An interesting question was raised in our Seeker’s Christian education class last Sunday. What will the church be like after Covid? The first thought that came to my mind was the scripture from I Corinthians 2. 9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it even entered into the heart of humans, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” We do not know all that our future holds. We only know God holds our future and if God is in it, it’s got to be good. We cannot imagine how wonderful the church will be in spite of our current difficulties.
What God has in store is so spectacular, we wouldn’t believe it
anyway.
The disciples were just as perplexed and confused about their
future as we are today. Ancient politics was just as rife with violence and
corruption, though there were many honest people and people who worked hard to
govern the people with kindness and fairness.
Of course, the disciples wanted to know who would win the election
in Rome and why there were so many earthquakes and fires. I was on the phone
with a young man trouble shooting for my cell phone and he told me the 800
number I called to get him was in Oregon. I asked if he was effected by the
fires in California and he told me for nearly two weeks, Oregon was circled by
fires from Washington as well as California. He heard of a whole town called
Detroit, Oregon that was wiped out; nothing was left but the post office.
The disciples gathered around Jesus. They were worried about the
government, stalked by the Pharisees and Sadducees, competing for first place
in what was soon to be the church, all while surrounded by political firestorms.
They had in mind what they wanted the future to look like, and they asked Jesus
“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
We want to know the future, too. Jesus us tells us like he told
the disciples. 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates
the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the
Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Jesus told the disciples like he tells us in the church now, it’s
not for you to know the times or the seasons, but you will receive power. That
power is the power of the Holy Spirit to love each other.
What will the church be like after Covid? It will be what it has
always been. It will be love. If it’s not love, it’s not the church.
As the scripture that was read reminds us, we are the body of
Christ. We are many parts but one body. We are interdependent. Verse 15 says, Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not
a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being
part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not
belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.
If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the
whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has
placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
What will the church be like after Covid is a relevant question?
Just as relevant is the question, what will you be like? Where will you be? Has
the Covid changed us for better or for worse?
We may have forgotten all about how we worried about getting
toilet paper and hamburgers – although they say you better stock up again
because we are headed for another shut down. We quickly forgot what it was like
in March and to some degree we have gotten cozy with the quarantine and all its
comforts and conveniences.
What will the church be like after Covid? The church will be what
the church has always been. The church will be love. And if it’s not love, it’s
not the church, and that’s all you need to know. Amen.
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