We have all struggled with lockdown, face coverings, sanitisers and so on, first waves and now second waves. This new world we are living is very strange and unfamiliar. Yet, as adaptable creatures we are making the best of it and making quite a few changes to the way we live, even if sometimes,hesitantly. The Church too is trying to be ‘business as usual’. And yet, we have restrictions and changes we need to make. What kind of God do we see in our present situation? For me, Jesus shows us the nature of God, living among us, challenging, healing, alive and responding to the realities of life. It led him to face the powers and authorities of his time and it cost him his life. And yet, in that death, we still see God working out some sort of transformed life to point the way for humanity.
Nothing stands still. Life, for all of us, has its ups and downs. We are forced to change, very often against our own wishes and dreams. The church, and its buildings, have been part of our communities for a very long time and yet now that position is being challenged like never before. We in the Church will respond. Looking along our High Streets, we see shops we have known all our lifetime, closed and boarded up. Will that happen to the church buildings we know so well? They too may have to close. But the Church is not about buildings, no matter how beautiful they are and how much we love them – but about the community of God’s people – in and of the world, working out God’s vision of love, hope and life.
The challenge for Christians today is to be that healing community amongst the people, bringing all people together in love and hope; thus offering everyone a life in all its fullness.
