We’re about six weeks into our lives being turned upside down, and although Oklahoma is trying to get back to normal, I don’t see that in the cards for us. Too many in our church community are too vulnerable to the still-spreading coronavirus, and it may be spreading as much as ever here in Tulsa. Lifting restrictions now, while an understandable concession to the social, economic and mental health effects of lockdown, will almost certainly increase its spread even further.
For that reason we are taking a wait-and-see approach before returning to in-person worship. I am committed to continuing to offer worship by Zoom, with all its limitations, as long as is needed. As we contemplate returning to in-person worship, there are many questions: Will we need to wear masks? Is it safe to sing together? (Anecdotes and theoretical concerns point to no, experimental data is lacking.) Can we share communion safely in-person? We were trying before the lockdowns, but there were clearly concerns even with all the precautions.
Because it’s clear that this crisis will drag on, I have spent carefully discerning the possibility of sharing the Lord’s Supper via videoconferencing. I have long been resistant to this idea. From our very first week physically apart, I’ve had colleagues take hard positions on both sides of a debate: some suggesting that such novel experimentation has no place with the holiest, most intimate act we share together as a community, and others suggesting that it’s theological malpractice to deprive folks of the means of grace in such an anxious and uncertain time.
What has been decisive for me is the recognition that the community we are re-building via Zoom is authentic community, in spite of the difficulty some of us having logging in, the spotty audio, and occasionally talking over each other. God’s Spirit can use even this imperfect technology to show up in the midst of us, wherever two or three, or thirty, are logged in.
When this is all over, after the hugs and high fives and all sorts of physical contact we are currently denied, we’ll have lots of questions. Did we go about this the right way? Should we have done more, sooner? Should we have tried to do less and adjust more to a slowed-down pace? I’ve been trying to lean into the latter with my family life and office work. But I’d rather look back and be able to say that I acted too quickly and decisively to share the Lord’s Supper with you than regret that we continued our eucharistic fast.
Luther’s Small Catechism emphasizes that it’s not eating and drinking, but rather the words “given for you” and “shed for you for the forgiveness of sins,” when accompanied by physical eating and drinking, that are the essential thing. If you sincerely doubt that we should do this by Zoom, I encourage you to abstain. But if you hear these words “for you” as truly for you, then I encourage you to partake, and trust the rest to the grace and mercy of God through Jesus Christ, as I am.
- Pastor Jon
