Why church?
Many of us have been starved of the company and communion of
brothers and sisters in faith. A
eucharistic famine has covered our world in a way that any despot could not have
imagined or attempted to realise. New technology, nonetheless, has brought
relief and spiritual closeness to many while others have not been touched by
loss of prayer and sacrament because they do not thirst. It is their loss. We have all known extraordinary acts of heroism as well as daily random acts of kindness. Thank you to one of my neighbours for leaving two books at my door step.
The virus from hell, otherwise known as Covid19, has
displayed extraordinary intelligence in causing the maximum suffering to the
maximum number of vulnerable persons. And it is not finished its job yet. Fear not those who kill the body but can’t
kill the soul (Matthew 10:28). Alas, human behaviour has
borne some responsibility in the degradation of natural habitats and the
creation of conditions and opportunities for zoonotic transmission to human
beings. But that is another story for another time.
Whatever is happening and whoever you are I suggest that we
are not alone. If you find yourself alone by reason of self-imposed distancing
and isolation for the good of the community then you are blessed. You are
blessed because God is more present to you now than ever. God seeks out those who are alone in a
special way. We have been entrusted to
one who prays for us as a mother (John
19:26-27). If only we knew. If have you had or have the virus you are blessed to be alive and hopefully on the road of
recovery. Be gentle on yourself. If you have lost a loved one your suffering
and sorrow are known to the angels who are close to us and those whom we have
loved and have passed to the other side of the thin curtain.
Open your heart in silence and solitude and listen to your
heart. Yet, we long for that day when we can be together again not just ‘virtually’
but in the ‘real presence’ of persons living, moving and breathing round us. It
will not be the same as before but we will know a blessing that long absence
and sacramental abstinence makes our souls fonder. It may be that the way we
come together and celebrate will bear more similarity to the way our ancestors
did over a thousand years – more standing, more outdoor if possible combined with innovative and safe ways of partaking in the consecrated elements. Is there a chance that we could take the pews out and use them to build homes from wood? As regards the eventual slow, gradual, orderly 'return to church', I suggest that it will take
time, patience and all hands on deck as the saying goes.
If, right now, you are with others in the setting of family or essential
work in the community (for example those heroic soldiers of healing on our
frontlines) then you are blessed by the love and company of others through all
the petty differences and friction.
There is a bigger picture and a bigger
heart enveloping this world. And it is not good to be alone too long (Genesis
2:18).
This Sunday is Pentecost day – the day on which tradition
tells us the church was fully born. Church is nothing more or less than the gathering of
those who have said yes to a God of infinite tenderness, love and innocence in
Jesus Christ. And if we feel alone, fearful and unsure we can take comfort and
reassurance from a time when the friends of Christ were driven by passionate
love to go and tell the good news with their lives of what God has done.
Culture, language and ideology will not deter the clear message and its living
out.
If there is one lesson we have learned in all of this it is
the role of small nucleus gatherings around kitchen tables and hearths – the domestic
church making up the whole. Níl aon tintéan mar do thinteán féin - there is no hearth like your own. The Italian word is focolare.
Happy birthday church! We have the Holy Spirit on our side
and nothing will shake us. Faith and science will see this virus from hell go
back to where it came from. We will not be overcome. I don't like to quote Nietzsche but he had a point: 'What does not kill us makes us stronger'.
Is there any chance that the Holy Spirit is driving us to
reorder everything about the way we live, work and travel?
and how we do church?
