Our second reading today come from Paul's Second Letter to the Thessalonians and in it he says, "How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face." These words from Paul strike a different chord nearly two years into this pandemic. This chord resonates more profoundly than ever before. For I, too, long so deeply, so profoundly, to see you face to face. I long for this pandemic to be over. I know we can't short change this process and that when we do gather together in person, face to face, we have to observe all kinds of safety measures in order to keep everyone safe. And yet I long for this to be over. It has felt like there have been so many moments when we have been on the precipice of this being over in the past year, but it keeps slipping out of our fingers. Now we hear the news that there is a new variant of concern that is important enough to get its own name. We need to remember there is a lot of uncertainty around it. It may not pan out to be much. Several variants have gotten names that didn't amount to much, but there is the possibility this one could be worse than Delta. It could be the one that evades vaccines. So we hold our breath. We wonder as the scientists figure this out and look at the possibility this pandemic will be extended again. We cannot short change or short circuit the pandemic, and yet in the middle of it I have this great longing so see you, to worship with you in person side by side in the pews, side by side at the altar rail, singing hymns, praying prayers, handshakes and hugs at the peace. I long to have a cup of coffee or tea with you at coffee hour. I long to have a meal with you at an Evening at St. Mary's. I long to be with you face to face.
Paul is writing these words because he is separated from the people he wants to be with. So he, like we, uses the technology of his day to connect with them. It is possible to make some connection, even though that connection is not as full and complete as we would like. It is still a connection and it is still good as we are in this in between time. Between the last time we saw each other and the next time we meet we have this way of connecting. It still draws us together in love.
That is what Paul is getting at in this reading today. He says it is all about love. He longs for them because he loves them and he knows they love him in return. He knows they love each other. They are a community of love. That is, of course, the heart of the Gospel message. As the Body of Christ in this world, as a community trying to follow Jesus, love is at the core of it all.
In a few weeks we will be celebrating Christmas, and there is that great Christmas hymn, "Love came down at Christmas." The Incarnation, Christmas, the birth of Jesus into this world, is all about love. Jesus in his ministry was all about love. Every time he healed someone, that was an act of love. When he sat down for a meal with somebody, that was an act of love. When he taught people, that was an act of love. At the core of his teaching was love of God and love of neighbor. "On these two hang all the law and the prophets." Before he went to the cross and was talking to the Disciples about what was going to happen and why it needed to happen, he said it was all about love. "For there is no greater love than this, to lay down your life for your friends." Those arms were stretched out on the hard wood of the cross in love for the world. When he came back on the third day that, too, was about love. He was raised in love for us. He gave us the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to bind us together in love. And to send us out into the world in that same love. So it makes sense that Paul, when he gets to the point, is that it is all about love. This longing he has is a longing of love.
My longing for you is a longing of love. The love I have for you, the people of St. Mary's, the love we have for each other, the love we have for God, and the love we have for our neighbor. That love is best embodied by us keeping our distance so we don't become part of spreading the virus, so we gather virtually in videos or Zoom. When we do gather together in person we keep some space, we keep the time short, and we wear masks. We do these things out of love.
My friends in Christ, as we journey through this Advent, and as we journey through the rest of this pandemic, however long it may be, hold on to that love. Know that we will see each other face to face, and that love will be embodied in our gathering together soon enough. And yet in this moment, that love is still with us. We are still together, spiritually connected, even as we remain physically distant.
AMEN
