It’s a great time to be the church, especially because our changed and rapidly changing times make us rethink what Christian faith is and how faithful people live. An example was in yesterday’s New York Times, an opinion piece by Tish Harrison Warren, a priest in the Anglican Church of North America.
“Even as most churches now offer in-person services, the ‘or online’ option has remained. I think this is good, given how unusual the past two years have been. Now I think it’s time to drop the virtual option. And I think this for the same reason I believed churches should go online back in March 2020: This is the way to love God and our neighbors.
“For all of us – even those who aren’t churchgoers – bodies, with all the risk, danger, limits, mortality and vulnerability that they bring, are part of our deepest humanity, not obstacles to be transcended through digitization. They are humble (and humbling) gifts to be embraced. Online church, while it was necessary for a season, diminishes worship and us as people. We seek to worship wholly – with heart, soul, mind and strength – and embodiment is an irreducible part of that wholeness.”
I wondered about those who are confined to their homes because of sickness or frailty. Ms. Warren points out that congregations have always gone in person to those who couldn’t come to worship. Since visitation to members has traditionally been a high priority for pastors, I think on-line is a supplement but not a replacement for personal visits. But back to the bigger question, what about people who can come?
“People need embodied community. We find it in book clubs or having friends over for dinner. But embodiment is a particularly important part of Christian spirituality and theology. We believe God became flesh, lived in a human body and remains mysteriously in a human body. Our worship is centered not on simply thinking about certain ideas, but on eating and drinking bread and wine during communion.” (New York Times, January 31; A17).
Over its 2000 years, the church has worked through many heresies about the body, our bodies and the physical body of Christ. If I were pastor of a congregation, I’d encourage our people to start studying what incarnation and sacraments mean for how we offer worship. How stimulating!
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