The Church, unsleeping
Dear friends and members of St. Matt's,
What a delight it was to have our Bishop with us last week, even though we're in this temporary couple of weeks of online worship. I hope you joined us online for that special service. I'll tell you that as the Bishop walked in on Sunday and placed her crozier on the altar, I was suddenly aware of an intense joy.
These last two years have been so hard for all of us. In so many different ways. In some ways, we've each had our own struggles. And in others, we've struggled together. None of us thought that we'd still be in this position. How could we have known? We've never experienced anything like this before. None of us knew it would go on for so long, and our fatigue is real. Our grief is real. Our frustration, anxiety, and disappointment are all real.
And now, we all find ourselves at different points on the spectrum. Some of us are fully vaccinated and so are our families and life can be a bit more normal. Others who are immunocompromised, unable to be vaccinated, or living with small children are still experiencing something like that early lockdown in March of 2020. And so there's tension between different paths, different needs, and different expectations. This is hard.
So, I hope that you worshipped with us online last week to see the Bishop. And I hope that, like me, you saw the Bishop lead us with the symbols of her office. Here's why that matters. Her crozier, her office, her ministry among us, like all Bishops, is a reminder of our unity as Christians. A reminder of the things that unite us instead of divide us. A reminder of the palpable presence of Jesus among us. Whether we're gathered in person or at a distance.
The reminder of that unity, of those symbols that have guided Christians for thousands of years should be a comfort to us. For me, it was more than a comfort, it was a joy. And it reminded me that the Church (big C, the universal Church spread all throughout time and all over the world) has been through much worse than this pandemic. And I don't say that to downplay what we're going through at all. Quite the opposite. And the good news is that the church has survived - and thrived - despite conditions and circumstances much worse than this. There were times of disease and pestilence, of course. There were seasons of persecutions and martyrdoms. Seasons of famine, violence, and fear. Seasons of injustice and oppression. Seasons of incredible hardship and loss. All over the world, Christians have suffered for the sake of their faith - many still do on this day - at this hour.
And still, the church survives. And isn't that good news? Isn't that something to be thankful for? As one of my favorite hymns says, "We thank you that your Church, unsleeping while earth rolls onward into light, through all the world her watch is keeping and never rests by day or night." We have a rich heritage. Deep roots. A great cloud of witnesses. And more of God's goodness surrounding us than we can possible imagine or begin to take in. I hope you'll join me in giving thanks for this - and in finding joy in the promise that God will see us through. Things may look different, they may not be just as we'd like, but this is the work of faith, for us to continue to believe in the future we can't yet see. And to live like we know that future is coming. And we won't just see it, we'll help God to build it.
We will worship virtually one more time this week. As I say each week, I hope this will be the last time for this pause. We have good reason to believe the numbers are plateauing - and as soon as there's movement in the right direction, we'll be back together in person. Until then, I pray that you might find joy in the witness of the church that never rests. That you belong. And that we will continue to share joy together. There are more joyful days ahead. May you find hope in the unity of our faith, the symbols and the instruments that remind us of the heritage that has gone before us - and the future that will most certainly follow after us. I look forward to continuing to be a part of that story with you. Today, tomorrow, and in the weeks and months ahead.
Faithfully,
-- Marissa +