Church open? We never closed.

Church open? We never closed.

Politicalizing has been heating up what has been referred to as the reopening of church. The left says one thing, the right the other. This war exhausts me. It should exhaust you, too, because to those dead to self and alive in Christ one fact is poignantly clear: we never closed. We never stopped being church. We never stopped reading scripture. We never stopped reflecting on what the Word means. We never stopped praying. We never stopped reaching out in Christian love as God continues to call us to do. We never stopped seeking out worship, either.

Worship, however, is different. As a result, the worship community is different now, too. THAT’S what the grief and grumbling is about, only its often not presented this way. Understandably, change brings about grief. Even if the change is supposed to be a good thing—like a couple marrying—there is still a loss. Loss brings grief, and an emotion of grief is anger.

Grief? Marriage? Now I’m assuming the union is good and blessed, but in moving from being single to being partnered entails loss, just as aging involves loss, too. For example, my foster son, who will move into first grade when it is safe to do so, laments that at this new grade level he will have one recess, not the two he had as a kindergarten student.

As for marriage and grief, and this is a different subject than this column so I’ll be quick here, each individual has to come terms with the advantages and the disadvantages of being a twosome. Independence, for example, becomes interdependence, and this shift needs to be considered BEFORE marriage—I hope.

Let’s get back to the subject. If you are upset over churches not “opening” fast enough, or if you feel some right, freedom, or privilege has been taken from you, please continue to name what you really miss, which is the fellowship of other Christians in one familiar place with what has been a lifetime (or at least a season or two) of memories for you. This pain is real, and every Christian acutely misses gathering as we have. After all, we are called to be together.

Or so we think. Hebrews 10:25 says, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Either Paul or Barnabas has been traditionally accepted as this text’s writer, the author of Hebrews remains anonymous.

Regardless of authorship, Paul, who is the greatest contributor to the New Testament, does not set stress meeting together, because, he admits, some do and some do not. Yes, Paul wants us to meet, but his emphasis here is all about encouraging one another.

Of course, Paul is all about building up the church. Relational with others in his traveling ministry, Paul values the Christian community. He is all together for it. A mega theme in all his writing is Christians need one another. There is no question here. What we can question now is what God is doing these days with the communities we do have in Christ.

And this—this—is a good question!

Thoughts wanting the church open as it was is something to admire in a person. And thoughts about when (or how) the church will open are natural, even understandable. Thoughts about how the church will continue to be a beacon is another. And this is where it gets interesting. Maybe convenient meeting becoming inconvenient is the real message from God.

So often growth comes from hardship and setbacks. Let this be so now. Pray and, as importantly, participate in the church as it comes through this virus as a stronger, tighter, vibrant and far more present entity not with business back as usual.

We’ve learned too much during this virus to go back to what was. One of the lessons learned is the church never closed. It’s true that the Christian community didn’t become easier since this pandemic started, but God never left us. If we left each other, well, that says a lot about us, not God.