"When I saw their conduct was not in step with gospel, I opposed it". Galatians 2:11-14.
Around 8 months ago, we were told that for everyone's good, it was 'right' for Christians to close shop and construe some new manner of 'worship' via virtual means.
More recently, with very explicit restrictions concerning all manner of prohibitions, churches were allowed to 'open' once more.
The general response to this has been this is all 'good' and 'acceptable', as the general duty of the church has been defined as one which must conform to the social and ethical requirements of the day to be seen to be upstanding in our plagued society.
Back in March, some manner of action was certainly required in respect to the sensible responses for each person to take in the light of the problem - social distancing and personal hygiene were tried and tested methods in prior pandemics of curtailing infections, but more draconian methods (lockdowns and masks) have long been known to have no genuine restraint benefits beyond something practical (in the March scenario, the goal was to assist overwhelming hospitals, which was clearly successful by June... when, bizarrely, we suddenly found ourselves facing compulsory mask wearing).
The data now gathered makes one thing pretty clear - the worst is over. Yes, there's been a rise in "cases" of people carrying some trace of the virus, but deaths are low and whilst the media and a few 'experts' whip up a storm about a second wave, the fact is that what is actually unfolding is exactly the kind of influenza issue we face in the winter every year (hence, there being 7 years in living memory where far more people died from flu than have died this year in the country from the virus).
Mounting numbers of scientists working in the field have spoken out recently to convey this reality to governments, and the response in some places (Germany and Spain, for example) has been encouraging, and yet, our own authorities are seeking to drive us back into harsher lockdowns over the winter months, which may well, in effect, mean the closure or curtailment of Christian celebrations this Christmas.
As with the sudden introduction of masks in the height of summer, you have to ask why, and what are we as Christians meant to do in such circumstances?
There may indeed be a case for 'shielding' vulnerable people or allowing the NHS to not become overwhelmed, but at what point should these concerns prevent the requirements placed upon us as the church? If we're commanded to gather to worship and partake in the Lord's Supper, as we are, then for just how long are we at 'liberty' to cease and desist from what should be genuinely evident amongst us as common?
The argument so prevalent this season has been the 'authority' requirement, which no doubt clearly applies to a point (paying taxes and obeying laws which do not prevent what our being church requires). Christians in the 2nd century may have sought to appeal to Rome concerning their good citizenship, but they still found themselves victims of that state because they refused to compromise on what defined them as distinctly believers (caricatured as cannibalism and incest).
All this brings me back to Martin Luther.
As he stood before the council of worms and the Emperor, the 'advice' of fellow monks no doubt ringing in his ears that he should recant and conform, he felt his courage wain, and asked for a day to reflect on what he should do. He was granted the pause, and, in what was no doubt a very troubled night, he prayed the following:
"O God, Almighty God everlasting, how dreadful is the world.
See how its mouth opens to swallow me up, and how small is my faith in you.
Oh, the weakness of the flesh, and the power of Satan.
If I am to depend upon any strength of this world – all is over . . . The knell is struck . . . Sentence is passed. . . O God! O Lord, my God! help me against the wisdom of this world. Do this, I beseech you; you should do this . . . by your own mighty power . . . The work is not mine, but yours. I have no business here . . . I have nothing to contend for with these great men of the world. I would gladly pass my days in happiness and peace. But the cause is yours . . . And it is righteous and everlasting. O Lord, help me! O faithful and unchangeable God. I lean not upon man. It is vain to do so. Whatever is of man is tottering, whatever proceeds from him must fail. My God, my God, will you not hear? My God, are you no longer living? You cannot die. You hide Yourself. You have chosen me for this work. I know it! . . . Therefore, O God, accomplish your own will! Do not forsake me, for the sake of your well-beloved Son, Jesus Christ, my defence, my buckler, and my stronghold".
It's a prayer that brings to mind the one recorded when the church in Jerusalem began to suffer persecution (Acts 4:24-30). They felt God shake the place (vs 31) as a result, and, on the morning following his prayer, Martin Luther indeed felt the world shake as he finally addressed the council and refused to curtail the freedom that God had given in Jesus Christ.
What lay ahead wasn't easy. Labelled a heretic, he was exiled to keep him alive, but the shockwave his words and writings caused rippled out and changed the world.
So, here's the question.
What are we about to do? As the nation literally begins to be torn apart, are we, publicly, boldly going to stand up for what the church is - those made free by grace, meaning that we reject impositions upon that liberty which are unwarranted and unfounded (Galatians 5: 1-13), or are we going to fold in the manner Peter and others chose to do when the "law makers" appear amongst us? Remember what is at stake here - not merely "safety measures" or being polite - THE GOSPEL (Galatians 1:10).
If indeed we fail to stand well at this moment, then we in effect, says Paul, detach ourselves from Christ Himself, and all our 'spirituality' is in vain (Galatians 1:6).
Perhaps, until now, we have believed that what we have done was for the best, but with courts now ruling across the world that the measures that have been imposed these past months (which are now being tightened further here) are entirely contrary to basic human rights (including those concerning freedom to worship), the circumstances are changing fast.
Are we "knowing the times" and meeting these as the church has always done, or will our voice remain muffled, if not silent, in what is ahead?
Can we pray the prayer of Luther, and step out to meet the hour?
"When enticed by error, we must return to what is good, understanding that those who foster lies will be condemned for their activity. Truth is the bread of life, so how dreadful will it be for those who taint this life with such death as lies".
Luther on Galatians 5.
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