A long time ago, last Easter, in fact, we could watch the Easter service streamed live from Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. Indeed, many of our Easter services last spring came to us via our screens.

Places of worship were reacting to the spread of a new sickness, Covid-19. Many closed their physical spaces of worship, as other gathering places did, to prevent contagion.

Back then, this new disturbance seemed more innocent, softened by kindness. Surely, the virus would go away as other viruses had, without causing widespread harm.

But it didn’t. Simple acts to protect oneself and others, like mask wearing, became political statements. Public health took a back seat to a presidential campaign.

And so the virus spread, far more than it should have. And now many Christians are celebrating Advent by Zoom.

Our church has advanced from listening to Sunday services via a link taped earlier by a few, socially distanced individuals to an improved group experience with newer software.

Not the real thing, no, when we held our first Zoom worship, but we could talk and respond in real time. No matter that we still hadn’t worked out all the bugs of congregational response.

It was for some of us a weepy moment.

I can’t imagine what it might be when, God willing, we are again able to meet in person.