%1

Sarah wasn’t the first member of her household to laugh at God.

Theology, someone must have said, works backward. When something good happens to us, we experience gratitude—so we look back and imagine the hand of God. After a loved one dies, we gather and reinterpret the events of their lives.

“Receive the Holy Spirit” isn’t an invitation. It’s a command.

The morning of March 13, the sign outside Mechanicsburg Presbyterian Church in south central Penn­sylvania was blank. Inside, on a day the office would typically be closed, the pastors and program staff met to make what seemed like a hard decision at the time. They considered all the options, brainstormed possible responses, and then prayed. By noon on that March Friday, their thinking became words that filled the blank slate: “Worship Online—10 a.m. Be kind. Wash your hands.”

The disciples did not understand what was happening. What chance do we have?