Presence
“For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. “ -Colossians 2:5
It has been such a wonderful experience returning to worship “in-person” for that last month. It has been so wonderful to see so many of your faces even if masks cover up half of them. However we have not really returned. Not everyone is back and rightfully so. Many have chosen to continue worshiping from home and I believe that they are making the best decision for themselves. Whatever reason you chose to stay home please know that I support your decision.
This pandemic has taught us so much. We have learned patience. What we thought was to be few weeks has turned into several months approaching a year.
We have learned to become flexible. Many of us are doing things we thought were never possible before. I was speaking with a lady of nearly 90 years of age and she shared how she has learned to worship online and even go to Sunday school through an app on her iPad. This is something that she thought she could have or would have never done if not for the pandemic.
We have learned a new way to be present. Actually it is not new but maybe just new to us. The Apostle Paul writes to the church in Colossae, a church he had never visited before, to speak of a connection they have deeper than any other that brings them present with one another in spirit. Their common connection is their commitment to the gospel, a commitment to advancing the good news of Jesus Christ to the world. Every Sunday morning for the last 7 months this connectedness, this spiritual presence with one another, has become so real to me. It gives me hope even as this pandemic continues.
What is that hope I have? Its a hope that Paul describes in Colossians 2 as a growing love rooted in Christ Jesus our Lord that manifests itself into lives changed. Paul knows that he cannot be present physically with the people he writes to, but he knows that Holy Spirit still connects them and leads them. This is what I know as well. Though there are many faces I have yet to see here at Lake Cities UMC, I know that it is only a matter of time until I do. Until then, I am encouraged to know that “for though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. “
I hope you will join us this Sunday (11/1/2020), either in-person or online, as we discuss how we may all grow in presence.
In God’s grip,
Pastor Chuck Church
