For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.
-Matthew 18:20, NRSV
You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy.
-Psalm 16:11, NRSV
After our first few worship live streams, I went back and read through the comments below the video… watching as you, the people of Wesley Church, greeted each other with emojis and “good mornings.”
“They’re still here,” I whispered with joy.
As we held our first meetings on Zoom, slowly figuring out how to turn on our webcams or to mute the barking dog in the background, I looked at your faces, all lined up in the Zoom Gallery grid.
“They’re still here,” I whispered with joy.
In April, as I walked toward my office, I saw a display of cards taped to the door — everything from Easter greeting cards to little notes you had tucked in with your offerings.
“They’re still here,” I whispered with joy.
On an early evening in late June, I looked at the row of cars before me. We gathered in the parking lot to celebrate our 25th anniversary, to share communion for the first time in months, and to have some good old-fashioned pie-in-the face fun.
“They’re still here,” I whispered with joy (though my whisper was drowned out by all the car horns honking “amen”).
In the midst of the summer, I peered into the donation box outside the church doors, and saw the abundance of produce you had donated out of your gardens, the abundance of essentials you had contributed from your grocery orders.
“They’re still here,” I whispered with joy.
On a Saturday morning in August, I found myself outdoors with dozens of you, our faces covered in matching masks, placing backpacks filled with school supplies and bags filled with socks & underwear into open trunks. Just a day in the life of people blessing people.
“They’re still here,” I whispered with joy.
Under the bright shining sun of the atrium’s glass, I looked out at the masked and eager faces of our Sunday morning volunteers, ready to talk about how we were going to “do church” in this strange new COVID-touched world.
“They’re still here,” I whispered with joy.
On a sunny Sunday in October, I preached over the sounds of barks and meows as your pets joined us for a Blessing of the Animals service. Even after the “blessing” was over, we lingered outside… just happy to be around each other.
“They’re still here,” I whispered with joy.
This past Sunday, I stood on the chancel and looked out at the pews that had been mostly empty for more than thirty weeks. I watched as our sanctuary sanitizers wiped down the pews… as our temp screeners tested the thermometers… as our greeters located the spare masks… as our ushers oriented themselves with the new seating charts… as our volunteers prepared for the weeks to come, when we hope to roll out our reopening plan.
This time, I had tears in my eyes. “They’re still here,” I whispered with joy.
We’ve found a great many ways to gather together in this season of covid-tide, friends… and we’ll probably need to find even more ways before this season is over. Yet all throughout this time of social distancing, this season of covid-tide, you’ve still been here. We’ve still been “gathered.”
Jesus tells us that where two or three are gathered, he is present with us.
The psalmist tells us that in God’s presence, there is joy.
I tell you, friends… that joy is real.
Blessings,
Pastor Candy
So be joyful, and remember:
Our God is bigger than coronavirus.
Our vision is bigger than coronavirus, too.
We are people blessing people.
We are Wesley Church.
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/
