Feel the Pain
By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept, when we remembered thee, O Sion (Psalm 137:1)
We are experiencing a time in which it will be difficult, if not impossible, for most of us to receive Holy Communion on a regular basis. Through no choice of our own, we are fasting from the Eucharist (including Easter Sunday). What are we to do?
First, feel the pain. Technology is good for many things and it is very nice to be able to connect with one another via Facebook or Zoom, but “tuning in” for a virtual worship service is a very poor substitute for attending the divine liturgy with one another. In fact the word “substitute” is wholly inappropriate in this context. A substitute is something that replaces something else. Watching a worship service, and most especially watching the Holy Communion service, is not a substitute for physically and bodily attending and receiving Holy Communion. One does not replace the other.
And so, I say: “Feel the pain.” This is not how it should be – especially at Easter. We will continue to provide live streaming of our services, but let us not for a moment think: “Well, this isn’t so bad, really … I still get to see and hear, I can live with this.” Let us not pretend that technology will make this lamentable situation “ok.” Though we should give thanks for the help that technology is able to provide, and should strive to persevere through this season without grumbling or complaining, we must also remain wary of the unintended negative consequences of pseudo-attending a “virtual” worship service. Don’t get too comfortable with what will be, for a season, our “new normal.” It is not normal.
Second, when your clergy gather to offer prayer (and you “tune in”) - find ways to bodily engage and participate. We are not disembodied spirits. Neither are we minds that simply need cognitive input or visual stimulation (through images on a screen). Our liturgy expects your participation – your attentive, physical, focused participation. If you can kneel for the prayers, and stand for the gospel (etc) – do so. Sitting back and observing, like you might sit back to watch a movie, is the worse way to approach the lamentable situation in which we find ourselves. Assume the posture of prayer and attentive listening, just as you would if physically in the pew.
The best way to participate is not to observe other people praying, but to pray yourself. Watching us worship is not worship (for you). We may be fasting from the Eucharist, and from the biblically normative corporate gathering of the body of Christ, but we cannot fast from worshipping the Lord. You need to continue to worship the Lord, and presently you are going to need to do this in your own home. Use the rich resources of the prayerbook; read the Bible; sing the hymns; cultivate quietness; fight distractions. (Confess your sins and then read the collect for the 21st Sunday after Trinity).
Third, learn to pray. The liturgy is a means by which God’s people are lifted up into his presence. You do not have to be here in the church in order to pray and to be ushered into the presence of the Lord. You may not be able to receive Holy Communion, but Christ is yet able to be present to his people. I recently read:
Faith is expressed in the certainty that our Lord can always be in our midst, that He can always be by our side, for the Psalmist proclaims, “If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there” (Psalm 139:8). And if I am shut up in my home away from Church, “Thou art there,” even as the Lord was there for and with the Apostle Peter when he was locked up in prison, so He is there for and with us. [1]
It may be that you find that prayer is not easy for you and that you need to intentionally engage in some focused practice in learning how to pray. Needing to learn to pray should not surprise us, for Jesus’ own disciples came to him and asked him “Lord, teach us to pray” (St. Luke 11:1), and he did not rebuke them for it. The “shelter and stay” directive is giving us time and space in which to pursue God’s presence through prayer and we must not neglect this opportunity to grow in this spiritual discipline.
The prayerbook will help you to pray, so use it. The Family Prayers at the back of the prayerbook are magnificent. Morning and Evening Prayer with your clergy via Zoom is a daily option, as are other online resources such as the Cradle of Prayer (sung morning and evening prayer) or the app called “iPrayBCP”, which makes it very easy to follow the prayers (especially if you are not used to praying).
I leave you with another quote from Bishop Alexis:
In the emphasis on more frequent communion over the past forty years, we might be tempted to neglect the necessary ongoing moment-to-moment inner communion with Christ by prayer, that talking with Him and walking with Him that characterized most of the lives of the Apostles before and after the institution of the Mystical Supper. Many of our greatest saints were deprived of Holy Communion for periods of time that for us would be unbearable to contemplate, but that for them were periods of continued growth from glory to glory, because they were never without Holy Communion with Christ through prayer. Prayer is not easy; it requires concentration, dedication, and love, but through the gates of prayer, we can touch Christ, Christ can touch us, and we can be healed. It is imperative for us all to learn to serve Liturgy at the Altar of the heart and the time is now at hand.[2]
By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept, when we remembered thee, O Sion (Psalm 137:1)
J. Patterson
[1] Some Thoughts on the Crisis and the Call of the Corona Virus: A Reflection by His Grace Bishop Alexis of Bethesda. https://www.oca.org/news/headline-news/some-thoughts-on-the-crisis-and-the-call-of-the-corona-virus-a-reflection-by-his-grace-bishop-alexis-of-bethesda
[2] Ibid.