To Live Again or to Live Anew?
I went to get my first injection of the vaccine this afternoon and as I walked up to the HEB in Kingwood, I had to do a double take as I recognized another Holy Spiriter coming from having just gotten his shot. It was surprising and joyful to get to share this moment! I reflected all morning on the implications of receiving the vaccine. It occurred to me that getting vaccinated not only promised to guard my own health, but more importantly promotes the possibility of keeping others from getting sick and moving us closer to being able to do all the wonderful things we usually share but have missed at Holy Spirit. While Easter and the finish to our spring will still look different than years past, we are taking steps that will ultimately help us to be ready to come back together.
Stephen Morris, our Director of Music Ministries, noted at staff meeting this week that we have reached the one year mark of having had to shift to online services. I remember having the thought that is probably familiar to most, I hoped this pandemic situation wouldn’t last more than a few weeks. How were we going to make it through two weeks of staying home! Understandably, most of us who guide larger programs and organizations can be a bit hesitant to be certain in our anticipations about the year ahead.
But we also have to keep in mind that at the heart of the church’s life is the belief in resurrection. A colleague asked the rhetorical question, “Do we want resuscitation, or resurrection?” I was reminded of the difference between Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead four days after his entombment and the moment when Mary goes to the tomb with spices to take care of Jesus’ body only to find the tomb empty. When Jesus tells them to roll back the stone on Lazarus’ tomb, Marth remarks “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” The spices that Mary brought to Jesus’ tomb were not needed. There was no stench. Jesus was not dead, but is resurrected and eternally alive. New life is always unexpected and never looks, or smells, the way we might expect. Inevitably, the year ahead will be different. I pray that as it becomes ever safer, you will come back to church, as hard as that may be at first, so that we can share in the new life God has in store for us.
We love you and God loves you.