To Congregate or Not to Congregate

To Congregate or Not to Congregate

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

It is again Sunday. Again, many of us are following the admonitions of safety by practicing social distancing and sheltering in place. Yet, our hearts are torn because we long to join with other believers in worship. Some are clinging to the idea that it is all a conspiracy to keep believers from worshipping. The truth is that I am the only one who can keep me from worshipping. I can join others in worshipping in spirit and, physically, on-line, on the phone, etc.

Many are rightfully quoting Isaiah 26:20: “Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past.” The context of this scripture is a messianic word to Israel about the establishment of God’s kingdom. The message promises the protection of God in the meantime. “(3-4) You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength.”

Whether or not we decide to congregate, our minds must be focused on the Lord. Remember that the Lord sees our hearts. Proverbs 21: 2 “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts.” Whatever our decision may be, our motives must be pure and focused on our relationship with God.

Passover begins on April 8. It is reminiscent of not only our Lord’s passion, but also, of our current situation. To be spared from the angel of death who passed over Egypt, God’s people not only had to put the blood of the lamb on the door, they had to be inside the house where the blood had been applied.

Exodus 12:13: “Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”. The Israelites needed both to enter into the covenant by putting the blood over the door and to be in place to be spared.

The blood is a sign of the covenant the Lord made with Israel. It is a picture of the covenant we have with God through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. To be covered by our covenant with God which was sealed by the shed blood of Jesus Christ, we must be where we are supposed to be, not only on Sunday, but every day.

The question we must ask is, “am I where God desires me to be?”

Again, in reference to Passover, if for some reason people could not celebrate the Passover on the designated day, they could celebrate later. Numbers 9:6-11: “6. Now there were certain men who were defiled by the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day; and they came before Moses and Aaron that day. And those men said to him, "We became defiled by the dead body of a man. Why are we kept from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the children of Israel?'' And Moses said to them, "Stand still, that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.'' Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: `If anyone of you or your posterity is unclean because of a dead body, or is far away on a journey, he may still keep the Lord's Passover. `On the fourteenth day of the second month, at twilight, they may keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.”

If we are still to be sheltering when the Lord’s Resurrection is to be celebrated, we can celebrate in our sheltering place on the day and corporately with one another whenever.

Nothing on God’s calendar must be overlooked if we shelter in place until this storm passes by. I am worshiping God as I write this. I will be worshipping with you as you read this. We are one in the Body of Christ wherever and whenever. Let's worship Him today and every day.