Is it Habit Only?
Is out of of a Principle?
Why do we quit doing some things and never go back?
What calls us to return to some things that we used to do?
Why is that bathrobe hanging on a hook in my bathroom?
Let's us return to the first part of March 2020. A virus, Covid 19, was beginning to sweep through our country, and indeed, the world.
Governments, beginning with the U.S. Government and going down to the State of Tennessee, to the County and the City, knowing there was no cure for the virus when it attacked, nor any vaccine that would ward it off, decided on Social distancing, masks, and eliminating group contact.
All the "normal" things that occupied our lives changed.
The rut we had been traveling swerved in a new direction.
We did not choose what to do, now we were told what way we should live.
Could it be that this change would not be all bad?
We could, and should, think about why we did those things. Was it for reasons of inertia, or we have always done this, or we don't want to change?
Back in the early days of March, governments began trying to slow the virus down, rules, regulations and guidelines were proposed and enacted to keep the pandemic from spreading.
Not only did these disrupt and close down Monday through Friday, they closed the doors of Saturday and Sunday.
Church, like ours and yours, could not meet together in person.
We got "virtual church".
Worshipping together had a new meaning. Watching the same streaming church service. became the way "to do" church. So, in our own living room, in our recliners, perhaps still in pjs and robes, we watched church leaders do their thing with no one close by. Not just one church, Brainerd Baptist, but all churches.
Participating in a service meant singing along with the music minister or praise team, bowing our heads as someone lead the morning prayer, or even standing, alone or in a family, as the Bible was read. We listened as the pastor read from his text, in our own Bibles or on the screen of the TV.
Now we are about to participate in a combination of the personal and the virtual. There are decisions to be made even on our part, as to what we should do.
I drove by the church campus this morning. Buildings and parking lots looked the same as they had for the last 3 months or so.
Empty!
This coming Sunday, June 7, 2020, the scene will change again:
No longer will be the church spire just house the room where the virtual service originated, but be an active symbol of God's Love.
The church will open its doors to invite people inside to be together.
Serving, Fellowshipping, Worshipping..
Singing, Praying, Reading and Listening..
True, there is still a concern that some folks should not come back this soon. Many are still "at risk" in this medical crisis. Even with all the precautions that will be taken, there is no guarantee that the virus may not slip in.
Several times over the past months I have pondered about going back to church. Why is church so much a feature of my past life. I know I have had periods where I did not want to go for some reason or another, but why the desire to be there when the doors open Sunday.
There are many reasons to go to church, and, true, I know some folks who don't go and don't seem to think about God at all, but a church, no matter how grand or how plain, is still God's house.
I am glad that technology has advanced to the point where the virtual service can be a reality, and I'm glad that we have been able to worship that way each week but,
When these doors open 3 days from now, I am glad we can slip inside and listen for God's voice in a service of worship.
We are a blessed people.
Amen
(And the bathrobe, still on that hook waiting for my return...)
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