For centuries, gathering weekly was an automatic assumption
among Christians. Whether the earliest
years of the Church in homes and storefronts before dawn, hiding from
persecution, or later in Roman public halls, or the Gothic church buildings of
the middle ages, Christians would gather—at times even daily.
Even when the plague killed millions, or in bombed out
buildings in the midst of wars, the church still gathered. Later, once we discovered many diseases
resulted from bacteria, viruses, fungus, or parasites, rather than any of a
variety of superstitions, they took a couple Sundays off, but rarely, because
of the overwhelming pattern of weekly gathering that dates back to the Old
Testament, and carried on in Christian practice. I recall that I was in college before I
realized some churches cancelled for snow, because in my hometown in the Thumb,
this had never crossed anyone’s mind, and whoever was capable of travelling
would attend.
What would cause such determination to gather, even in great
danger? Of course, we have some direct
commands in Scripture, like the instruction in Hebrews not to “neglect meeting
together, as is the habit of some.”
There’s the Third Commandment (some readers might number it as the 4th),
which says to “Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy.” Beyond these,
though, what explains the answer to this question, which also explains why you
see differences between how congregations and denominations approach this, is
another question, “why do we gather?”
If Christians gather to offer something up to God, such as
their prayers and praises, then it makes perfect sense if they’re reluctant to
gather when a certain degree of risk comes into play, because that can be done
just as well alone with one’s family. If
Christians gather to earn something in a sort of transaction with God, then
likewise, they might conclude He would certainly understand if they did it a
little differently for a while. If
Christians gather to learn facts about Scripture and be inspired and motivated
toward better living, then those purposes can certainly be achieved
electronically.
However, if the Church gathers around something physical, where that Word not
only educates but causes the very things it says, and where the main thing is
that the Holy Spirit descends in the midst of Baptismal water, and the Lord
Himself comes down, bringing Heaven itself with Him, as the body and blood of
Christ become present to forgive sins and grant eternal salvation, then the
question ceases to be whether to gather, but how, so that we can avoid causing
earthly harm, but still be present to receive these gifts beyond value in the
Lord’s Word and Sacraments.
