Monday, May 4, 2020

“Communing with One Another”
Texts:1 Thessalonians 5:11-28, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

“Siblings, soon after we were separated from you - in body but never in heart - we longed with great eagerness to see you face to face” [1 Thess 2:17]. These words were written by a pastor to his church members, struggling because they could only be with one another using technology from afar.
The year was not 2020. It was around the year 51. These words are written by the apostle Paul in the oldest book of the New Testament - 1 Thessalonians, which is a letter to the church he founded in a Greek city called Thessalonica. Roughly a year before these words were written, Paul had traveled to that Greek city with his coworker Silas and founded a church. But that upset the delicate balance of power in Thessalonica, which stayed free from Roman rule only through careful alliance. The people there worshiped many gods but focused especially on the emperor cult: worship of the Roman emperor. It was considered one’s patriotic duty. As Eugene Boring writes, “to many citizens it was something like saluting the flag and reciting the pledge of allegiance" [Boring, Introduction to the New Testament, p. 57].
So when this new group of people got together talking about a king named Jesus bringing in a different kingdom, well, that was a problem. It upset the delicate balance that kept the ships coming safely to harbor, which kept the money flowing and the people happy. Even though there were only a few dozen people in this church, Paul had to leave after clashes with others in the city. Things were still not great for that new church once he left.
So the only way Paul could connect with the church was by writing letters. That was the technology available to him at the time. “We wanted to come to you,” he wrote,”...but Satan prevented it” (1 Thess 2:18). Eventually he was able to send his coworker Timothy to go, to bring the letter to them and encourage them in their hardships. But as for Paul, he remained separated from them, in his words, “in body but not in heart.”
This separation is the background to the part of the letter we heard from today: instructions to the church on how to be together. Or, to get a bit more churchy, “communing with one another.” It’s also the background to the instructions we heard from 1 Corinthians about the Sacrament of Communion itself. I think it’s important to remember that the words we hear today about togetherness were birthed from the pain of separation -- as we reflect on what it means to be together while also apart.
As we settle into the long haul of “a new normal” the painful reality of separation from one another has set in. I occasionally tune in on Facebook to Governor Pritzker’s press conferences and read the live comments. At first there was a great deal of unity: we were coming together and doing what needed to be done. Now there is a great deal of restlessness and division, as different authorities offer competing visions for what public life should look like. The Pope on Tuesday prayed in a sermon that God would give us “the grace of prudence and obedience to the instructions so that the pandemic does not return.” Even so, on Thursday morning I read an article about priests and bishops in Italy getting restless with the Italian government’s restrictions on in-person religious services. [3] The lawsuits are just starting to fly around here in Illinois.
More and more articles are coming out about all the ways Zoom is not like being together in person. I’m not sure we needed articles to tell us that. There are a million and one ways that being together on Zoom is not the same as being together in person. But it’s also becoming clear that any in-person worship we have will be changed in significant ways for some time. People at the most risk staying home. In churches and all places of gathering, people need to wear masks and keep a distance. I’ve started to think seriously about preaching with a plexiglass barrier in front of the pulpit. Since singing is much more dangerous than talking in terms of spreading the virus, churches are starting to grapple with the idea of in person worship with no singing. And Communion itself, a sacred meal shared in common, will look a lot different when we are in person to keep it sanitary. No wonder many churches are choosing to wait until they can gather more fully. Pray for our leaders making these decisions.
I’m not bringing this up because I love bearing bad news. Believe me, I grieve all of this deeply. And, I have total clarity that God expects our worship to support life and not to spread death. So we would do well to let go of the forms of togetherness we have been used to. The time will come when we can retrieve that which still gives life. But like Paul and the church in Thessalonica long ago, it’s time to adapt to the present circumstances as they are. Even though Paul didn’t have Zoom, he did have a lot of wisdom about ways of togetherness that don’t depend on things being easy. Let’s look at some of the things he wrote to them:
  • Encourage one another and build up each other
  • Respect those who are working with you, leading you, and instructing you. Think of them highly with love because of their work.
    • Note: that doesn’t mean don’t question your leaders. 
  • Warn those who are disorderly. Comfort the discouraged. Help the weak. Be patient with everyone.
  • Make sure no one repays a wrong with a wrong but always pursue the good for each other and everyone else.
  • Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in every situation.
  • Don’t brush off Spirit-inspired messages, but examine everything carefully and hang on to what is good.
  • Avoid every kind of evil.
Paul knew if the church in Thessalonica could live up to these words that they would be strengthened and encouraged for their work in a community deeply suspicious of them. Nothing in this list required Paul to be with the Thessalonians in person and nothing on this list requires our togetherness to take place in one particular way or place. Instead it requires willingness to open our hearts to one another and to God -- that’s not impossible from far away and it’s far from guaranteed even in the same room. This - not a particular form of worship - is what it means to commune with one another.
Even Communion itself is something we can share in so many ways. There is a lot of dialogue about whether or not the Sacrament can really be shared online. Many churches can’t or won’t. And I struggled with it at first, but realized that yes, how close our bodies are to one another matters, but Communion happens when hearts are open, no matter the distance. And Communion in person can be heartless and divisive - which is what was happening when Paul wrote the words we heard today in 1 Corinthians about Communion. 
We are communing with one another, drawing strength from our togetherness so that we can share God’s love with our community and the world. In so many ways we are doing this at Lyonsville already, growing in love day by day. 
With open hearts, we can commune with one another across the distance. With open hearts, we can encourage one another and build each other up. With open hearts we can pursue the good for all people. With open hearts we can rejoice and pray and give thanks even in the most challenging of times. With open hearts we can commune with one another in all circumstances. With open hearts we can give ourselves to the love of God, for as Paul wrote “the one who is calling you is faithful.” The one who is calling you is faithful. So let us open our hearts.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

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