I’ve been spending quite a bit of time ruminating on church. When one ruminates they aren’t attempting to come up with solutions or direction; to ruminate is to literally chew the cud.

As a pre-teen I often went with my dad to a friend’s dairy farm. I was always captivated by the milking process, being inundated by the unique sights and sounds occurring in the barn, and the fascinating smell – a mixture of manure, raw milk, cow and dirt.

I was especially fascinated watching the cows slowly and methodically chew their cud. The farmer loved to revel me with his explanation of what was happening. What made an impression on me was his explanation that when a cow is chewing it means she is comfortable, relaxed and eating a good diet with sufficient fiber. She’s not bored; in fact, without this chewing the cow’s milk production will diminish, her ability to poop out the residue is hindered, she will become sickly and, amazingly from a pre-teens perception, make her unhappy (depressed, actually). I never knew cows could be unhappy!

Now here’s the most interesting part: cows need to be comfortable and relaxed to chew their cud. They usually lie down to do it and they’ll lie around for long periods just chew their cud. Farmers pay close attention to whether or not their cows are chewing their cud, become concerned when they don’t and do things to encourage it.

Back to my ruminating on the ekklesia.

I’ve been mulling over experience, information, perceived concepts, the “bigger picture,” and, interestingly what the Word presents regarding it. I’ve realized that much of my church cud chewing over the years has been done at full gallop and not in a relaxed state. Besides giving me spiritual constipation and religious flu, it has made me unhappy.

The last four months have been among the most difficult I’ve experienced in my decades on this earth; then came COVID-19. With the confused state of affairs rooted in some truth, much fabrication and media-driven fear-mongering, my cud chewing has become more animated. I observed centuries old ways of church-acting without thinking being suddenly disrupted. Fear, anxiety and distrust have replaced declarations of love, compassion and Jesus-like behavior. The realization that while much of what is done with “church” is innocuous, it actually has little connection with the story presented in the Word.

My question is no longer why. To use an expression my dad likes to employ – I no longer want any more cheese, I just want out of the trap.

Today is Easter. It is a big deal and forms the basis of a follower’s fidelity to Yeshua Hamashiach (“Jesus-the-one-called-messiah”). It centers on resurrection, not death; the resurrection is that of the original plan that was never discarded or modified. Yes, it involves what Jesus did, but his experience wasn’t intended to be the focus, it was the vehicle to implement the process. From the genesis of Adam and Eve we have been the heirs of their original legacy – becoming the true sons and daughters of the Ancient of Days in this epoch and in the radically new one that is poised to come.

The body of people who are the “called out ones” has the privilege of reveling in each other’s company, sharing the victories, the defeats, the mundane. Jesus said only two things are to demand our complete attention: captivating loyalty to Elohim Hashamayim (“the-God-who-rides-the-clouds”) and overwhelming attention to the welfare of our neighbor. Interestingly, the Hebrew concept of “neighbor” isn’t what the popular perception is. According to Jesus, there is no authoritative prescription greater than these two items.

Change is often perceived as bad and almost always generates a new reality that is actually better than the old, though it may take some time to be able to migrate to that position. My cud-chewing suggests that it is the hour to fully relax, ruminate on our destiny and discover happiness and fulfillment in a manner we’ve never experienced.

Happy is the body of Jesus-people that chews the cud by intentionally and repeatedly reflecting on their status of becoming Easter-people.