Should we Honour the Emperor in the Covid-19 World?

 

The purpose of this post is to speak into the debate around church worship in the current climate. I have utmost admiration for those in formal church leadership, and to a large extent I am very glad I was not the one making operational decisions for the church during the pandemic. It is also worth knowing that I do know people who have sadly lost their lives to the virus and have therefore seen the sadness of my friends who have had to mourn the loss of family members. For those of you reading this then you need to know that I am not here to attack the organised leadership of the church (some of whom are my family) nor do I approach this topic lightly. However, I do want to offer my opinion as a member of the Academy and a critical friend to the Church. Unfortunately, like so many debates in the modern era, this conversation lacks nuance, as people, as we will see, are either ‘all in’ or ‘all out’. Thus, part of my aim is to be fair to both sides but providing a more nuanced answer. I do not believe the answer to this question is a simple one, and I recognise that many people from all positions may well disagree with me.

The church in the liberal West was almost universally ordered to close with the imposition of nationwide lockdowns in order to combat the coronavirus pandemic (perhaps the most dangerous peacetime threat since Spanish flu). As a result of lockdown, the forced closure of churches was met with seemingly universal support in Britain (and much of Europe), but with indignation in the United States. And so, the question is, who is right? Should we honour the Emperor (1 Peter 2:17), in this case our government, or never cease to gather (Hebrews 10:25)? How should the Church walk this line? This is an especially important question in our present situation of slowly coming out of lockdown (at least for us here in Britain). 

First, we need to examine what it means to honour the Emperor. This is a theme we see in multiple places within the New Testament, most notably when Jesus says, “give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s” (Mark 12:17). We, therefore, have a strong basis for suggesting that honouring our nations’ leadership is a good thing, and that disagreement with this should not be taken lightly. In addition, we need to recognise that the decision to scale back meetings was taken in order to protect and save lives. We are commanded to act with love to our ‘peers’ (Matthew 22:37-40, 1 John 3:18, 1 Peter 4:8, etc). Thus, I think it is fair to say that while the virus ran rampant (or at least was rampant enough to warrant national lockdowns) there is good, biblical reasoning for the church to scale back meeting in persons. 

But what about never ceasing to gather? Part of the issue at hand is that ‘gathering’ involves a lot more than just physical presence. Scripture impresses upon us the need to meet with God (Matthew 4:4, Hebrews 4:16) with 1 Timothy 4:13 telling us “until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.” In addition, community has distinct value as demonstrated by Proverbs 27:17 where it says, “as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

Gathering is about ‘entering in’ to the presence of God and to the community, meeting with God and building each other up. Churches have generally responded with a variety of alternative options for congregations, from pre-recorded services to virtual home-groups. It could be argued that these alternatives do enough to reconcile us with Hebrews 10. I, however, disagree. Online church remains a solitary activity. If we believed solitary online worship was just as good as pre-Covid corporate worship, it could be expected that most people would be content with their live-streamed or recorded service. Yet instead, we see many church members clamouring for a return to in-person services. I personally have found them unsatisfying and difficult and have struggled to connect with both God and people via online church. An attempted remedy for this has been home-groups held on the various video-conferencing platforms, such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams. These groups do come closer to what Hebrews 10 is getting at (and personally, it has been the medium through which I have felt closest to God recently). Yet it still seems far from the usual sense of community and is nowhere near as satisfactory for one’s spiritual walk or sense of community. In addition, many church homegroups appear to have suffered from stale conversation, and/or ‘Zoom fatigue,’ which has decreased their effectiveness, for worship, community and connectivity with both God and humanity. We also need to recognise that we have a responsibility to worship because, while Jesus did say “give back to Caesar what is Caesars,” He continued with “give to God what belongs to God” (Mark 12:17). Adequate worship undoubtedly falls in this category. Active worship is not just about my ability to connect with God but also about my willingness to put God first, no matter what the circumstances of my life or the world around me are. 

In addition to all of this, I believe that the government guidelines have been significantly inconsistent. While these guidelines vary across the nation, in most places I could play contact sport, go to the pub, go shopping, and go to school/work/university. Yet I still cannot gather with fellow believers to worship in person. This seems rather ridiculous to me but is perhaps merely a product of the secular society that we find ourselves in today. 

However, American churches seem to have gone to the other extreme, opening their doors and going back to pre-Covid church. I do not think that this is the right approach as I maintain that we have a duty to love our neighbours well. Yet doing nothing is just as problematic. I believe the church should gather in small numbers, even if this means wearing masks, no singing, and over-utilising hand sanitiser. For those who are elderly or have underlying health conditions and are therefore more at risk, there is of course an even greater level of insight that I have missed, but I hope you excuse me for ignoring these circumstances. I do recognise that individuals need to consider and test for themselves and their families the correct course of action for them and that these decisions are by no means simple. But if you, like me, are young and healthy, then I think we need to ask of ourselves some real questions. 

When I was a teen, I asked my parents if I should step back from some of the areas that I served in church so I would have more time for revision, my parents would say to me to “put first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you” (a paraphrase of Matthew 6:33). This has been an attitude instilled in me and (I think) my siblings – perhaps this is why (alongside Gods calling) my sister upped sticks and became a missionary. God holds the position of most importance in my life (as I’m sure He does for many of you who read this). But the question we the Church need to consider is, (especially those of us who are healthy) to what extent is this attitude true for us in these times of heightened danger and stress, especially when so many activities remain legally open to us? Will we continue to honour the Emperor or gather again? 

Finally, please do not read this as a shaming exercise. Worship maybe often be corporate, but it is also deeply personal. I am talking about an issue that is between you and God. I want you to ask yourselves the hard questions, but if you don’t come to the same answer as me, that’s okay too. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you and give His face to shine upon you.