Church has left the building - June 2
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 45; PM Psalm 47, 48; Eccles. 2:16-26; Gal. 1:18-2:10; Matt. 13:53-58
Church has left the building! Unbelievable, right?! Today we hear that Jesus is rejected in his hometown by their unbelief, so it seems like something unbelievable needs to be said here today. And I feel a sense of irony as your seminarian who has returned home to offer this reflection (that was intended to evoke a little chuckle). Of course, we know that Church is not the building, Church is the people, and Covid-19 has kicked us out of the church and into the world.
I have to admit…I’ve never felt called to digital ministry, in fact, I’m someone who has resisted it. There are so many reasons I’d rather keep doing things the old familiar way. Yet here we are. Suddenly, we’re doing church in ways we never dreamed would be possible. Churches are beginning to reach new people and people who would otherwise not be able to attend in person. This is a good thing that we might not have anticipated before. Besides online worship, we’re also thinking about new ways of being and doing church during these times of Covid 19 and I truly believe this is where it starts to get more interesting. It’s challenging, to say the least, but so far it’s working and it’s giving us something to think about!
The text from Matthew illustrates God’s power to work from insignificant and humble beginnings. The people of Nazareth found it hard to believe that God would raise a prophet from among them, from a carpenter’s son, this person they grew up with and thought they knew so well. But God was doing something crazy, unexpected and transformative in Jesus.
As the Body of Christ, maybe God is doing something strange and new in the Church since we’ve been kicked out. Maybe we don’t already know all there is to know about being the Church. We don’t know how long this pandemic will last, but it won’t last forever, and we WILL be able to gather again. And I can hardly wait for that time to come, but for now, Church has left the building and it’s being transformed. And we get to be a part of this new and crazy thing that’s happening! How can we harness this?
Maybe it’s a good thing that Church has left the building!
— Susan Oakes
Susan Oakes is a rising senior at the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. This summer, she is serving as a seminarian intern at Saint Stephen's, her sponsoring parish for ordination.
Questions for Self-Reflection
What is something you’ve noticed that Church is doing well that has surprised you?
What new and different ways can you envision Church becoming?
Daily Challenge
Try to conscientiously recognize moments when you see people being Church around you and recognize when you are being Church in the world, even pushing yourself to notice times that you could be Church in new ways that you haven’t done before.