As governors open up their states for travel and commerce, and as covid vaccines become more accessible and administered, life is finding its equilibrium. We are not ‘going back to the way that things were’ before covid, as much as our spirit of adaptation has become so normal that we don’t notice the shift taking place around us daily. But the shift is still happening, and it will continue to happen as our churches welcome more worshippers back into their midst. We will be called to continue to adapt throughout the rest of this year as seek to live faithfully.
Things are still changing in an incremental way all around us. At a federal level, at a state level, and at a local level, life is moving. Life is not as static as we might hope that it will be after covid-19. No longer are we are concerned as much about ’shelter in place’ orders. Instead we focus and we speak about contract tracing. We debate and research which covid vaccine we feel the most comfortable receiving when our time comes. Most of us have ceased debating the merits of mask wearing in public places in favor of other considerations. Those conversations have been replaced by concerns and questions about RNA sequencing and vaccine effectiveness numbers. We have wondered about a great many things. . . Again the conversation is still on-going; we just speak about different topics.
This presents a challenge to us as the church. We are called to practice ‘being with;’ called to practice a ministry of presence and listening—that much remains a constant. Into this mixture and these thoughts I want to share with you the words of Baylor professor, and writer, Alan Jacobs.
In his book, How to Think: A Survival Guide for a World at Odds, he writes these words to us that I think are applicable to our thoughts and discussions about covid-19, about vaccines and masks.
“All of us at various times in our lives believe true things for poor reasons, and false things for good reasons, and that whatever we think we know, whether we’re right or wrong, arises from our interactions with other human beings."
Today I picked up a salad from a local restaurant. While I waited my turn in line, I witness a woman enter the building without a mask on. When the manager handed her a mask and asked her to put it on she responded by saying, “I’m not wearing that thing” and dropped the mask on the counter defiantly. Her hand rested in her belly and the child obviously growing inside. Then she continued her transaction. She collected her food, and left.
Whether right or wrong, whether we agree with her sentiment or not, we as the church are called to minister to people who feel themselves polarized and boxed off. We are called to interact with people who we may not agree with—people whose choices do not mirror ours. We are called to pay attention to them and as we notice them, we trust that God will open up a way for us to practice our faith publicly. We don’t have to agree with their choices but we are also not allowed to just ignore them because they are not making a choice we support directly.
The target is once again moving. . . We are once again being asked to serve people who we may not agree with as the church. Like Jacobs says, we are called to be present in the lives of people who, from our perspective, are making the wrong decision and pounding their chest because of it. How we interact with them says a great deal about us and our level of Christian maturity and faith.
I wonder what instances or moments Jacob’s words call you to pay attention to today?
Blessings
Rev. Derek
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