Jeans, Jesus and the First Amendment 5/24/20
I don’t wear jeans to work, as mine is a suit and tie kind of gig. My home-bound comfort wear, even in winter, is shorts. That’s why I have only a single pair of jeans. (Friendly commercial: the jeans I own are from Origin Maine, 100% American made;
they are the most comfortable, perfectly fitted pair of jeans I have ever owned. The company does more than jeans, so check them out; you will thank me.)
It felt right on a Sunday to dress in my normal church-garb and drive the 3 miles to the campus. The new-normal changes were obvious all around. Greeters no longer reach to shake hands; instead, they hold the doors open for you with a smile and offer a “Good Morning”. The deacons and volunteers have their cleaning paraphernalia ready outside the sanctuary back doors for the state-encouraged disinfecting of the room between services. The rows of chairs are now further apart and everyone’s encouraged to leave 2-3 empty chairs on the same row between family units. The service was purposefully shorter overall, with one less song, easily 10 less minutes of sermon time and minimal announcements.
Why?
To accommodate an easy flow of first service congregants out of the building to leave cleaning time between services and then allow second service congregants ease of entry.
And it all worked.
We, the church, successfully managed and mitigated. The service was simple, shorter than normal and authentically beautiful. Free people worshipped together, respected wise health protocols and stayed mindful of our neighbors. Some had masks, some did not. I observed a single elbow bump between two friends; other
than that, no one touched someone unrelated to them. In other words, we managed to risk-mitigate and still have our worship service. We were strengthened spiritually together during what has been a hard season. We were free to do what Americans have done for 240 years: worship without government interference.
The experience we had this morning in my small East Texas city was so dramatically different from that of congregants in other places, most notably Chicago. The Windy City’s mayor reportedly sent police to a church to stop the worship service already in progress. That particular church regularly locks their doors once the service begins to prevent gang violence from intruding. The police beat on the doors while the service continued. That is simply incredible, hard to fathom. There are other reports of “faith” leaders in Chicago saying “No” to re-opening their churches until science and the local government say that it’s permissible. That’s even more incredible to me.
The troubling dilemma in this is two-fold. First, as we continue to hear from said science leaders, they’re continuously explaining there will be no quick fix, immediately available vaccine. The virus is real and it won’t just go away; we will have to live-with-it being here, as we do with so many other illnesses. Do the never-leave-your-housers then expect everyone to stay quarantined unendingly? Does the mayor of Chicago believe she’s able to fully direct and dictate the lives of the residents of the city as she whims?
That then leads into the second aspect: for the souls, like me, willing to take wise steps, risk-mitigate and move back into living our lives, who has the right to tell free people they cannot do something? The US Constitution hasn’t been revoked. And here’s an odd twist exemplifying the absurdity of this whole situation: the mayor of Chicago, as our example, would let the entire Cornerstone Baptist Church shop for groceries today, even simultaneously, in a single store, but she doesn’t want them to pray, nourish their souls, fight fear and move back into living, truly living, together by worshipping with smart protocols.
Americans, this kind of governance is dangerous!
American made.
These Origin jeans are so comfortable, but I already said that. And get this-they even have triple stitched seams and deeper pockets all around. The keys and wallet sit better on the body the way the pockets are stitched. Seriously, you have to get yourself a pair. Here’s something else that is American made: The First Amendment.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, OR PROHIBITING THE FREE EXERCISE THEREOF; or abridging the freedom speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” (emphasis added by capitalization)
As I’m helping my youngest better grasp grammar and punctuation, I’ll remind all English speakers: the order, the commas and the semi-colons all matter.
The government shall not prohibit the free exercise of religion.
Ever.
As many on the far left demand free speech everything, mostly for themselves, they need to be keenly aware that preceding free speech is the free, unfettered exercise of religion. This was intentional by the framers. Like it or not, agree with it or not, wish it to be different or not, that is who we are as Americans. We have Freedom of worship, freedom of speech, freedom of peaceable assembly, with all the risks included and understood.
Lest anyone think I’m some talk-radio junkie, I’ll be quick to say there is, in fact, a lot to consider in this season. Public health is one thing to navigate, but so is spiritual well being. Again, I’m no politic-spewing nutjob. Instead, those who know me, know I worship regularly and faithfully. Yes, FAITH-fully, believing, in faith, that the God of all creation knows what is happening, and is specially edifying His people when they choose to worship together, being physically present.
There is something distinctly American about the freedom to worship, to gather, even socially distanced, and there is definitely something righteously American about wearing whatever jeans we want. My encouragement: be clear and wise on what you desire the government to “allow” you to do. Benjamin Franklin said “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
It’s time to hang the jeans back up until next Sunday and change into my shorts.
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