Stay home?! This advice minimizes our carbon footprint. There are some satellite images from China that show improvement in the smog that hangs over that country and we're not far behind in the western hemisphere as our planet tries to heal from the damage humanity has caused. It would be a wonderful thing if the habits we develop during this time last beyond it and into the future. Washing our hands more regularly. Walking to get out and get exercise instead of driving. Enjoying a slower pace and more time with our family members. Staying home.
Staying home?! How can we stay home and stay connected. We are human beings who crave contact! One of the characteristics of the United Methodist denomination is our connectional nature. Where other churches stand alone in their polity, making decisions, owning property and in the ways that they reach out in mission to the community, United Methodists are connected. We have support systems where we are connected to the others within our conference, jurisdiction and the world. This enables outreach programs on a grand scale like the work that UMCOR does in the case of natural disasters and like we were able to do with Nothing but Nets to prevent malaria.
That connection exists within our church, as well. It is based on John 15:1-9 where Jesus describes himself:
‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. ...Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ...My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.'
We need each other to survive. We are connected in obvious ways, as well as ways we cannot comprehend. We breathe each other's breath. We are sustained by one another's love. Most of all, we need Jesus' love to sustain and nourish us. We need to hear his words of assurance, that as God has loved Jesus, so Jesus loves us. In this time of physical distancing, we can know, as we always have, that Jesus is as close as our breath. In this time of avoiding each other's breath in the form of contagious sneezes or coughs, we know that the Holy Spirit breathes in and through us in gentle life-sustaining rhythm.
At Wesley United Methodist Church in Concord NH, we have an intentional network where we connect on a regular basis. Much of this connection helps the church to run its programs and ministry through Ad Board and committee meetings and Bible studies, as well as rehearsals for musicians, singers, dancers and bell ringers. Some of our connections are intentional and spiritual in the form of our NESTs, groups that gather for Nurture, Enrichment, Service and Transformation.
We've activated these groups, not only to disseminate information down the line, but to share information and caring across the groups and back to Pastor Cheryl. This patterns the bands and class meetings of John Wesley's movement when Christians would meet for support and accountability. They would meet in groups of about a dozen and share their joys and concerns, asking one another, "Is it well with your soul?" Check out this video of my friend Yunki Kim who pastors the Trinity UMC in Montpelier VT singing Psalm 23 to the tune of It is Well with my Soul, adapted by another friend Evie Doyon who pastors the Northfield UMC VT.
We are called together during this time to connect with each other. It is not only for our physical and emotional well-being, but also for our spiritual state that we crave human contact. Not only to ask, "Are you okay?" "Do you have enough groceries?" "Are you going stir crazy?" but also, "How is it with your soul?" We need to step up to care for each other during this very anxious time. When we ask "What is God doing?" The answer is that God is loving us, right through the midst of this crisis. When we ask "What does God want us to do?" Jesus reminds us,
‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.'
‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.'
We are called, more than anything else to love one another. During this unprecedented time, we are cultivating new ways to do just that. My prayer is that our connections become stronger as a result and that they continue even when this crisis is long past.
Jesus concludes this section of the chapter in John with a beautiful phrase,
'I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.'
Pastor Cheryl
No comments:
Post a Comment