Jesus is present everywhere, but.... - Rector's Rambling for May 3, 2020

Our Eastertide this year is beginning to feel a bit like an off-kilter Advent.

If you remember, Advent is the season of waiting and Anticipation, for both the coming of the Christmas celebration as well as Jesus’ return again in glorious majesty to judge the quick and the dead.

But this Eastertide, the 40 days after Easter, we are in this awkward time of waiting once again.  This time we are waiting for the return to the public worship of the church as the state and country begins to reopen, in phases, after our Stay Home Order from the governor and the bishops in the state of Michigan.

As I write this, the timeline of the phasing out of the Stay Home Order has not been revealed.  It is assumed it will be in small steps.  In fact, the Episcopal Church bishops have already said we are not open for public worship until May 10, no matter what the governor or legislature begins to unveil.

But I hope that a part of the unveiling will include the ability for us to return to live-streaming from our own buildings.  As much as the Holy Communion Service is certainly validly done from the temporary chapel in my house, there is a yearning to return to the place where the prayers of the faithful have been offered up on this corner of Woodward Avenue since 1859, and inside these walls that have been saturated by those prayers (as well as decades of candle wax and incense).

Jesus is certainly present in all places, and His particular presence in the Blessed Sacrament is not confined to The Mass being offered in a specific space.  But this space is one that we share with generations and generations of faithful Christians, and the space itself helps us to lift up our hearts and minds to the greater glory of God.

At first I am guessing that we will be permitted to return to live-streaming in this sacred space, and then slowly allow for parishioners to join in the public worship.  The logistics of that is still to be worked out in cooperation with the diocese.  But know this: your parish priest is anxious to help you to end your externally imposed fast from the reception of the Blessed Sacrament.

Keep praying and being faithful, and I look forward to our being together soon.