While walking with Carrie on an afternoon against a busy street, a woman driving a large SUV swiftly pulled along the curb beside us. Her window was down, phone in her hand, and fear on her face. She said, “Have you seen a little boy riding a blue bike?” Feeling her fear, “no”, we replied, “we have not seen him.” Immediately she drove off and immediately we prayed hoping she would find him. Imagine the terror. Now imagine how she would have felt if she found him shortly after seeing us. Imagine the impact it would have on her thoughts, her emotions, her expectations, her driving, and the ripple effect on the lives of others aware that he was missing. Finding him would drastically alter her paradigm for the good. Finding him would be the revising event shifting how she views the world and lives in it. It would radically transform the way she navigated the world. Everything would change! That’s the power of paradigms and why they matter. Paradigms are the impetus for change.

Today, we need a theologically rich paradigm for Sunday morning gatherings- a paradigm triggered by the event of Jesus’ resurrection which took place on the first day of the week, a Sunday. Jesus punched a hole through death and came out on the other side of Sabbath. In the creation account, Sabbath, the 7th day, was a day of rest without morning or evening (Gen. 2:2). Unlike any other day, it was a day, like a signpost pointing into the future, that would never end. Jesus rose into the state of eternal rest- the predicament Sabbath anticipated- the new creation.

Sundays are to be a kindling of the hope of LIFE after life. Within this framework Sunday mornings are times for our Family of Communities (network) to gather collectively. A family that has not waited until Sunday to gather, but has gathered throughout the week. Sunday, as the first day of the week, is the launching pad of many gatherings soon to take place Monday thru Saturday. Or when looking from Saturday toward Sunday’s gathering the day can be considered the culmination-the telos- of a week of being the church (online or in person).

Sundays are not, as once traditionally understood, the day we “do church.” That’s an outdated, powerfully limiting, and paralyzing framework. That vehicle is broken, so we’ll park it on the side of the road and head into the future on foot. Church is not something done. Church is something to be, like being human. Being human is not something to be done. As some have said, “We are not human-doings.” We are human-beings. Even so, Church is a state of being. This state of being is how we recover our humanity. What I mean is, the church is the renewed humanity. Church is, in Christ, the renewal of God’s intent for Adam, to image God and be like HIM. Out of that imaging comes an expression looking like a meshing with Messiah’s death and life through baptism waters, moving towards one another, meals together, musing in scripture, mentioning in prayer, meeting of needs, manifestations of the Spirit, modeling leadership, and making disciples who make disciples (Acts 2:37-47). Sunday gatherings are the summons of our scattered parts from all over the city. So whenever, if ever, things go back to “normal.” Let Sunday gatherings remind us we are a part of something bigger and more far reaching than the communities meeting in our houses or online. We are a Community of Communities, a Church of Churches.

More on this next week. Please share this blog with others.