PONDER MY THOUGHTS BY Andrew Keili ONWARD CHRISTIAN EBOLA SOLDIERS Draw near with faith. Receive the body of our Lord Jesus Christ which he gave for you and his blood which he shed for you. Eat and drink in remembrance that he died for you, and feed on him in your hearts by faith with thanksgiving. These words of invitation to participate in the Holy Eucharist are said by Anglican priests after they have taken bread and wine and given thanks over them according to our Lords command. Passing the wafer and wine round in a chalice has been the norm in the Anglican Church, which prides itself in passing the chalice round for all to drink from. Ebola has put what many non purists consider an “unhygienic practice” in the backburner, much to the chagrin of traditional Anglicans who pride themselves in following this age old ritual. For non Christians here is Lesson 101 for the Christian communion: Catholic priests give you the wafer and drink all the wine. Methodist priests give you the wafer and ration the wine to you in small cups that they hand out-one to a cup. Anglicans share the wine in the cup. Forbid it that I should make light of the Lord’s supper but I can’t help but repeat remarks made in some quarters about these practices. “Father gi me only dry bread and drink all the wine” is a normal chant of the Catholic detractors. Many an Anglican is enlivened after Holy Communion and some have been known to miss verses or sing out of tune altogether after Holy Communion! Saying the peace and shaking hands is much the norm in nearly all Churches-“The peace of the Lord be always with you, says the priest. “And also with you“, we reply, and at the Priest’s urging to give each other the sign of the peace we start shaking hands with each other, sometimes hugging those we particularly miss and break out into all kinds of refrains-“Hold somebody, tell him that you love him (I love you!) put your hands together and praise the Lord. Many new acquaintances have been made especially by the young ones at the “peace”. It seems like all of these cherished practices would now have to be modified with the advent of Ebola. So many changes have taken place recently. Priests now deliver communion elements into communicants’ cupped palms, instead of placing the wafers on the tongue. The Anglican Churches have also approved the practice of “intinction”, or dipping the communion wafer into the cup of wine before placing it in the mouth. Communion servers thoroughly wash their hands, very often with sanitizers. Chlorine buckets with taps for washing hands have now replaced holy water fonts. Some Church workers responsible for counting offerings now wear protective gloves. A bow toward one another or cross of the hands over the heart is now used as a sign of the peace. Rituals involving the laying of hands like baptism and blessing of the children have now been modified. The children are now blessed in their seats by a priest standing afar at the altar. Deliverance sessions are now undertaken with due care without the need to touch the body. The warm embrace of the Church has now been replaced by the cold “watch your neighbour” suspicious look. Indeed our cherished practices are under threat. Ebola is indeed testing our faith or is it? This is reality however as Ebola is real. The purist is assured that these practices do not in any way lessen the sanctity of the worship. The Archbishop of Lagos, Alfred Adewale Matins summed this up best when he referred to the new method of administering Holy Communion: Let us state clearly that the reception of communion-in-the hand neither affects the validity, sanctity, dignity and divinity of the Eucharist nor vitiates the full effects of this Sacrament on its recipients. The risk of spread of the disease in a Church or Mosque is enormous if we do not act appropriately. The Council of Churches in Sierra Leone, Body of Christ and other religious groups have quite rightly taken upon themselves to sensitize their congregations and adapt cherished practices to innovative practical ones. Whilst many have taken proactive measures to be compliant, some have yet to take any stringent measures against this disease. This is particularly dangerous for those Churches known for hosting very sick people owing to the healing that is believed to come from there. Some priests are still using their bare hands to deliver bread and wine in the mouth. Some Churches are said to be still encouraging congregants to shake hands and say “Ebola is not my portion”. Others are said to still practise deliverance with no safeguards about touching. A prominent Christian lady lamented the fact that Government seems to treat Churches lightly on the issue of congregating in large numbers. As she said “By all means Church services should continue but due care must be exercised. In my view a Church congregation is no different from people congregating in large numbers in meetings, parties etc. And I see no reason why strict standards should not be imposed as relate to numbers congregating at any one time, night time congregation, and possible contacts depending on the “vehemence” of the mode of worship etc. Churches are part of society and must also be subject to the law.” Recently during the lockdown, some Churches and Mosques flouted the ban and openly held services. Kudos to the police for arresting some of the leaders. Yes there are “divine healers” and healing has always been part of the Church. Scripture tells of people who were healed or delivered from danger because of their faith, like Gideon ( Judges 7:15-23 ); Naaman the Syrian ( 2 Kings 5:14-15 ); the centurion’s servant ( Matthew 8:13 ); the woman with an issue of blood ( Matthew 9:20-22 ); the man with a withered hand ( Matthew 12:9-13 ). There is also an impressive list of local preachers who practise healing. It is however, very upsetting for some preachers who are “divine healers” to tell Christians that they should not go to the doctor because that is “lack of faith”. They are reminded that even Jesus himself declared that the medical doctors existed for the sick. (Mat. 9:12; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:13). The Apostle Paul himself had a medical doctor in his missionary staff (Col. 4:14). He himself gave Timothy a prescription (probably under the recommendation of Dr. Luke) because of his frequent sicknesses (1 Tim. 5:23). Yet some oppose the idea of taking medications for sickness because according to them that is lack of faith. These are extraordinary times and this disease will wreak havoc for many unless we are very careful. There should be no sacred cows. As one prominent Pastor put it: “If we had any method or practice that we come to recognise either as ungodly or unhealthy we definitely will change from it, Ebola or no Ebola. It does not mean that we do not have faith in God, but the scriptures admonish us clearly not to tempt God. In other words, God will not do for us what He has given us the ability to do for ourselves. If He has given us the good sense, there are steps that we can take to protect ourselves and if we fail to do that, it will almost be like putting Him to the test.” We need to be practical about this disease and handle things with an abundance of caution. This will not diminish our faith. Let us take precautionary tips from a manual produced by the United Methodist Church. • During worship, instead of shaking hands, hugging or passing the peace, nod heads, bow toward one another or cross your hands over your heart as a sign of peace. • Make sure Communion servers thoroughly wash hands. Before worship, break bread into small pieces. During worship, dip pieces in grape juice and place them in partakers’ hands. If feasible, use disposable cups for Communion and NEVER reuse them. • For baptisms, use clean, fresh water and sprinkle the water over the head of the person being baptized. Dispose of the water immediately. • During rituals that traditionally involve laying on of hands, offer a blessing and the sign of the cross without touching. • After worship, clean hymnals, Bibles, pews and other surfaces with disinfectant to avoid spreading germs. • Learn about Ebola containment measures, including burial of the dead. Promptly and safely, bury people who have died. Make parishioners aware of the risks of contagion from practices such as traditional washing of the dead. • Hold burial or cremation soon after death at a site near the place of death with limits placed on the size of any gathering. • After each use, disinfect any vehicles used to transport bodies to burial or cremation sites. Let us stay safe and still maintain our faith in God. This disease will surely come to pass-and soon! In the words of the psalmist as espoused in the first three verses of Psalm 46: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear , though the earth be removed , and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled , though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” The last three verses remind us that God will go to great lengths to put a stop to our afflictions: “He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder ; he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Christian soldiers, Ponder my thoughts.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 21:04:06 +0000
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