Identity Crisis
According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. – 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 (NRSV)
On the first Christmas of the Covid pandemic, after leading worship on Zoom from my house, in my pajamas, I thought, “Well, we’ve done it! We’ve gotten through the hard time, the loneliest Christmas, the weirdest situation we could possibly imagine.” I let myself imagine better times ahead: reunion, regathering, re-creation. I pictured it all rebuilt on the familiar foundation of pew Bibles and printed hymnals and offering plates passed up and down the pews, of candles lit and blown out, of bread broken and shared, of loved faces the same as ever except the children would be taller.
I let myself imagine it for a minute or three. It felt cozy and safe. But it did not feel right.
What are we making of the church now, two Christmas later? Whether the people who came before us used old-growth lumber to raise high-ceilinged sanctuaries with beautiful acoustics or 1950s cinderblocks to build as many classrooms as they could afford, they showed us what mattered to them. Whatever our churches are becoming will never be a return to old ways. Does that sound like more than you signed up for? It may feel like an identity crisis, but I’d like to think it’s a gorgeous opportunity to build something new on the surest foundation there is, choosing the materials with care, for the purpose God is showing us.
Prayer
Everlasting God, may we build up faith communities that serve you. Amen.
Martha Spong is a UCC pastor, a clergy coach, and editor of The Words of Her Mouth: Psalms for the Struggle, from The Pilgrim Press.