In the Old Testament, Jews believed that the presence of God resided specifically and physically in the Jerusalem temple. That’s why the holy festivals required a trip there, to make sacrifices on God’s holy altar, right next to the room where they believed God’s Spirit was focused: the Most Holy Place. And it’s also why, when the Jews were exiled to Babylon, it was soul-crushing and spiritually devastating. Not only were they far from home, but they thought they were far from the very presence of God—between 700 and 1,000 miles away, depending on where in Babylon they ended up. So how could they even worship God, since they couldn’t go to the building where they thought God dwelt? That was the motivation for the lament in Psalm 137, “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion…. How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?” (vv. 1, 4)
When we read and think about that kind of belief, we might be tempted to think, “Bless their hearts. It’s not like that. God isn’t limited to just one building. God’s presence is all around you. Whatever place you’re in, you can pray to God and God will hear you!” We know that and believe it. However, how hard was it during the last year not to be able to gather as a congregation together—to really be together? Very hard. We chose to do that out of love and responsibility for our people, but it was sad. Maybe that’s why some churches thought it was impossible to even be a church if they could not all meet in person in the same spot at the same building. That sounds similar to what the ancient Israelites' believed.
When I read what the Israelites thought, I want to reach out and say, “It’s okay. You can actually worship God everywhere,” but maybe I need to hear that too. Maybe, as challenging and weird as the last year was, maybe I didn’t need to be so stressed and worried for the life of our church. Maybe the church—the Body of Christ—can still live and work even if a part of it isn’t in the building they love. A good reminder that even if the church—the Body of Christ—has to take a different form or meeting style, nothing in the world can ever stop it.
Was it hard, difficult, and sad for us when we could not all worship in the same space? Absolutely. But was God still worshiped, from many different places at once? Absolutely. And that fact is beautiful in its own way.
Even though it took a big catastrophe to help the Israelites learn the truth that God can be worshiped from anywhere, at least they learned it eventually. For us, in the past we all assumed that we had to walk or drive to a church building and be physically there in order to worship God, because that’s where God was going to meet us. Now, the catastrophe we went through last year taught us some amazing new truths. God can even be worshiped—and the Body of Christ can even stay connected—on the internet, of all places. There's nothing God can't use to bless people.
However, the past year also taught me how much of a true blessing and gift it is when we can gather together. So as hard as the pandemic has been, it has taught us some great, good lessons. And it makes us even more thankful now when we can be together in person. I hope we never take it for granted again.