May 5, The Return

I wrote this devotion one year ago today, as our church planned a return to the onsite worship after a pandemic closing.  Be encouraged by these words as many continue to return to the House of our Lord.

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

Psalm 122:1

Shepherds have observed that sheep whic have spent the summer in the high country and are on their way back to the shepherd's fold anticipate their homecoming. Even though they must go through difficult terrain and sudden storms that make them cold and wet, the excitement and enthusiasm in the flock as the sheep come nearer and nearer to the fold becomes very obvious.  

The entire globe has seemingly halted as a pandemic has challenged the necessity of work, travel, education, medical care, income, family schedules, the marketplace, and houses of worship.  In an unprecedented move, government officials have offered safer guidelines for defeating this worldwide challenge to human health, and some of the guidelines have temporarily pushed the average citizen back from freedoms once enjoyed.  Attending a house of worship represents a significant freedom.  Whether you would choose to begrudge this absence of freedom or not, the fact remains that for many people of faith, church doors have been closed. 

But new opportunities have developed.  Many have chosen to worship digitally through online broadcasts.  Many have become involved in regular attendance to many faith functions online.  And, for this I am grateful for these opportunities.  But whether you enjoy this medium or not, the fact remains that many church doors are closed to worshippers. 

In most of our lifetimes, this present moment offers challenges never witnessed.  Many have responded well, and these present restrictions have given birth to new ideas and disciplines that are for the most part healthy and productive.  Yet, others have succumbed to survival mode, and are simply waiting until some element of normalcy can be reclaimed.  But whether you have chosen to survive or to thrive in this present moment, the fact remains that church doors have closed.  

Why such an emphasis upon the church doors (and I reference this literally and not figuratively)?   One need not look far into the Scriptures to understand the necessity of worshippers gathering before their God, for genuine worship truly draws people together and never apart.  And, while the digital community can offer a gathering point for faith communities, the connection remains relationally artificial (in the sense that nothing replaces personal relationships physically gathering under the majesty of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ to worship).  The church, led by the Spirit of Christ, has sought such a community experience from conception.  Yet, today, the doors of the church are for the most part closed.  

I embrace this reality with you not for any purpose of debating necessities of social distancing amid a pandemic.  Nor do I emphasize “closed doors” with a spirit of discouragement or disparagement. I emphasize the reality of this moment for one reason, and one reason only.  We will soon return.  WE WILL SOON RETURN.  Soon, the church doors will be open again.  And, like sheep separated from the fold, I ask you now to begin allowing God to build in you an excitement and anticipation for returning to your place of worship for the glory of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  

We would all agree that the church building does not define the church, nor do church names, denominations, traditions, and routines serve as absolutes concerning the kingdom.  The church represents the redeemed of the Lord.  And let the redeemed of the Lord “say so" (Psalm 107:2).  One significant, Biblically led discipline of God’s people “saying so” comes in the form of publicly gathering to worship. 

So, while we continue to serve in our restricted means, may we not view this present moment as something that the people of God can totally settle in as normal or suitable.  We are called to gather.  

Psalm 122 (an ascent Psalm expressing the heart of worshippers in their pilgrimage upward to Jerusalem), joyfully anticipated the arrival to the worship festivals with, “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go to the house of the Lord.”  

Today, may we join our hearts in thanking God for lives saved and medical causes advanced through efforts of quarantine.  May we thank God for the many healthcare officials who have placed their own well-being at risk to serve faithfully in response to this sickness.   And may we look forward to, long for, and anticipate like sheep headed back to the fold that soon we will gather again.   

And these questions are met along our way back:

What will be different about our approach to public worship when we return? How will we view those blessed joys of freely gathering that perhaps many have taken for granted? What will become of our desire to build relationships, to foster greater unity and vision, and to seek to gather for the purpose of being sent into the world?  What will be valued that perhaps once divided? How will we return?  

I was glad when they said to me, “let us go into the house of the Lord.” 

Blessings.

READ

Let’s read Psalm 122:1-9 as we prepare our hearts to return.