Sunday 15th November 2020 2nd Sunday before advent

In the middle of this second national lockdown, I wanted to reflect a little on what we might learn from it and where God is. I’m drawing upon the wisdom from Sam Wells, vicar of St Martin in the Fields and the painting by the Polish Jesuit philosopher and artist Vyacheslav Okun. You can see it on the front of the service sheet.

It’s a very striking painting – it’s called Good Friday 2020, and it was painted during the first lockdown. It is possible to perceive a Trinitarian framework. The centre of the painting is Jesus, depicted as a person suffering from the virus, either clinging to life or recently deceased. We might consider the Holy Spirit as found in the medical professionals, those who respond with dedication and purpose and who show the true face of care and support. Perhaps more complex is the Father – where is he? Perhaps in the waiting room, coping with the unbearable not-knowing and not-being-allowed to see the son face to face.

These three Trinitarian portrayals more or less cover each one of us in the midst of the virus. Those suffering; including those from this community who have suffered and died from this virus. Next, are those who are active, trying to save, rescue, sustain or rethink our reality. And there are those who have to wait, feeling powerless, not knowing what to hope for, overwhelmed by the whole thing. Our faith gives us hope that God is to be found in each context; in each person. Only together can we understand our full reality, and get a true picture of God.

We can also appreciate that the most vulnerable in society – in terms of income, housing, age, race, disability, mental health and job security – are to be found across these three identities. There are ‘Jesus’ people – those who have taken the greatest hit medically and/or economically. There are ‘Spirit’ people – those like key workers, at the forefront of the response to the virus, in low-paid jobs such as care, delivery or retail. And there are ‘Father’ people – those who are often isolated, prevented from playing a visible role and offering a material contribution to the national effort; perhaps feeling themselves rendered even more powerless than before.

Thus, the first thing to note is the affirmation that God is with us in all conditions of life. The challenges and deprivations of this lockdown are at God’s heart, not just through our intercession but through God’s incarnate presence. God is with us, not just when we gather for this service or during our prayer times on zoom. God isn’t to be locked up in church – he is with us at work, at school; he holds our hand when we visit the doctor and pops the champagne cork when we discover a vaccine. God is with us all during this challenging time.

The second step, also highlighted in Okun’s painting, is the body of Christ. When we think of this term, ‘the body of Christ, it’s often cited as an image of the church. And that’s helpfully the case in this pandemic and also as an image of society as a whole. We do not simply act as isolated individuals. We have accepted a limit to our personal freedom – accepting restrictions to our movement and our meeting others, wearing these dreadful facemasks, and so on, because we are all in this together.

And what’s clear is that we can’t come out of this crisis partially: we will come out all together or not at all. The lockdown disciplines, frustrating though they feel, are about solidarity, trust and the common good.

The third thing to note arising from Okun’s painting, is to recall that the church has been involved in health and education from the earliest times. It goes back to the very early church, with such practices arising from the transformation brought by the Holy Spirit. What was the early church about? Our Gospel reading today stops just short of the most inspiring words.

Matthew 25:31-46 teaches the church to find Christ by being with the hungry, thirsty, naked, stranger, sick and prisoner.

The huge majority of the outreach initiatives being taken across the country have been faith-based. Our lunch club continues to drop off food to those in our community most isolated. Our pastoral team phone around once a week, checking on those who are ill.

And in our Exploring Faith course last week, we heard from a lovely Sikh guru who described how his community were offering meals – he described how it was simply part of their faith.

In conclusion, let us take courage and hope this week, knowing that God understood as the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is with us, however we are experiencing this pandemic. He is intimately engaged and involved in every dimension of the crisis.

For us as the church community, it is a moment to rediscover an incarnate witness: the church fulfils its calling to be a blessing to all people of this land not by seeking to withdraw people into the ark of the church so as to save their souls. But, rather, by joining in practical efforts to overcome isolation and hardship, because in doing so, we, the church, can expect to see the face of Christ in the stranger.

I shall finish with today’s rather apt collect.

Heavenly Lord, you long for the world’s salvation: stir us from apathy, restrain us from excess and revive in us new hope that all creation will one day be healed in Jesus Christ our Lord.

 Reference: The Rev Dr Sam Wells