Splintered

A short time ago, we may have heard the following:

 "Over the course of this year, I think the churches have been a let-down....the response of the churches (has been) a pallid echo of public health announcements - that's what health officials are for. The church is there to give answers, to situate what's happening in the context of what it is teaching. I haven't found that to be happening... I've heard almost nothing about the why and what of we're seeing from what the Bible says... I'd far rather hear this than some Bishop telling me that I should wash my hands".  Historian Tom Holland.

No one would deny that this past year has proved to be a arduous time for the church, and that its response has often been principally tailored to the health requirements imposed by government, but Tom's analysis here is decidedly telling about the way that response has effectively shut-down much of Christianity's 'voice' in the public square, and as the consequence of those actions, particularly as the closure of numerous congregations began to become apparent, it clearly became time for certain questions to begin to be raised and soberly faced.

Perhaps the place to start here is with why such adjustments have taken place.

During 2020, many governments issued strict orders in respect to social activity deemed hazardous due to the fact that Covid-19 was an infection spread by close inter-action with others. This in effect meant that many church activities, particularly worship services, were either closed down entirely (requiring an adjustment to engaging through social media) or highly restricted in order to ensure social distancing.

At first, with the intention to quickly 'flatten' the levels of infection in a short period, this appeared to be a wise precautionary measure, but as the length of time required for such 'wisdom' has extended from weeks, to months, to almost a year, and the view from many in authority is that this (such measures) will continue for lengthy periods to come, the concerns as to how this impacts upon the life and faith of the church have grown and become more urgent, so is the judgement of early 2020 what should be driving us as we approach a second year of troubles? Additionally, are there imperatives which need to drive us into more direct responses in respect to how we are commanded to worship and serve as church, that must come to the fore again?

Let's examine a few of the key aspects of this.

It's clear that scripture speaks of our need as Christians to heed and respect the rule of those placed in authority, but it's equally clear that there are some key points where such compliance is secondary to the rule and authority of God's commands. In cases where the rule and law of God Himself become crossed or, in effect, annulled,  by the requirements of men, God's claims must be placed first. Jesus Himself showed that this even went as far as breaking the prescribed law of the religious authorities of His day to actually fulfil God's far greater law of loving God by doing what was good for your neighbour (i.e. the many miracles of healing He performed deliberately on the sabbath - something that would be later echoed in the actions of His Apostles).

The wisdom of many church leaders at present has been to conform to the requirements of authorities in respect to church closures or the curtailment of worship (i.e. singing, physical activities such as hugging, partaking in the entirety of the Lord's Supper or holding baptisms), but this is clearly often at the expense of the commands of God. Whilst this may have been viable for very short periods, the seriousness of this continuing for months is dreadful, fracturing and allowing paralysis in the very nature of service and fellowship that we have been called to partake in every Lord's day, as a minimum.

The criteria often submitted for such continual restrictions is that to do otherwise would be to rupture the church's relationship with the wider community, becoming seen as a disruptive force, bringing penalties, working contrary to the 'health' of the society as a whole. There is no doubt much truth in this, but, of course, this is not the first time in history we have found ourselves here. Jesus was Himself looked upon as just that manner of a man - a wine bibbler and glutton, a creature of the devil, and finally, as a person whose only value was to be executed, expediently, for the good religious and civil stability by his enemies (and, again, the Apostles became the same 'wicked' disruptors).

Surely, though, that cannot be the entire situation! What, some may ask, of our relationship to the rulers and rules in this present crisis? Hasn't this been a 'christian' nation, so shouldn't we always seek to be respectable, good citizens?

This raises a matter in which the church (salt and light in the world) most certainly should have become far more vocal as this trial unfolded - just how legal, and more importantly, how right, was it for government to act and behave in the manner that it did in respect to constricting the actions of society to little more than what is normal inside a cage? The profound depths of the significance of this matter are going to unfold as hopefully, in the months ahead, the emphasis of this crisis moves from the immediate impact of a virus (hospitalisations and related deaths) to the huge swathe of desolation visited upon those in society who are the casualties of this. The numerous deaths caused by the virus, awful though they have been, will soon become as the receding waters before the surge of the Tsunami when these realities begin to set in, and one of the questions that will be asked in this analysis in a manner that was not required in prior times will be where was the church?

This is not an easy reality to face, and this is no doubt why the view of so many is that, whilst the past months have been troublesome, things are generally navigable and 'stable'. This, sadly, is to trade the presumed grasp on "practical" issues of the moment with the far deeper Wisdom of God, evidenced, as Paul tells us, only in its richest from in the folly of the Cross.

I have revelled in the freedom of life that has been common to many in the decades of general constancy for much of my life, but I have also known times of very genuine trouble in those days when I have sought to boldly speak out concerning the faith. Such hard days are upon us, and we must call to God to find remedy, wholeness and validity amongst this sad and pained generation.

Thankfully, we have a Lord who comes amongst those who are so desperately lost and rescues them, but He requires us to call to Him for such mercies.

Let us hope and pray that such a cry is heard in this day of trouble.