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CONSISTENT EVOLUTION: A RESPONSE TO the PANDEMIC by Alan Philip Sam, Bachelor of Theology Third Year
In a world where the only thing constant
is change, the Church stands at an unprecedented crossroads; shaken to its core, with a multi- generational dilemma of its va- lidity of faith and practice.
Many have tried to formulate an appro- priate response of the Church to the pan- demic, often still overlooking a factor that could be a sigh of relief, a sight of hope, and a passage of faith for those who are battling with this massive and unforeseen modifica- tion to life .
The only ray of hope for the ones bogged down by despair in this vicissitude would be to have some sort of consistency . History stands testament to the tested and proven, consistent nature of the Church . The world has seen genocides, wars, epidemics, and even pandemics; but it would be only fair to see that the Church has continued to exist, evolve, and grow over the span of history . Is it possible that the reason the Church ex- ists, despite such grand historical mutation, that it is not simply because of its consist- ency, but also in its ability to evolve and adapt? It is because its fundamental reason of existence in the mode of ‘missio dei’ and its institution in divine sovereignty in its praxis, is evolving and adapting, and why the Church, and Christianity remain a rel- evant choice of faith .
Church history records the vast evolu- tion of liturgies, Christian music, and evan- gelistic approaches . This shows the extent of consistency with which the Church has adapted in its progressive evolution in all its frameworks . And the only thing that could balance consistent change is consistent evolution . If one parameter were to con- stantly change, the proportional existence of its counterpart would depend heavily on the counterpart’s constant evolution, adap- tation, and simultaneous growth, in which case it could sustain the balance . So, if the Coronavirus has led us into new dimen- sions of constant adaptation and change, it has now become the call for the Church to
remain consistent in its evolution, adapting and evolving at the same rate at which the world has changed as a result of this pan- demic . The inevitable reality then becomes, if we want to communicate generationally, consistantly and adaptively, the Church must recognize and heed its call to evolve . It is imperative then, for the Church to stay true to its missional mandate . The Church must evolve!
Meaning and beauty lies in the irony that this consistently evolving nature of the Church to attain a perfect nature – one that transcends limitations of time and space, to move from a “doing-change”, to being changed . The evolving nature of the Church in all its components reflects a yearning to- wards perfection – aiming for the perfect principles of a perfect God – a perfect state of being . It is the current imperfection of the Church that requires its consistently evolving nature, seeking its perfection in the eschaton . But until that beautiful day, it is the call of the Church to consistently evolve, seeking perfection .
Psalm 46:1 describes God, who is an ever- present help in trouble . It is only this God who is “ever-present”, able to lead his people through “ever-changing” times . The Christian Church is founded on the princi- ples of an unchanging God, and the Church consistently evolves right now, to achieve a union which was lost in the garden with our unchanging God . The statement then to the world remains, that it is not merely a perfect action of evolution that the Church consistently seeks, rather that it consistent- ly evolves to achieve a perfect union with God . It is the immutable I AM who is the author and catalyst in pursuit of reunion to perfection – a call to consistently evolve . And there is only one immutable God, only this One, capable to weather through every constant change . In this season of “ever- changing”, let us rely on the “Ever-Present” .
The Coronavirus is not merely a cri- sis, but also a call . It is amidst this crisis in which the Church is reminded of its mis- sional mandate of consistent evolution . It is the Church’s call to consistently evolve, grow, and seek perfection, refining herself every step of the way . The only way we will conquer change is by changing . n
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