Last Sunday we began with praise from a member for the courage that it took to continue meeting, and he reminded us to put our trust in the Lord without fear. Our scriptures affirmed that claim, but they also reminded us that true worship is not in a place but rather it is a spiritual reality that we embrace and move into together.
That’s the space that we are in today as we worship together online, in spirit and truth. In that space, we are confronted with all we have done and with all that we are. In that space, we are confronted with Jesus, the one who has just cleansed the temple!
After clearing out the money changers and absolutely breaking down the normal pattern of worship he sat down to teach them what it meant to live worshipful lives. It was a custom in those days for those present to ask a question after the reading of the Tora or in reference to it. There would often be a discussion. Sometimes it was a little more like a Bible study than what we think of as worship.
In this case, the Pharisees and the Sadducees have been playing “Stump the Rabbi” with questions about paying taxes and the complications of this life following us into our resurrected lives. Just then a scribe, which would be a very learned person in that time, comes to ask him about something more practical. “What do we do now? You cleared the temple. Everyone is confused. How do we orient ourselves? How do we prioritize? How does the law of God guide us into this new territory right before Passover?!”
I think that tracks with the space a lot of us are in today. Granted, this pandemic will be over soon enough, and we’ll all go back to doing things the way we did before. I think that’s why all of the social distancing and extra handwashing feels like fear and hand wringing to so many of us. Just the other day I had someone tell me it was “insanity,” and that’s just what it feels like. It feels like we are all overreacting in fear of the boogeyman!
In fact, whether you have kids or not, there’s a great kid’s movie called Rise of the Guardians that deals with this very issue. The bad guy is named pitch, and there’s a scene where he is snuffing out lights of hope all over the globe, but there is one light that just won’t go out, and that kid’s hope ignites another and another and another, until hope is restored!
In this time of distancing, we have to keep that in mind, especially when it comes to the most vulnerable. While I can’t stress enough the value of staying apart in order to protect the vulnerable – it’s not about not getting it, it’s about not spreading it – there are those who feel they cannot give up the opportunity to meet. For that reason, I want to tell you that anyone in a 12 step group should go to our website and Facebook page for information on where to connect with a sponsor or a group because we simply can’t risk becoming a place that plays host to a virus like this.
Having said that I want to come back to Jesus in the temple with the Scribe. In true Jesus style, he throws it back to the scribe. It’s as if he’s glad to have someone who he knows is going to get it. I get the feeling that his tone is kind of like, “Finally, someone who asks a relevant question,” and “Come on, buddy. You know this already. What’s written in the law?”
The scribe answers, “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, and strength.” Then Jesus wants to see if he really gets it and adds, “and on the same level is to love your neighbor as yourself.” When the scribe agrees, Jesus says, “You are so close to the Kingdom of heaven.”
Now, why would he say, “You are close” instead of “You got it! You’re in the club.”? It’s tough to say, but I would bet it has something to do with those other times when Jesus says, “Now go and do likewise.” In other words, knowing and doing is not the same thing. He was at the door, but will he enter the kingdom?
The same question comes to you and to me, and our answer began last Sunday when we had two members join and I told them, “Now we’re going to do something that is very hard. We are not going to hug you or shake your hands. We’re just going to tell you that we love you.”
In the wilderness of social distancing that we find ourselves, it is especially hard on those of us that need the touch of another (check in on your introverts, we are not ok). In fact, it is hard for all of us. One of our ruling Elders made a post online the other day that encapsulated the frustration for our local population.
We are a people that are used to calamity. For those born here, it is in their DNA to check on their neighbors after a storm, to get in boats and form rescue teams, and to find creative ways to collaborate and communicate in times of distress and disaster. Yet, this is no time for that. This is new. This is a time to let the well trained and already existing groups like the United Way make the call for what to bring and where, otherwise we could just be tracking around some mud that we don’t even know that we are tracking.
I’m sure you’ve all had a child, or been one, or both, who has tracked mud in the house and been yelled at for it. That’s what this is, except it’s not mud. It’s a virus. It may not be deadly to you, but it will be to someone.
So, we have cleaned the Temple in preparation for the Passover. Some congregations, both Christian and Jewish, have already canceled or postponed Passover and Easter services. Our Session will be monitoring the situation and will decide on March 30 what to do for April, but until then, no groups of any kind are meeting in person.
I want to remind you, again, that this is not out of fear, but out of hope for what God is yet doing in our midst. There is a reading going around that I think expresses that hope. Kitty O’Meara is a writer who was encouraged by a friend to “write out” the pandemic. Here is here prophetic hope:
"And the people stayed home. And they read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still.
And they listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.
And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.
And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live, and they healed the earth fully, as they had been healed.
Now, I realize it isn’t quite that simple. There are jobs to be done and mouths to feed and rent to pay, but maybe, just maybe, there is still some hope in the drive-through windows and the online worship services and the social distancing that we are struggling to maintain for just a short while."
Maybe it can be like the reflections of Barkley Thompson, and Episcopal Priest and author who compared our current situation with the depiction of Hell in C.S. Lewis’s fable, The Great Divorce. In his blog, Thompson notes that Lewis describes Hell in much the same way we experience the world today. People live in conflict and alienation. They move further away from one another in some great suburban sprawl, and they do everything they can to be independent while they deny any sense of interdependence. People are lonely, even when they are together.
That said, the social distancing that we are experiencing is exactly the opposite of what Lewis described. They were separating out of malice and selfishness. We are separating out of love, and it is costly to us. My friends, I think that is the space that we find the gospel come alive. The call to costly love is the call of Christ. The call to love God with all that we have and all that we are is the call to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
Right now that means staying away from each other. Right now that means washing your hands...a lot. Right now, it means taking some time to think about what will change after this time of separation. What will be healed by this time of self-reflection? What will you do differently? How will you see the world, yourself, and your neighbor after this virus has passed over? We are so close to the kingdom of God, and I hope we can enter it together.
I’ll leave you with this. There are some hearts that members of our congregation wrote on a few weeks ago. They each say something that the person believes they do as a part of the body of Christ. These words are all going to be posted on our website. Some of you have already gotten one of these at our Youth-led worship service. If you did, I encourage you to continue to pray for or work on the thing on the heart you selected.
If you did not, I encourage you to look at the post on the website choose something from the list that you want to work on as a member of the Body of Christ or that you want to encourage in others through prayer.
Our members have also been set up in shepherding groups to care for and call on one another. If you did not get a call, or if you are someone watching this and want me to call you, call the church office.
Above all, let’s just remember to pray constantly, wash or hands frequently, support local businesses where you can, keep your distance out of love, and stay connected – especially with those that are already isolated or vulnerable. That is how we will enter into the Kingdom that Christ proclaimed, at least I pray that it may be so with me, that it may be so with you, and to God be the glory. Now and always. Amen!
That’s the space that we are in today as we worship together online, in spirit and truth. In that space, we are confronted with all we have done and with all that we are. In that space, we are confronted with Jesus, the one who has just cleansed the temple!
After clearing out the money changers and absolutely breaking down the normal pattern of worship he sat down to teach them what it meant to live worshipful lives. It was a custom in those days for those present to ask a question after the reading of the Tora or in reference to it. There would often be a discussion. Sometimes it was a little more like a Bible study than what we think of as worship.
In this case, the Pharisees and the Sadducees have been playing “Stump the Rabbi” with questions about paying taxes and the complications of this life following us into our resurrected lives. Just then a scribe, which would be a very learned person in that time, comes to ask him about something more practical. “What do we do now? You cleared the temple. Everyone is confused. How do we orient ourselves? How do we prioritize? How does the law of God guide us into this new territory right before Passover?!”
I think that tracks with the space a lot of us are in today. Granted, this pandemic will be over soon enough, and we’ll all go back to doing things the way we did before. I think that’s why all of the social distancing and extra handwashing feels like fear and hand wringing to so many of us. Just the other day I had someone tell me it was “insanity,” and that’s just what it feels like. It feels like we are all overreacting in fear of the boogeyman!
In fact, whether you have kids or not, there’s a great kid’s movie called Rise of the Guardians that deals with this very issue. The bad guy is named pitch, and there’s a scene where he is snuffing out lights of hope all over the globe, but there is one light that just won’t go out, and that kid’s hope ignites another and another and another, until hope is restored!
In this time of distancing, we have to keep that in mind, especially when it comes to the most vulnerable. While I can’t stress enough the value of staying apart in order to protect the vulnerable – it’s not about not getting it, it’s about not spreading it – there are those who feel they cannot give up the opportunity to meet. For that reason, I want to tell you that anyone in a 12 step group should go to our website and Facebook page for information on where to connect with a sponsor or a group because we simply can’t risk becoming a place that plays host to a virus like this.
Having said that I want to come back to Jesus in the temple with the Scribe. In true Jesus style, he throws it back to the scribe. It’s as if he’s glad to have someone who he knows is going to get it. I get the feeling that his tone is kind of like, “Finally, someone who asks a relevant question,” and “Come on, buddy. You know this already. What’s written in the law?”
The scribe answers, “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, and strength.” Then Jesus wants to see if he really gets it and adds, “and on the same level is to love your neighbor as yourself.” When the scribe agrees, Jesus says, “You are so close to the Kingdom of heaven.”
Now, why would he say, “You are close” instead of “You got it! You’re in the club.”? It’s tough to say, but I would bet it has something to do with those other times when Jesus says, “Now go and do likewise.” In other words, knowing and doing is not the same thing. He was at the door, but will he enter the kingdom?
The same question comes to you and to me, and our answer began last Sunday when we had two members join and I told them, “Now we’re going to do something that is very hard. We are not going to hug you or shake your hands. We’re just going to tell you that we love you.”
In the wilderness of social distancing that we find ourselves, it is especially hard on those of us that need the touch of another (check in on your introverts, we are not ok). In fact, it is hard for all of us. One of our ruling Elders made a post online the other day that encapsulated the frustration for our local population.
We are a people that are used to calamity. For those born here, it is in their DNA to check on their neighbors after a storm, to get in boats and form rescue teams, and to find creative ways to collaborate and communicate in times of distress and disaster. Yet, this is no time for that. This is new. This is a time to let the well trained and already existing groups like the United Way make the call for what to bring and where, otherwise we could just be tracking around some mud that we don’t even know that we are tracking.
I’m sure you’ve all had a child, or been one, or both, who has tracked mud in the house and been yelled at for it. That’s what this is, except it’s not mud. It’s a virus. It may not be deadly to you, but it will be to someone.
So, we have cleaned the Temple in preparation for the Passover. Some congregations, both Christian and Jewish, have already canceled or postponed Passover and Easter services. Our Session will be monitoring the situation and will decide on March 30 what to do for April, but until then, no groups of any kind are meeting in person.
I want to remind you, again, that this is not out of fear, but out of hope for what God is yet doing in our midst. There is a reading going around that I think expresses that hope. Kitty O’Meara is a writer who was encouraged by a friend to “write out” the pandemic. Here is here prophetic hope:
"And the people stayed home. And they read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still.
And they listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.
And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.
And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live, and they healed the earth fully, as they had been healed.
Now, I realize it isn’t quite that simple. There are jobs to be done and mouths to feed and rent to pay, but maybe, just maybe, there is still some hope in the drive-through windows and the online worship services and the social distancing that we are struggling to maintain for just a short while."
Maybe it can be like the reflections of Barkley Thompson, and Episcopal Priest and author who compared our current situation with the depiction of Hell in C.S. Lewis’s fable, The Great Divorce. In his blog, Thompson notes that Lewis describes Hell in much the same way we experience the world today. People live in conflict and alienation. They move further away from one another in some great suburban sprawl, and they do everything they can to be independent while they deny any sense of interdependence. People are lonely, even when they are together.
That said, the social distancing that we are experiencing is exactly the opposite of what Lewis described. They were separating out of malice and selfishness. We are separating out of love, and it is costly to us. My friends, I think that is the space that we find the gospel come alive. The call to costly love is the call of Christ. The call to love God with all that we have and all that we are is the call to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
Right now that means staying away from each other. Right now that means washing your hands...a lot. Right now, it means taking some time to think about what will change after this time of separation. What will be healed by this time of self-reflection? What will you do differently? How will you see the world, yourself, and your neighbor after this virus has passed over? We are so close to the kingdom of God, and I hope we can enter it together.
I’ll leave you with this. There are some hearts that members of our congregation wrote on a few weeks ago. They each say something that the person believes they do as a part of the body of Christ. These words are all going to be posted on our website. Some of you have already gotten one of these at our Youth-led worship service. If you did, I encourage you to continue to pray for or work on the thing on the heart you selected.
If you did not, I encourage you to look at the post on the website choose something from the list that you want to work on as a member of the Body of Christ or that you want to encourage in others through prayer.
Our members have also been set up in shepherding groups to care for and call on one another. If you did not get a call, or if you are someone watching this and want me to call you, call the church office.
Above all, let’s just remember to pray constantly, wash or hands frequently, support local businesses where you can, keep your distance out of love, and stay connected – especially with those that are already isolated or vulnerable. That is how we will enter into the Kingdom that Christ proclaimed, at least I pray that it may be so with me, that it may be so with you, and to God be the glory. Now and always. Amen!
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