Staying Connected
On the night before he died, Jesus said to his disciples, "Abide in me, as I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love" (John 15:4-5a, 8-9). Even though Jesus must leave them, rabbi and students are to remain connected with each other through a mutual indwelling that is to be enabled by the Holy Spirit. Because the disciples will abide in Christ and Christ in them, they will continue to be his disciples and bear fruit through their lives and ministries.
Those words of scripture are also found in the prayer book as part of the service of Communion under Special Circumstances. That is the liturgy we use when we take Communion to someone who is homebound or in the hospital or for some other reason cannot be present for the public celebration of the Eucharist. Those words of Jesus are one of several brief readings suggested in that service, but, whenever I am the one offering Communion, I always read them. I want the person I am visiting to know that, even though they may be cut off from the physical congregation, they are not cut off from the church, the Body of Christ. Those words of Jesus express better than any words that I can offer what it means to remain connected with Christ.
Sometimes, however, the strangeness of saying those words—"By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit"—to someone who has not left their bed for months or who is approaching the end of their life or who has lost almost all of their physical and cognitive function hits me. What does it mean for a disciple of Jesus to bear fruit in a situation like that? How can that person prove to be Jesus' disciple when all that they can do is lie there and receive the prayers and ministrations of others? By doing precisely that.
We are Jesus' disciples not because of what we accomplish but because of who we are and whose we are. We glorify God and bear much fruit because we stay connected with the one whose love enables our discipleship. Our principal task, therefore, as children of God and as followers of Jesus is to abide in Christ just as Christ abides in us. In 2020, as COVID-19 changes every aspect of our lives, how we abide in him may look different, but remaining connected with Christ and, through Christ, with one another is as important as ever.
St. Paul's has been streaming Sunday-morning and Wednesday-night services online for years, and the importance of that ministry is being felt more widely than ever. This week, we have begun using Facebook Live to stream Morning and Evening Prayer as well as the Rector's Bible Study. We are regularly posting updates and meditations on social media. If you have access to the internet and social media, I encourage you participate in those services and contribute the discussion by commenting on our posts.
Many among us, however, are not experienced or comfortable with online engagements, and even those of us who use social media on a daily basis yearn for a more intimate connection than a livestream or a shared post. How will we stay connected with each other despite the need for social distancing or even quarantine? Call your neighbors and check on them, especially your elderly neighbors. Reach out to the people in your book club, your bridge group, and your section of the choir—those whose interactions you took for granted a week ago but whose company you now miss. You are probably already texting or calling your close friends, but there are people among us for whom groups like the prayer shawl guild or practicing presence are the backbone of their socialization. Take a moment to call someone you have not seen in a while, and ask that person how they are doing and how you might pray for them.
Actually, for many among us, this reality is not new. We have always had individuals in our community who, because of age or physical infirmity, are unable to take part physically in the life of our congregation. Do we not believe that, despite their limitations, they are still members of the Body of Christ? If so, how are we remaining connected with them?
Jesus said, "Abide in me, as I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me." If we are to stay connected with Jesus Christ, we must also stay connected with those who are distanced from us. To dwell in Christ and Christ in us means being connected with the rest of the branches on the vine, too. Christianity cannot be a solitary pursuit—even for the hermit monk or for the medically isolated. In times of health and prosperity, we forget that connectedness requires intention and effort. In times of stress and uncertainty, we discover that God gives us the ability to abide in Christ and one another despite the challenges we face. How will we, in the face of COVID-19, persist as the Body of Christ?
Yours Faithfully,
Evan