I recently made contact with a nearby village Church (not a Methodist one) to double check on their plans for worship; I was notionally due to lead there in a week or two’s time. Like many Churches and Chapels the good people of the congregation in question have decided not to open for the time being, making the most of the myriad of available digital resources. Plenty is on offer, including that provided by the Minister of the Group to which they belong. So far, so unextraordinary.
Many of us are adapting to each new twist and turn of COVID’s course and remaking decisions as required. We would say we are being flexible and fleet of foot. That approach applies in many areas of life and is loved and loathed in equal measure. As we have navigated the churning waters of the COVID sea, being reminded that, like the real sea, it has power over us and not vice versa, people of faith have, rightly, used the permanence of the end point of the Gospel as an anchor. There is more to life than life on earth, because God in Christ invites his people to find immortality.
That is all well and good; it has the advantage of truth but yet it does nothing to answer the questions we have about the uncertainty of practical, daily living. The people I referred to earlier have made a decision that cleverly puts certainty into the uncertainty; their decision is that as soon as all members of the regular congregation have had their second injection of vaccine, corporate worship will recommence. Calm pervades; no questions now and the energy spent in constant decision making can be invested in giving thanks for the medical progress made, praying for the needs of the moment and waiting, without the cloud of indecision, for ‘second jab day to come’.
This is an example. I would not advocate it as every congregation’s ‘silver bullet’; but for those of us who need signs and triggers for change, there is merit in knowing what to look out for. People asked Jesus for confirmation of his identity, they asked him about the authority by which he spoke and other signs. He also described signs that will point out the drawing to its close of the status quo and the advent of His Second Coming.
It is easy to be depressed by the turbulence of the day. For some of us, working out our own permanent points, even if they may seem arbitrary to others, may help us get over the queasiness of indecision.
A prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever, in the turbulence of our daily living, stabilise us by your presence alongside us, help us in our planning and hoping, and give us the gift of real faith that is certainty and a solid point in the troubled sea. We thank you for yesterday and pray for forgiveness that we may be with you forever because of your death and resurrection in a turbulent world.
Amen.