Over the Fence

I walked down the street in the brilliant sunshine with an aluminum pan. Unfortunately, no one was watching because most people have been asked to stay inside, but if they would have questioned me, I would have told them I was a delivery guy.

My delivery was a pasta bake which Christine, my wife, had whipped up in the morning. In fact, she had fashioned four or five meals for delivery because cooking is one of the things that she loves to do. Amazingly, when people tap into their God-given gifts, joy seems to bubble up from beneath the bedrock of routine life. A fissure of hope allows this joy to reach the surface, and I could see it in Christine's face that she was expectantly excited about having this food end up in the hands of people who can really use it.

So, I walked up the street, sun glinting, a blinding reflection off the tinfoil. I approached the house of the elderly couple whose wedding I had officiated two years before. When I reached the gate to their backyard, I could see through the small portal where Jurgen and Marienne were sitting on their verandah reading the Bible and having devotions.

I called out to them, but they couldn't tell who it was, even with my accent. This was because the gate reached to the very top of my nose and all that they could really see, even with a small portal, was the top of my shiny head. As Jurgen approached, it was very much like the show 'Home Improvement' where I had become Wilson.

Once Jurgen and Marienne figured out who I was and why I was carrying an aluminum pan, they chatted amiably up and over the fence. Marienne wanted to show me her devotions, 'The word the Lord had shown her that day,' which was from Psalm 121.

I lift my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? It comes from the Lord.

The entire psalm speaks of God's protection in the midst of troubled times. For many, the Psalm reads and sits perfectly in the midst of a turbulent and tumultuous time in earth's history, when many are seeking both help and protection. Where does this help come from?

Not a location, but a Lord.

Jurgen smiled as his wife spoke excitedly about the scripture, but I'm sure his memory was sent back to our last discussion. It went something like this:

Jurgen: I went to church last Sunday.
Me: Which church?
Jurgen: Our church.
Me: But... but... it was closed.
Jurgen: No kidding. But I went anyway because that's what I do. That's what I've always done. I go to church on Sundays. And now that there are no worship services in the... (Jurgen's eyes began to fill with tears)... you can see I'm pretty emotional about it.
Me: I'm very sorry, Jurgen.
Jurgen: It doesn't matter. I'm okay with emotion. Anyway, I went to the front doors of the church and I got down on my knees and prayed. And I cried.
Me: (My mind was recreating the scene of this 80 year old man on his knees at the front entrance of the church weeping, praying to God to 'Let us back in, please.') It has been hard, hasn't it.
Jurgen: But it has taught me one big thing.
Me: What's that?
Jurgen: God is with me out here. (He pointed to the ground on which he stood.)

It would be a simple thing to think that the church building doesn't matter; and intuitively, we know that our help does not come from the hills, the high places or the temple itself, but for Jurgen, the actual place we gather was important because it symbolises the place where God comes to us. Even though we know that God is with us (point to the ground) out here, that gathering place is a refuge in the storm. And, as much as I'd like to think I'm good in front of a camera for live streamed worship - I'm not. I think all of us are better in person no matter the place.

I also think that when this whole thing is over and we begin streaming back to the building rather than live streaming into our homes, we'll never take for granted the opportunity to worship together. Or at least I hope we don't.

As I waved to Marienne and Jurgen over the fence that had to separate us, I realised that even in the midst of this struggle, our protection and help comes from God, but we are part of the assistance wherever we are. Enjoy serving others!