Jesus said, “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.” John 14:14
Really, Jesus? Good, because I have a list.
Ah, if only it was that easy, right? And yet, it is still so important to share our hopes, our desires, our deepest longings with Jesus, even if we don’t see the answer we want when we want it.
I know I want church to be open again, but I know I also want all of you to be safe. I know I want clarity as to what is going to happen next, and yet, I also will wait for the guidance of our bishops and leaders of the Diocese and the National Church.
I would ask Jesus to take away our grief at all our loss during this time, and yet, taking away our grief takes away our deepest feelings, and perhaps the place where we might feel close to Jesus.
I do know that God (and Jesus and the Holy Spirit) exist outside time and space as we know and understand it. I am very clear that God is God, and that I am not. Perhaps my desire for clarity and certainty are simply ways to hold tight to the fallacy that any of what is going on is within my control, and that I can make it better.
What I can do is ask in the name of Jesus that we be a community of faithfulness. That we allow this time of being apart from one another to give us deeper clarity about our values and priorities, our service to others, and our abiding love, worship, and praise of God. I pray that as we find new ways to experience church those values of love, care, service, and compassion find new expression, and we offer hope and reconciliation to our world.
We will have direction and more clarity around the plan for reopening church soon. It will be different from the ways we gathered and worshipped before the pandemic, and we will likely continue to change and adapt as new circumstances arise. Whatever we do, whatever we ask for, we will be a worshipping community that will trust God to see us through this, and God will be praised.