spent some forty days instructing them on the Kingdom of God—undoubtedly, stressing that God was their ultimate King, that Jesus’ teachings, healings, serving and suffering and even dying were, in fact, what brings God’s Kingdom to their world, and now stood before them as a path or way for them to walk, among other things.   Then, Jesus told them they needed the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, and God their Father was promising to meet this need.  Finally, Jesus commanded them to wait for the coming, filling and indwelling Spirit to empower them to fan out across their world as witnesses to Jesus.  From the story of Acts that follows, these Spirit-filled disciple/apostles led a movement that changed the world, down to our present pandemic days.

Of course, on the Day of Pentecost, they were assembled together.   What’s more, they were of one mind and heart, and they had given themselves to fervent prayer until they reached a kind of spiritual-fission-point and the Spirit filled the room and lives of all who were there.

So, gathering was/is important to the story (which continues today, by the way), but what made the gathering so critical and strategic for Jesus’ mission was more than simply “coming together.”   It was the preparation that Jesus alive from the dead gave them, particularly on the nature of God’s Kingdom and what a life-shaped by that Kingdom was like.  Then, added to that, it was their further preparation through prayerful seeking and waiting for the Spirit of God to come upon them.  Granted this kind of preparation, their gathering became world-changing.

The post-pandemic day will come when “our constitutional right” to gather for worship will be restored.  I am sure there will be great celebrations when the day comes.  And I am sure there will be much joy in the first post-pandemic gatherings of Jesus-followers.

But will they/we be in position to realize the post-pandemic possibilities for the mission of Jesus?  We have been forced to gather “virtually,” and many churches have found multiple ways to carry on ministry to one another and the world.  Some have discovered new ways to be the Body of Christ which will only enrich their mission once they resume gathering together.

But will they/we be in position to realize the post-pandemic possibilities?  Come Pentecost Sunday, will there be Kingdom-committed and Kingdom-oriented followers of Jesus, forgiven and free from known sin and distraction, fervently praying and confidently expecting Spirit-visitation that has transforming impact on our part of the world?

Could Pentecost 2020, or whenever bodily gatherings are prudent and permitted, be a point of turning for the nation and world?   I think this is one of the post-pandemic possibilities for a church who follows the lead of the risen Lord Jesus, retools itself in Kingdom ways, covenants together to pray fervently and expectantly for fullness of the Spirit and for fruitfulness in the world that only God the Spirit can generate.

 

 

19 April 2020

Loving Lord,

All praise and honor and glory to you—Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
Even to call upon your name is to enter the deepest of mysteries,
You who are One yet three, three but One!

As high as the heaven of heavens, higher still you are enthroned,
Yet as low as any of us have or may plummet, lower still you stoop.
All in hopes of wooing back our wandering hearts, by assuming
Our fading form, embracing our lethal maladies, accepting our
Undoing, in order to effect massive re-doing, re-making, reconciling
All that once was whole but now is splintered, scattered, scuttled.

So, here we are worshiping and exalting the name above all names,
Calling the whole of creation to join in chorusing your goodness and
Power—even as we also groan grievously, desperately, inarticulately,
Powerlessly, so it seems, even to imagine what or how to cry out!
Trusting that we cry in concert with a deeper, wider, bottomless ache
Of Holy Spirit within and around, lifting our cries, making connection!

So, Loving Lord, have mercy upon us and all, and hear our cries,
Make sense of our groaning for:

The afflicted and their families;
Caregivers;
Front-line responders;
Researching and developers of treatments and vaccine;
Efforts to coordinate therapeutic responses to the sick;
Efforts to coordinate and distribute protective equipment for responders;
All who suffer the loss of job and income;
All who grow impatient, frustrated, and angry;
All who are entrusted to lead wisely, effectively, compassionately.

On the strength of your unfailing love, O Lord, you broke the reign of
Terror and fear of dying by entering the realm of the dead, and then
You plundered it by raising Jesus up from the grave.

On the strength of your unfailing love, O Lord, you re-form a People,
Breathe them alive, strengthen their hands, bless them to bless their
World.

On the strength of your unfailing love, O Lord, help us, to be your life-giving, peace-making, and hope-generating servants this week,

Amen.

Extreme Alternatives or Doubling Down Discipleship

Imagine that you, a loved one, or a friend were stricken with the COVID-19 virus.  Then, imagine a politician asserting that it would be the lesser of two evils to suspend the social practices now curbing the spread of COVID-19 and saving lives than to maintain such practices and further threaten the economy.  That is: the greater evil would be to damage the economy further than to allow the virus to spread and suffer the consequences—which might be the death of your loved one, your friend or you.

Rep. Trey Hollingsworth asserted as much in a radio interview on WIBC.** He noted that continuing social distancing and stay-at-home measures are required to stop the virus’ spread and more deaths in its wake.  At the same time, however, he stressed that the economy is also suffering a disaster which poses a threat to “our way of life as Americans.”  Rep. Hollingsworth urged, “We have to get Americans back to work, back to their schools, and back to their churches.”  And, furthermore, “That’s the strength of this country.  We have to understand that.”

Therefore, he reasons, we face two extreme alternatives: the likely destruction of the economy or the continued dying of some of the most vulnerable among us.  As responsible leaders, we must choose the lesser of the evils: return to the pre-COVID-19 way of life, curbing further economic trauma and pain, even though this will mean death for some people.  Or, to put it the other way around, we must choose the greater good: saving the economy rather than saving the lives of people who will fall prey to COVID-19.

Later that same day, Rep. Hollingsworth’s office issued a follow-up statement that acknowledged: “It’s hyperbolic to say that the only choices before us are the two corner solutions: no economy or widespread casualties.”  Yes, indeed!

Now, I do not want to pile-on, here.  (At least, not too much!)  Rep. Hollingsworth, both in person and on his website, has generated no little response.  Many have pointed out the unnecessary reduction of options to either saving the economy or saving people; the questionable assertion that “our way of life as Americans” can be mirrored adequately by the leading economic indicators; and the accuracy, not to mention morality, of suggesting that the strength of this country is its citizens’ willingness to choose the death of vulnerable others in order to protect their own personal well-being.  On the latter, the storied and perhaps somewhat mythical moral narrative of the U.S.A. is exactly the opposite: that Americans sacrifice themselves so that the vulnerable and threatened are protected and preserved.

I do want to face the current crisis in ways that reflect deep devotion to the One who loves us and gave himself for us, and rose up from the grave, to remove all the impediments (internal and external) to our living as part of His new creation, no longer for self but for Him and His cause (as in 2 Cor. 5:14-21).  In that connection, consider the following confessions and resolves.

I am surprised and disappointed to find how drawn I am to the prospect of just “getting back to normal,” whatever that is.  Even for a more reflective and introverted person, such as I, the isolation is ENOUGH already!  But it’s not really the isolation, it’s the “forced” isolation and the inability to do as I please that most irks me.  If I could do whatever I wanted, then I could choose to stay in out of regard for others, or not.  I am disappointed at the degree to which “self” presides in such moments!

But it gets worse.

I am confident that most people would choose to help vulnerable folk, especially when under lethal threat.  In fact, many would be willing to give of themselves, even sacrifice, to do so.  And, even more so if the vulnerable were our/my own.  But all of this remains an abstraction, a hypothetical.  Until it isn’t.  So, am I willing to suffer loss so that the vulnerable are protected and spared?  Am I willing to have the tables turned, so that I must adjust and make do, so that others have chances I once considered my right?  After three months of little sacrifices have accumulated into what is beginning to feel like a lot, am I still willing?  I am disappointed to note how my fervor dissipates over time.

But it gets worse.

I am also confident that there are limits—limits to what we may reasonably expect.  At some point, not going back to work appears no longer viable.  Right?  The government cannot print money endlessly, even if by miracle the partisans in whose hands such decisions rest could rise above their special interests. (Snarky, I know!)  At some point, businesses will go-out-of-business if something doesn’t happen.  At some point, the nest egg, assuming you have one, will be exhausted.  At some point, most all of us will join the ranks of the “under-privileged.”  If something doesn’t happen to change things …  If the people in power don’t do something …  I am disappointed that, though my mind and spirit seldom track this way, I see and feel the draw of this “logic of the inevitable.”

And then it can get way worse.

Because when what appears and feels inevitable starts to happen, or even appears to happen, then all that I profess in calmer, less-threatening moments is put to the test.  When I fear it’s come down to the needs of others and my own, to life and death for me and mine, as well as for others, when scarcity—real or perceived—falls upon us, will the otherwise unthinkable then appear reasonable?  Would we see the “logic” of calculating the value of life for some relative to others?  Would we conclude it is better for a few to die so that the many may be saved?  Would we be surprised to find the ground underneath our feet suddenly shifting for lack of foundation?

 Here are some resolves.

While I will point out the flaws and draconian possibilities within Rep. Hollingsworth’s initial statements, I cannot cast any stones.  I see how he and others reason their way to places where his statements can seem right, even no-brainers.  I will not cast stones, (though I will likely have difficulty casting a ballot)!  I see how they get there, and I can imagine how I could go-along for the ride.

So, I resolve to double down on following the one who calls us to:

  • Deny self—resisting a focus upon me and my rights, which makes me irked and frustrated at current restrictions, and may lead to far worse, but always diverts primary attention from God and others;
  • Take up a cross—embracing the need to join Jesus in sacrifice, not for sins (that has been done!) but to contribute to establishing Jesus’ way of life as the norm for as many as possible; and then
  • Follow Jesus—trusting that more is going on, more is in the works, than I now know, and that as innocuous and simple as this seems, precisely this will change the world.

Trusting that Jesus is the wisest, most resourceful and most powerful Person who has come to be “with-us” in our Pandemic setting is the only way forward for people who claim him as Messiah and Lord.  This is to trust that:

  • Jesus is with all of us who shelter safely;
  • Jesus is with those who are stricken with the virus—most of all through the service, care, touching and supporting of medical front line personnel;
  • Jesus is with those whose front-line service has depleted them, or infected them, and now threatens them—not least through our love and prayers for them, as well as our practical deeds in their support;
  • Jesus is with those who seek to figure out how the virus works in order to neutralize its threat—helping them to see, understand, and draw conclusions that are valid and will be life-saving—for, after all, it was through Jesus that all things were made as they are, and now hold together as they do;
  • Jesus is with those in regional, national, and global positions of authority to guide the use of power and deployment of resources to arrest the spread, to treat the stricken, and to lead the world and its various regions to a post-pandemic condition that will be wiser, safer and closer to God’s design; and
  • Jesus’ presence and power will manifest in such ways, strangely yet truly, not least and maybe primarily, through the vigilant, obedient, and persevering prayers of His people.

Thus, again, imagine that you, a loved one, or a friend were stricken with the COVID-19 virus.  I know, many of us do not have to imagine it!   In an environment of political and social confusion and wrangling, bringing us to extreme alternatives, from where would help come?   Of course, from multiple directions!  Yet behind them all will be millions of Jesus’ friends.  As they/we double down on the basics of following Jesus, God’s help has and will arrive and be at work in millions of ways.

**For a report from the News Station, see:  https://www.wibc.com/news/trey-hollingsworth-we-have-to-get-americans-back-to-work/

For Easter Sunday

Loving Lord,

You have risen with healing in your wings!

You, our God, have once again spoken, this time by a Son …
Father, forgive them …
Father, into your hands …
It has been accomplished!

Then, on the third day, and the first day of the new creation, another Big Bang, as the second ADAM rises up, calls forth a redeemed humanity from their graves, re-minted after the Likeness. You have blessed them and now tell them to be fruitful and multiply across the face of the earth.

You give us authority to tend and care and rebirth a world to its very good beginnings and beyond; to tread on ancient but not eternal serpents, to enter the labor pains that bring morning-joy, and welcome the willing to Shalom’s new day.

You, Lord Jesus, are Risen indeed. You are the resurrection and the life, and the only true way. Let us, Loving Lord, now alive forever more, walk faithfully and powerfully in our Messiah’s ways. Let today’s Easter celebrations become epi-centers of Kingdom movements to the ends of the earth, in your mighty name, Amen!

 

For Holy Saturday

Loving Lord,

In the darkness of that brutal Friday,
You, the righteous One, took upon
Yourself the full weight of the world’s
Sin, the ruinous brokenness and lethal
Consequences of it all, for us all.

You took it all upon Yourself, and to
The end remained Yourself–calling for,
Surrendering to, resting in Your Abba,
Caring for the near and dear, forgiving
The enemy, declaring a finished work,
Bowing Your head, breathing Your last!

For.us.all

All praise and honor and glory to You,
Lion of Judah and Lamb of God, now
Taking Your Sabbath-Rest. Amen.