Thirsting for Corporate Worship
Hello Church,
I don’t think anyone knows that I’m an expert on the behavioural patterns of animals that live in the African Savannah. I have watched enough National Geographic, Animal Kingdom, Kruger National Park videos to declare myself to be an expert. Of course, this is all said tongue in cheek. Now, imagine with me, a dry and dusty African Savannah. The heat ripples are rising off the parched ground. Dust is kicked up with the movement of every animal. Lions are panting under what little shade they can find, trying to remain cool. The land is dry and cracked, but there is one place that is teeming with activity. It’s the last remaining watering hole. When you look at it, it looks more like a mud hole. The water is thick and gray. Catfish are flopping in the mud, digging in deeper, until the rains come. Crocodiles lay there, stuck and unable to move and yet, around the perimeter are all kinds of animals. There’s the fearless and indomitable elephant. There’s the ferocious pride of lions, trying to lick up whatever drinkable water remains. I’m sure with every lap, they’re getting a mouthful of sandy grit. In addition to these apex creatures, there’s also the presence of prey animals. These are the animals that lions eat for lunch: the antelope, the warthog, and even the cape buffalo. (See, I told you I was an expert.) Despite the danger of lions, leopards and cheetahs, their need for water, the insatiable desire to slake their thirst, throws caution and danger to the wind. Yes, there’s the risk of becoming a lion’s dinner, but they have to drink, and so, they come, en masse, to the watering hole.
With church opening up again on the 28th, my hope and wish is that all of us would feel, deeply, a thirst that can only be quenched when God’s people gather for corporate worship, to be in his presence with others. Scripture teaches us about that thirst. Just consider these verses:
(Psalm 42:1) As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
(Psalm 84:2) My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
(Psalm 84:10) Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
(Hebrews 10:24) And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
This past week we passed the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the pandemic. As a result, for many of us, we have not gathered to worship as a church for that duration, and for some of us, we haven’t gathered since last November. I know all of us are longing for the end of this pandemic and lockdown. We want life to get back to normal. We no longer want to wear masks. We want to get out of our pajamas and sweatpants. We want to shake hands and hug our friends.
Now, my concern is for those who do not have this thirst to gather as a church, for those who say they prefer worshiping at home, and for those who put their personal safety and health as the highest priority, that taking a risk of any sort is not an option for you. So, here’s my challenge to you. Will your thirst for God and for corporate worship take you to the watering hole, despite the dangers? Some of you, I know, are already getting offended by what I’m writing, and that’s okay. As your pastor, I do sense that some of us are way too cautious. I understand why you feel that way. You may have underlying health concerns and it is wise that you isolate yourself, but again, is the longing there? Is your mouth dry? For example, what if we lived under an anti-religious, repressive government and, let’s say, that there were police waiting at the doors of the church building to harass and even arrest those who showed up to worship. Would you still come? Would that ‘risk’ keep you from coming to church?
I am not saying that if you choose not to come to church during this pandemic that you are sinning, but with that said, for some of us, it could be that we are sinning by not coming out to church. How so? Ask yourself this question: Do I feel little or no hesitancy to visit grocery stores, go into the office for work, or even secretly hang out with friends, but for some reason, I use personal safety as a reason to do church from home? If this is you, I think you are sinning. There is a place in each of our hearts where fear and faith intersect. Find that place and pray about it; lift it up to God, and ask, “Lord, am I living in fear or am I living in faith?” and, if anything we should pray, “Help me not to live in fear, but in deeper and more radical faith.” These decisions that we make in this area are not insignificant. God calls us to always step out in faith, face suffering and hardship, and even to deny ourselves and our own lives, for the sake of the Gospel. Yes, there is a sense of loving our neighbours by staying quarantined, but that, too, has to be weighed against God’s command and our longing to gather for worship.
I can’t wait for the whole church to gather together as we used to. I miss singing with all my heart and strength. I miss seeing all your faces. I miss preaching to a full chapel. I miss, oh do I miss, the Lord’s Supper, partaking in the body and blood of Jesus, together with all of you! We’ll be open on Palm Sunday and then on Easter, and, hopefully, we’ll remain open forever.
Soli Deo Gloria
Pastor Peter
