COVID-19 and Canceling Services
One thing have I asked of the Lord, this will I seek after: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I may behold the delight of the Lord, and that I may visit His holy temple (Psalm 26:4).
Many churches around the world have limited gatherings at their parishes to the core liturgical services, meaning that Sunday School, Youth Meetings, Bible Studies, sporting events, and other activities are canceled. Understandably there is a sense of worry that children, teenagers and youth will miss out on all these services for at least the coming weeks. However, this is also a great opportunity to take stock of what we see as the core or central activities of the church.
It goes without saying that the services that have been canceled are important ministries of the church. Many of us have benefited from and have fond memories of our years spent in Sunday School and Youth Meetings, especially the impact that the servants of those ministries had on our lives. The time, energy, effort, prayers and sweat they put into serving us week in and week out without seeking any form of recognition or appreciation is not only admirable but also a witness to the love that they have for God, the church and those whom they serve. I have very fond memories of my grade 2 Sunday School servant who must be well in her 70s by now, I can’t remember a single lesson she gave, but I can definitely recall that she relayed to me that God loves us, that he hears our prayers and that the intercessions and prayers of the saints work. My year 12 Sunday School servant’s commitment and dedication are etched in my memory. Our year 12 Sunday School attendance would fluctuate greatly from zero to half dozen teens due to study pressures, and he would be there every week with a warm smile on his face and a discussion prepared, happy to see us even if there was only one person in the group. These services are definitely important, especially in the more complicated and secular world we now live in. Nevertheless, we have a tendency to prioritize these services above the core act of the church- the Eucharistic Liturgy. It’s not a matter of whether these services are needed or useful (they certainly are), its about their place in the life of the church and the impact that we sometimes unrealistically expect them to have.
Some parishes hold Sunday School on a Saturday, and it is not far-fetched that servants and children can attend Sunday School for many years and rarely attend vespers which shortly follows the Sunday School service. Or sometimes we get worried when we do not see a teenager at Sunday School for a few weeks, but don’t notice or worry if they do not attend the liturgy for weeks. At camps, we may schedule in the liturgies and prayers and ‘get through them’ to focus on the things that the kids ‘want’ or ‘need’ such as the talks and activities. We have all been in many discussions about youth ‘leaving’ the church, but ‘leaving’ implies that they were ‘there’ in the first place, because the approach taken by those who will seek them out may differ based on their involvement in church growing up. Is coming to Sunday School, Youth Meeting or the weekly sporting event our measure of ‘being’ in church? It comes down to how we define the church and see its central and core act.
Before we look at what the church is, let us look at what the church is not:
The Church is not a Country Club
A country club is a place where a whole bunch of people get together who have some things in common. Things like money, careers, politics, shared values and a way of life. Country clubs have memberships and need to keep their members happy or they will leave, which means one of their primary concerns is caring for their own. When the church is seen as a country club then its members are primarily inwards focused and service then becomes how we keep the country club members happy and attending.
The Church is not an Ethnic Gathering
When the church is seen as an ethnic gathering its members are focused on preserving a certain ethnic identity and service becomes a way in which to enculturate people into this identity with all of its facets. The church viewed in this way is a place to meet people who have the same cultural heritage and where this heritage can be lived out in a Christian environment. People who see the church primarily as an ethnic gathering see the life of the church through a dominantly cultural lens- where baptism, marriage and feast days are cultural rites of passages and events, rather than mysteries that bring us into the very life of God.
The Church is not an Organization
One of the most cringe-worthy ways someone described the church to me growing up was that the church is an organization with the bishops as the CEOs, priests as the managers, servants as staff and people as customers. This mindset seeks to keep the ‘customer’ happy and reduces the Christian life into a set of rules and guidelines, and service into a job rather than a way of life. Services are then seen as products that need to compete with other products in the world to attract parishioners.
What the church IS:
Many words come to mind when attempting to describe the church -Assembly of the Saints, Body of Christ, Bride of Christ, City of the Living God, Flock of God, Golden Candle-Stand, Heavenly Jerusalem, New Israel, Vineyard…
St John Chrysostom paints a beautiful picture of how the Church is the Bride of Christ:
“There came out from His side water and blood. Beloved, do not pass this mystery by without a thought. For I have still another mystical explanation to give. I said that there was a symbol of baptism and the mysteries in that blood and water. It is from both of these that the church is sprung through the bath of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit (Tit. 3:5), through baptism and the mysteries. But the symbols of baptism and the mysteries come from the side of Christ. It is from His side, therefore, that Christ formed His church, just as He formed Eve from the side of Adam”
Just in case you missed it:
Adam sleeps and while sleeping his wife (eve) is formed from his side
Christ the new-Adam sleeps and while sleeping his wife (the church) is formed from his side (blood and water which point to Baptism and the Eucharist)
This image of the church intimately links with the Church as the Body of Christ- as it says in Genesis 2:24 “ For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” The Church (bride) is one flesh with Christ (bridegroom)- “now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it” (1 Cor 12:27)
Since the Church is the Bride and Body of Christ, then what is its central act? -The Eucharist. Through the Eucharist, the bride (church) is united with her bridegroom ( Our Lord Jesus Christ), and united with each other. Our vertical koinonia (communion) with Christ makes our horizontal koinonia with others possible. So in short- what makes the church the church? The Eucharist. And all the various services of the church flow into and from the Eucharist.
What is service other than the movement of the whole church into unity with God through partaking of the very Body and Blood of The Saviour, and what is service other than expressing this unity by being Christ to others through service, love and seeking the other? If the church is seen as a country club then one will participate in the Eucharist and keep it to themselves as they have received what they need from the church as a member. Seeing the church as the Bride and Body of Christ means that after partaking of the Eucharist this beautiful and mystical union is lived out by sharing the love, joy, and hope of Christ with others which practically involves things like, reaching out to the new person at church, visiting the sick and elderly, going out of your comfort zone by going after the lost and marginalized etc..
If the Church’s primary and chief act is the Eucharist gathering, then what is the purpose of all the other services of the church- Sunday School, Youth Meeting etc…? They have two purposes
1- To bring us towards the Eucharist
2- To help us live the Eucharist
For example, say there is a 22-year old (let’s call him Bob) who has not been to church for years and may even have a negative view of the church. If our ultimate aim is for Bob to live the life of the Church then we could see all our efforts as bringing him towards the Eucharist and living the Eucharist. This may look like inviting Bob to the weekly soccer match in which he will experience the Christian love and genuine care of the team, which may naturally lead him into wanting to gather with the same group of people on church grounds, and may be followed by attending a bible study where he is exposed to the beauty of God’s Word and may eventually lead him into regularly partaking of the Eucharist, after which he can express this unity by joining the parish’s soup kitchen, etc.. Of course there are many other paths that people take, such as just walking into a church for the first time or after years of disengagement and being touched by the presence of God in the Divine Liturgy without anyone saying anything to them. The point is that all the services that the church holds have one purpose- to bring each of us into deeper union with God and each other and this is done through the chief act of the church- The Eucharist.
With services being cancelled around the world, this is a great time for us to focus on the liturgical life of the church which is the centre of the church life. It is a time to prioritise that which should always be prioritised. And this now poses new and helpful challenges for the church- how do we get those whom we serve to live the liturgical life of the church when the other services are not available? And being in lent, this is a chance for the whole church to slow down.The church can be a busy place and this is not a bad thing, it reflects that there are people at church who want to be served, and there are people who are willing to serve them which is beautiful- Glory to God for all things! But we know from many examples in scripture that there is a time to be busy and a time for stillness, and what better time for stillness than lent. Maybe slowing down and purely focusing on the liturgical life of the church for a period of time may not only be beneficial to each of us individually but may also give us a new and fresh perspective on our service that may be more focused on the core of the life of the church.
“For when you see the Lord sacrificed, and laid upon the altar, and the priest standing and praying over the victim, and all the worshippers empurpled with that precious blood, can you then think that you are still among men, and standing upon the earth? Are you not, on the contrary, straightway translated to Heaven, and casting out every carnal thought from the soul, do you not with disembodied spirit and pure reason contemplate the things which are in Heaven? Oh! What a marvel! What love of God to man! He who sits on high with the Father is at that hour held in the hands of all and gives Himself to those who are willing to embrace and grasp Him. And this all do through the eyes of faith! Whenever you hear the words “let us all pray together,” whenever you see the curtains drawn up, then consider that heaven is let down from above and that the angels are descending.”- St John Chrysostom