Virtual Gatherings
Tomorrow we will again gather online. Does that sound awkward? How can we gather if we are apart? How can people "get together" while "social distancing"?
Turns out, it's not as strange as it sounds, because of God's Spirit. Long before Pentecost and the official "coming of the Spirit" predicted by Jesus in The Upper Room, David (Psalm 139) sang these words to the Lord:
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
It was the presence of the Spirit that prompted Jesus to say that although His disciples would forsake Him, His Father was there (John 16:32). It was the reality of the Spirit which enabled Paul to know that the Lord stood with him in prison, when all others had fled (2 Timothy 4:16, 16). And it is the Spirit who makes real Jesus' promise to be "in the midst" wherever (and however!) two or three are gathered (Matthew 18:20).
Paul grasped this reality when he told the Corinthians that when they met, he would be "with them in spirit" (1 Corinthians 5:3, 4) in the hard choices of church discipline, as well as when he wrote to his beloved Philippians that he "longed for them" with the very affection of Jesus Himself (Philippians 1:8)!
So, while our conference calls and virtual meetings can remind us of the foibles and imperfections in our electronic methods, they also are witnesses to our unity and solidarity in Jesus. While these challenging times are upon us, let's use every possible means, including prayer, hardware, software, social media platforms, and telephones, to foster our common faith and joy. Love and show compassion to one another,
especially at a distance.
"Father help us remember that it is your love for us which overflows to those we love. Bless our gatherings, even those which happen while we are miles apart! In the name of Jesus who is within us and among us. Amen."