12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. … 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
-1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 27, NRSV
I love a good church sign. You know the kind I mean — the “marquee” kind of sign where the messages can be changed from time to time. I love a good church sign, especially when the messages hit that sweet spot of being funny, clever, and inspirational, all at the same time.
This week’s edition of the journal Christian Century included a cartoon version of one such church sign, bearing these words:
THE BUILDING IS CLOSED
THE CHURCH IS OPEN
The building is closed. The church is open. In this season of coronavirus, our building has been closed for weeks. Only a few people pass through our doors — mainly, the folks who are running the Sunday morning worship livestream, the volunteers who are checking the mail or picking up food pantry donations, and the church custodian who is deep-cleaning the building. For a time, the church building is closed.
But the church is open. The church is you. You are the Body of Christ, the church! Wherever you are, the church is open. Whenever you pray, the church is open. Whenever you open your Bibles or log on to a Zoom Bible study, the church is open. Whenever you reach out to encourage others, extend help to someone who needs it, or offer donations of food, finances, and supplies to people who are struggling, the church is open. Whenever you continue to be “people blessing people,” the church is open.
Thank you, dear ones, for keeping the church open. We need it now more than ever.
And remember:
Our God is bigger than coronavirus.
Our vision is bigger than coronavirus, too.
We are people blessing people.
We are Wesley Church.
Blessings,
Pastor Candy
Want to know more?
- Learn about our church and its ministries: https://wesleychurch.com/
- Make a gift to support our mission: https://wesleychurch.com/giving-2/
- View our recent messages: https://wesleychurch.com/sermon-message-on-video/
- View previous devotionals: https://wesleychurch.com/pastor-candys-devotionals-2/
