Easter Assembling and Covid-19

The peh Factor

“Seeking balance in a polarized world”

Tomorrow is Easter. “He is Risen!” “He is Risen, Indeed!!” will be shouted by billions around the world. The Covid-19 Virus will not stop it…it cannot stop it. In fact, like any attempt to silence a societal dissident, rebel or terrorist leader only turns them into a folk hero, so the attempt to isolate those who have committed their lives to Jesus Christ because of a pandemic will only cause the proclamation to be said louder and broader and deeper than anyone could ever imagine. That, my friends, is the truth.

That having been said, tomorrow there will be some churches that will choose to meet in public assembly even though it may cause harm to their congregants and their community. One such CV-19 outbreak has been traced in Cleburne County, Arkansas, to the gathering of Grace Assembly of God Church. They did not social distance. They did not encourage their congregants to stay home and worship via Facebook or YouTube. It seems they not only shared the Good News but the virus as well.

They are not alone. 10 or 11 states have tweaked the “do not assemble in groups larger than 10” order to exclude churches. Regardless of national directives, churches in those state are exempt and there are those within those states who will gather even though many churches have chosen to honor the order. Why have they chosen to gather? In my observation there have been two reasons given.

The first reason is found in The Constitution of the United States of America. The First Amendment reads:

• Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

There have been a number of individuals who have chosen to see the directive to quarantine as breaking the First Amendment. They might say things like:

• Our government can’t keep me from gathering in peaceable assembly. Church is such an assembly. Therefore, I claim my rights as a citizen and will gather to worship. No one is going to tell me what to do when it comes to worship. Or,

• I only have Spring Break once a year. This is my only chance to go. It is going to be a peaceful gathering on the beach. Therefore, I claim my rights as a citizen and will go and party at Daytona Beach or South Padre Island.

The list could go on, but, I think you get the point. “I have my rights.”

The second reason tends to focus on various aspects of the spiritual issue. Here are two rationales I have heard.

• Some see this “shutting down of churches” as a scheme by the dark side of our government to persecute those who worship. Some even take this as proof of the end times and the beginning of the Great Tribulation.

• Some understand that the church should be a source of healing and therein should keep the doors open for times of worship so “healing waters” can flow.

In response to the constitutional issues I would suggest the most critical time for the vitality of our constitution lies ahead. It has been for the safety of the citizens that so much of society has been shut down and rules for social distancing have been established. It will be incumbent amongst our citizens to make sure that First Amendment rights are not lost when society begins to open once again. That is when our constitutional passion and energy must be expressed.

In terms of our worshiping communities I would add a few other thoughts for our consideration. First, the words of Jesus:

• 34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" 37 He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matthew 22:34-40

Often have I come back to these words of Jesus. They seem so central. They seem so simple. Love God with all you are. Love your neighbor as you would want to be loved. I don’t know about you, but, if my neighbor had a terrible contagious disease, I would not want him or her to socialize with me and “share the love.” If led by God’s Spirit, I would offer to pray for them, even to anoint with oil. I would take the necessary precautions while doing so. It would seem the wise thing to do. But, to demand otherwise seems to be a bit selfish and as my grandpa always taught me, “I” is at the center of “pride.”

The other passage I think of at a time like this is from Romans 13:1-7. The Apostle Paul says:

• 1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval; 4 for it is God's servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience. 6 For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, busy with this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is due them—taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

I am reminded that Paul wrote these words to Christians he had yet to meet who lived at the epicenter of the Roman Empire that been the occupying force over Israel for more than a century and whose Emperor, Nero, would be the first to persecute the early church. Even in this setting Paul instructed the Christian community that the government was an expression of the will of God. They didn’t have Corvid-19, but, because of the persecution they had to discover ways to make their faith work.

So should we! Hallelujah!! and the majority of God’s people are.

Tomorrow is Easter. Even if our church buildings are not full…our hearts will be. The Church might not be able to congregate but try to stop us from worship and celebration. The creative genius of God’s people, working with the tools of communication available to us today, have opened doors we never thought possible. And just like Jesus, instead of dying we too shall rise in the power of the resurrected one. The grave could not hold him. CV-19 can’t hold us.

Hallelujah. He IS risen. Happy Easter, All.