Church News – June 2021

Apocalypse. The word can strike fear in our minds. We tend to see it as a devastating event bringing an end to all that we know is real – the end of the world.

However, the word actually doesn’t translate as an end-time event. The meaning, more accurately reflected, is to “draw back the veil.” To open our eyes to see more clearly what life on earth is all about. What it is is the end of Illusion, and the clarity of true vision.

In fact, the last book of the Bible, sometimes named the Apocalypse, is more accurately termed the “Book of Revelation” or “the Revelation to John.” In other words, a great War, or a great Pandemic, say, is “Apocalyptic” in as much as it serves to reveal to us something about ourselves, and about our God.

So, let’s start with this idea; that the last 15 months could have actually been an Apocalyptic Event. In retrospect, we will likely refer to this time as “pre-pandemic” and “post-pandemic.” We’ll recall stories of those who served on the front lines in hospitals and health care, and those on the front lines of anti-mask protests. Even Point Roberts has its own unique pandemic story, which became very public in the past year as we found ourselves on national television news: isolated; yet known to the world.

What has made this apocalypse so revelatory is the elusive nature of the disease itself. There are those who seem naturally immune to the Covid virus, those who contract it without symptoms, those who are mildly ill, and those who become seriously, often deathly ill.

We are daily inundated with global statistics: number of viral contracts, of hospitalizations, of recoveries, of deaths. Yet to put millions of deaths in context of a planet of billions gives a different perspective. This strange disease has divided us as those who see an impending doom and those who see a great hoax. And this is an apocalypse.

We draw back veils of illusion in the face of a very real, yet somehow elusive possibility of death. We either accept restrictions that greatly impact our lives, or we reject them as conspiracies.

We either mask up in order to protect each other from grim possibilities, or we march to proclaim our individual rights in the face of grim possibilities. We are challenged to face the fears that provoke our reactions: Are you more afraid of illness and possible death, or of a possible conspiracy to control your life?

What strange times that challenge all we thought was true. What a Revelation.We see this great divide in the church as well. Some Christians accept mandated restrictions as a Christian duty.

They accept Covid as a temporary condition, a trial that calls them to sacrifice the gathered life in order to care for and protect each other. Many have moved worship online, some have moved outdoors. Being “the Church” looks very different. Yet they persevere.

They continue to stay connected, to read scripture, to pray, to sing together when possible (weather permitting!). They text, email, video chat, meet in Zoom, knowing that nothing can stand in the way of the will of our Creator and the will of God’s people to continue.

Other Christians have seen the pandemic as a call to courage in the face of threat, a call to faithful gathering in the face of hell or threat of death.

They invite persecution as a testament to this abiding faith. They welcome the possibility of miracles. Is there one right way to be church in a pandemic? Perhaps this is our Apocalypse. When we draw back the veil that reveals the heart of God, we will discover that the belief systems that divided us are illusions.

The only reality is love. It’s right there in the Bible. God is Love. Love One Another.

(John 4:13, 3:11) And This is a Revelation.