In three days, I will be preaching an Easter sermon to a nave filled, not with an overflow crowd, but with empty pews. Whereas I would have found that prospect laughable a few months ago, today I’m enthusiastically embracing it; and in fact, I’ll be rejoicing when I step into the pulpit on Easter morning. Let me tell you why.
The coronavirus plague is necessitating a basic change in the way The Church of the Cross has approached ministry for over a century and a half. Having lost the option of physically coming together in a few central locations, we are now going out virtually to innumerable locations scattered far and wide multiple times each week; and, just as importantly, individuals with iPhones are now ministering to others in ways that have given this parish a greater sense of cohesion than I can remember – praise God! That said, I do miss hugging you each week and looking into your eyes as I place the Sacrament in your hands!
In time, the need for social distancing will pass and some of us will hastily resume our pre-pandemic, coming together practices . . . but not all of us. You see, during this awkward season, “us” has been redefined. Via the internet, we’ve added a virtual congregation – by God’s grace, countless Christian sisters and brothers whose faces we’ll never see this side of heaven now look to The Church of the Cross as their spiritual home. Consequently, when the “known” join the “unknown” this Sunday to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus, the “us” before me will be my largest ever Easter congregation – that’s cause to rejoice! I pray the Holy Spirit will guide my preparations.
