When the lights go off, purpose shines

COVID has kept us all home.  No more ball games or concerts.  No more corporate worship or coffee shops.  No host stand or street vendors.  

And yet people are still playing and praying, making lattes and making hot dogs.  It’s beautiful.  

Shortly into the orders to stay in place, many churches shifted toward online-only services.  While some had experience with an online service each week, the orders required that everyone stay home.  Susan did her best to lead worship, even if awkward, as was clear.  In one service I watched Susan direct the song as she does every week, this time to an empty gym.  The discomfort of knowing that 10s to 100s to 1000s were online but that the only other person in the room was the camera guy showed clearly on her face.  Then it became clear: she was a performer and there was no audience.  

That evening, we found an online concert by one of the country’s premier musicians.  His flash and sizzle concerts had been cancelled so he pulled out his guitar and played.  Turns out Mitch is an actual musician: he could sing and play with fluency.  His talent had been hidden behind the flash of the arena.  The musician had played performer for a long time, but underneath, his essence was musician that wanted — needed — to play, so he did so.  

One of the nation’s premier chefs owns one of the state’s top restaurants.  When orders were given to stop in-restaurant dining, Jorge shifted gears.  He shifted toward feeding his staff and those in the industry without jobs.  Jorge needed to cook and did so, whether for take-out or for as an act of service.  His essence needed to feed people.

When the lights went off, Susan flustered.  A performer without an audience is incomplete.

When the arena closed, Mitch played.  A musician without an audience is a poet.

When the restaurant closed, Jorge cooked.  A kitchen without table service is a place of hope.

When the lights go off, purpose becomes clear.  

Teachers built to teach have adapted and teach.

Entertainers built to guide switch medium and lighten.

Community built to serve delivers toilet paper and hope.  

When the stage lights go off, purpose shines, providing light into the darkest places.