²¹Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²² You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. ²⁴ God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” ²⁵ The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” ²⁶ Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.” (John 4:21-26)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

That feeling that we need to worship in a specific location is hardly new. Places have been deemed ‘holy’ for thousands of years. Worshippers throughout the generations have had spots they were convinced were more suitable to God’s presence than others. That sense that God is present in some locations is not new.

Cruising through the Old Testament can be like a road-trip of ‘holy places.’ Whenever someone encountered God or felt God’s blessing, they made a sacrifice, gave the spot a new name, and christened it ‘holy.’ Over time, many of these places came to signify either an increased presence of God and sacred awe that either caused humans to seek them out or avoid them.

The Jews who were not taken to Babylon, called Samaritans following the return of the exiles, adjusted to their circumstances. Jerusalem was destroyed. The Temple lay in ruins. The priests and former leaders were off in Babylon. They, as shepherds, had been spared. They began to worship God on the mountain of their forefathers. Not only was it a safer worship experience (invaders often find mountain passes to be a nuisance), but it was in those mountains that they had experienced God’s saving presence during Jerusalem’s demise.  With the return of the exiles, this question of ‘where is God’ became problematic (along with other issues). The deeper issue was ‘with whom’ is God. The Samaritans held that God stayed with them. The Jews, on the other hand, believed God had gone into exile with them.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all include the tearing of the Temple curtain in their depiction of the crucifixion. Oftentimes people interpret the tearing of the curtain as allowing everyone into the presence of God, but it also depicts God getting out. The time comes “when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” God’s presence is not restricted to a certain area of the Temple or a mountain.

As followers of Christ, we know God is not restricted to the places we deem appropriate. God is not restricted to either the mountain top or Jerusalem. God is not restricted to a building or a location. Our knowledge of this does not always easily translate into a sense of God’s presence outside our expected ‘norms.’ We can forget the purpose of our ‘Holy Spaces.’ The buildings were built as places for humans to gather as community, not to house God.

It is always amusing when I ask children, whether it be at Children’s Time or Confirmation Class, that basic question, “where is God?” I might disguise it as a variation such as, “where can you pray to God?” or “where can you praise God?” or some other form of the question, but the general overarching question boils down to “where is God?” The first answers tend to be along the lines of worship, Sunday School, maybe even at home. Then someone inevitably calls out, “everywhere!” The fact that God is everywhere is one of those things we know, but do not always process immediately. There seems to be a time lapse in human realization that God is not confined to any particular locale. Even though we do firmly believe God is indeed everywhere, we do not always keep that fact in the forefront of our everyday thinking.

This can translate into looking for God in all the ‘usual’ places and overlooking those encounters in places our brains consider less likely. We can be tempted to confine God to certain places in our brains. Those places built to offer a convenient space can become crutches. We are currently being challenged to expand that thinking.

Our current circumstances compel us to keep the fact that God is everywhere in the very forefront of our minds. (Sometimes the Holy Spirit utilizes a gentle nudge & sometimes a swift kick.) We cannot help but be aware that God is not confined to the inside of any building when we are supposed to be avoiding public gatherings for the safety of others. Suddenly a virus has taken away our crutch and we are compelled to adapt. We find new ways to gather as believers.

God is with us during this time. The trick is to find ways to lean on the support of our community in new ways. As opposed to generations before us, we have a lot of new tools that have underutilized by congregations. The former ways worked well enough for those circumstances. Now that those former methods are less effective in bringing us together, we adapt. We adapt for the sake of the Gospel. The church has been adapting for the sake of the Gospel for centuries. Christians have adapted for the sake of the Gospel since God sent Peter to break bread with Cornelius and his household (all Gentiles). It will not be easy or painless, but we too will use the gifts God has given us and follow His call.

The world’s need for God has not diminished. Our call to proclaim Christ in Word and Deed has not diminished. With our fellow believers in Christ, we shall continue to be the Body of Christ. That body may not look or move the same way as it did a few months ago, but the One giving it life is the same. God is still in control. God is still present among us. Christ is still the head of the Church. He will continue to provide us with the Holy Spirit to guide us into new frontiers.

The grace and peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Carla