Yesterday and today my schedule was filled with church notes informing their procedural decisions regarding weekend work, due to the coronavirus pandemic, some indicated that work was maintained, others that was partly maintained and suspended in part, and others that everything was suspended. and that the church would have no face-to-face meetings on Sunday.
With the notes came the comments. When the press release was suspended, they said, “What nonsense, canceling the service is a lack of faith!”And when the communiqué referred to the maintenance of the works: “As is absurd, it is lack of responsibility, they should be more careful !?Yes, I also had some positive feedback, but I mean the dissidents here.
- My biggest annoyance with these comments is that they are simplistic.
- Don’t get me wrong.
- But if you think deciding such a thing is simple.
- You see very little far from your nose.
- Because it’s so complex.
- Two reasons:.
Look:
a) God is sovereign and cares for us (we hold meetings), we are responsible beings, and He regularly cares for us through our decisions (we avoid meetings).
b) Worship is a commandment (let’s hold meetings). Not killing is a commandment, and to put life at risk, neglecting personal protection and the neighborhood, is to break it (avoid encounters).
c) It is only the Lord’s day (let us hold meetings). Jesus said that the day exists for man and not man for the day (let us avoid meetings).
d) We are citizens of heaven and must express our heavenly citizenship (hold meetings). We are citizens of the land and must work for the peace of the city, even if it is that of captivity (we avoid encounters).
All these things are in the Bible, but they seem to point in the opposite direction.
Some churches are large, they have many members; others are small, have few members.
Some are mostly young, some are elderly
Some have an aerated temple, others an un vented temple.
Some are in cities where the virus has not yet arrived, others in cities where it is more than present.
Some are mostly people with access to good health care, others who don’t have access to these treatments.
Some churches have most members with access and ease with technology, others have most with few technological skills.
Some have “obedient” members (the group at risk will listen to the pastor’s recommendation and not go to church); others have?Disobeyed? (The group at risk goes to church despite the pastor’s recommendation, and will say again: in the past, a pastor sent us to church, now they tell us to stay home!).
These are some, but the variations that determine the condition of a local church in decision-making on a problem like this are diverse and cannot fail to be considered because the (universal) EGLISE exists only embodied in particular communities, with all its specific characteristics.
It’s certainly not a simple decision. So let me make a suggestion: we must avoid simplistic analyses and comments, especially those who condemn, are open or veiled, help nothing, only hurt. They crush those who are already crushed by the weight of having to make the decision; put supporters against leaders; and increase the discomfort of an already awkward moment.
Simplistic and damning comments serve only one thing: self-affirmation. They can be written with any word, but in the end, they always mean the same thing: am I better than you, wiser or more faithful?so I would do it differently. Maybe that’s why we love them so much. But, in a good way: if that’s all we have to say in a situation like this, it’s better to shut up!