Show No Partiality
What James tells us about making distinctions amid the pandemic
BY JACK KUBINEC
The last time I spoke with my mother on the phone, she sounded tired. Her and my dad are both considered high risk for COVID-19, and they have been stuck at home as coronavirus cases surge in our city. Most of their friendships are through church, but my mother laments what she calls the “two levels” of Christianity created by the pandemic: church has returned to normal for the young and healthy while those at risk are told to stay home. When coronavirus lockdowns lifted across the country, it seems that churches became entirely concerned with how they could return to normal while neglecting to consider whether they should resume normal activity amid the pandemic.
James’ writings on partiality are resonant with this recent church pathology. The early church leader warns Christians against making distinctions through the analogy of a rich and poor man entering a church gathering. If we put the rich man in a place of honor but tell the poor man to sit at our feet, we have “become judges with evil thoughts” [1]. Over the summer, our governor lifted restrictions on social gatherings, and my parents’ church small group began meeting indoors without masks. My parents asked the group to meet outdoors or wear masks but were rebuffed, prompting my parents to leave the small group. I understand the group’s actions: masks and physical distancing are a nuisance and are not required when friends gather in each other’s homes. Yet, in the face of inconvenience, my parents’ small group fell victim to partiality. The utilitarian calculation that “the old people can just stay home!” inherently creates a distinction between those deserving of a fulfilling church experience and those who must watch from the outside, passively taking in an experience that isn’t for them.
Around Easter, a judge in my area overturned a mandate that prohibited in-person worship but allowed liquor stores to remain open, arguing that “if beer is essential, so is Easter.” This witty turn of phrase likely caused culture warriors to fist-pump, but it begs a deeper, and more important, question: what is the essential part of our worship? In the Great Commission, Jesus tells the church that we are “witnesses” of “repentance for the forgiveness of sins” [2]. Chest-thumping music, well-crafted sermons, and catching up with friends in the church lobby are not essential to the Christian walk. The essential part of our worship is creating witnesses of the power of the gospel to heal and restore a broken world.
To be clear, I don’t believe Christians must return to meeting only on Zoom. Churches can return to “normal,” but that normal need not and should not look the same as before. The practice of gathering in sanctuaries for a 40 minute sermon sandwiched between times of singing is conventional, but it is not sacrosanct. Jesus tells us that “where two or three gather” in his name, he is with them [3]. If we value the cultural script of large church gatherings more than the scriptural commandment to avoid making distinctions, then we have made an idol of our church structure. James says that giving up this idol will strengthen us: if we take the uncomfortable step of physical distancing and wearing masks while gathering in small groups, “the testing of [our] faith” will produce “steadfastness” [4]. With the familiarity and ease of a traditional church service stripped away, I suspect we will know God better as we get creative in our worship.
God will one day lift this pandemic from the earth, and when he does, I will be in the front row of Uris G01, singing way too loudly while the gospel band lifts praises on high. But until that day comes, let’s heed James’ warning against partiality. God can hear us through our masks.
SOURCES
James 2:4 ESV
Luke 24:47-48 NIV
Matthew 18:20 NIV
James 1:3 ESV