The ManicaPost
Pastor Lee Fore Kingdom Matters
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a paradigm shift in the history of the church.
Passover has always been the most celebrated Christian holiday across the globe.
This year’s Easter was different considering that most parts of the world are under lockdown due to the Covid-19 global pandemic.
It is the time to celebrate the salvation of mankind through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christians around the world celebrated Passover by adopting to technology.
It was the toughest Holy Week in the life of the church, since the Passover week is the apex of spiritual resonance in the Christian year. Millions of Christians across the world had to spend it away from their ministers and different places of worship.
The Bible talks about the church as a spiritual family, so being separated from each other is proving to be very painful for many believers.
Just before the Easter holiday, President Mnangagwa gave the nation a special message, reminding us that we have a faithful God who is ever present, even in the midst of crises, including the Covid-19 global pandemic.
He emphasised that the power of God surpasses every challenge and difficulty that the nation might be facing. He encouraged the church not to despair, for the Bible says in Mathew 18:20 (KJV), “For where two or three gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
The gift of technology took centre stage in dissemination the Word across the various religious sects.
While some ministers preached to cameras in empty churches, some did so from the comfort of their homes as their congregations watched the services online during the Passover week. Apostle Peter Makombe, leader of the Evangelical Assemblies Of Christ International, did not despair in the lockdown.
He said he managed to preach all the relevant messages online under the theme ‘Unfolding the mystery of Christ’.
He even managed to share the sermons later to those who had missed the online services for one reason or the other.
Prophet Edwin Masango, founder of Greater Joy International Ministries, also held services online. However, the response was not very favourable due to the expense of obtaining data.
In some of the online services followed during the Easter period, the Christian congregations partook in the Holy Communion as this defines the importance of fellowship in remembrance of the salvation of mankind through the death, resurrection and preaching about His Second Coming.
Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe’s Bishop Chiangwa said when Jesus and His disciples partook of the Last Supper or the Holy Communion, they were not in a church building. The ceremony was held in a house as the church was under persecution. This season, we saw the same thing happening as the world was in a lockdown.
He encouraged the church to be vigilant and pray fervently. He also encouraged the church to follow Government’s health guidelines. He said God gave such officials the wisdom on such matters and therefore the church must submit, staying indoors, practicing social distancing, and good personal hygiene in order to curb the spread of the pandemic.
For the Catholics, the cathedrals were empty during the Passover week. However, there were palm decorations on their gates. On Saturday, Pope Francis live streamed his Passover vigil to the world.
He said darkness and death do not have the last word.
“As the days go by and fears grow, even the boldest hope can dissipate, let us not give it to resignation, we can and must hope,” said the Pope.
The Pontiff was praised for observing Passover in private for the first time in history.
In many ways, the lockdown has been crucial in giving believers some time to reflect and refos on God.
May we find hope and be strengthened during this period. All challenges are not permanent. God will make a way, this situation will come to pass and things will return back to normal.
While the church goes through these trying times, we are not in a spiritual lockdown.
◆ Pastor Lee Fore can be reached on +263 773 469 191 or +263712 314 734.
