Thread by @znfrey

"Online church is not church"

Your simple and obvious 🔥 take of the day

Which is why my 4 most hated words of the liturgy are

"physically, or by intention"

1/🧵

charltonteaching.blogspot.com/2021/03/online…

Church ought to be *last* place the virtual and the Real gets confused.

Yet here we are.

Watching the liturgy on YouTube is *not* the same as participating in the liturgy

Any more than watching the NFL is playing football.

2/

This is especially true for reception of the Eucharist.

You think God becomes flesh and blood so you can *watch on video*?!

"Taste and see that the LORD is good"

"For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink."

3/

Thus my hatred of "physically, or by intention"

First, because we shouldn't be tampering with the liturgy to please the health bureaucrats. Or to please any current public panic.

The words of worship should be timeless.

Not "oh, that's so 2020"

4/

Second, fundamentally it is an effort to make the shutdown of public worship seem "new normal".

As if the bishops thought "oh no, we must make sure no one has their feelings hurt by being told to stay home."

So we insert this language about the reception of the Eucharist

5/

Making the eating of the Body and Blood *equivalent* to watching the livestream.

It's practically blasphemous.

6/

Even *if* we must abstain from attending worship because of a deadly pestilence sweeping the land, piling up bodies on every street corner...

We *ought* to feel the loss.

Not "oh, NBD, I'll just watch it online"

7/

Same with fellowship.

A chat room is not the same as meeting your brothers and sisters.

This isn't a religious belief, it's a *human* belief.

8/

"But Zach! What about shut-ins! The sick! Those with horrible dietary restrictions!"

Yes, we've always had situations that make it difficult to receive the Eucharist.

This is not something new that 2020 brought.

But life hack: it's *good* to long to receive the sacraments

9/

"So, you're saying that broadcasting services is wrong?"

Not at all. If you'd asked me about providing video of our worship services in 2019, I'd have answered "what for?"

But I see now that we've done it out of necessity in 2020 that it can be helpful to some.

10/

What I am saying is this:

STOP PRETENDING THEY'RE THE SAME

THE VIRTUAL ISN'T THE REAL

That's all. Can we do that much?

11/

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

cc: @allen_kannapell

Fr. Allen, please don't take this rant personally🙂

12/end

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