Holy Week
/by Rev. Eric Folkerth
Our traditional Lenten themes feel deeply resonant with all of life right now. We are about to enter Holy Week, and the story of Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and resurrection. And the primary metaphors of that story —suffering, death, and resurrection— feel like they are all around us today…
Suffering: We still bodily feel the suffering of a year-long pandemic, the separation and sadness it has caused; and also the added burden of February’s Winter Storm.
Death: We grieve more than half a million Americans who have died in the pandemic. Some of those deaths have been to our own family and friends. And, like Jesus’ death, many of them feel senseless.
Resurrection: We are beginning to allow ourselves to feel a new sense of hope and optimism. The rise in vaccinations, and the fall in “case numbers,” the ability to hug our loved ones for the first time in a year, and the resumption of in-person worship…all these things feel like hope and new life.
As I said to you at the start of Lent, I cannot recall a Lenten season where all these themes felt so close to the surface of our lives.
As we (hopefully) move toward more “normalcy” in coming weeks, I continue to tell folks, “Let’s not stumble on the 5 yard line.”
Let’s not “get over our skis,” and allow our desire for optimism to cause a late-pandemic stumble. We’ll gather, yes. But we’ll gather safely, understanding that even those who are vaccinated can still silently spread the virus, unbeknownst to them or others. This is why we’ll continue to insist that we all wear masks at our outdoor worship.
Lent will end a mere 10 days from now.
But this process of grieving our sufferings, our deaths, and embracing new life…that will continue for many months into the future.
It will be our calling as “The Church,” to invite our community together, to move through these stages…
Suffering…death…resurrection…
They are distinct. But they are also a repeating pattern, baked-in to the fabric of the universe. Jesus’ story reminds us that God has taken this journey too, and invites us to have the courage to join him.
So, how about it? Are you ready to gather again?
Are you ready to grieve *and* hope?
Process our losses *and* plan for the future?
Give back to God things that are “dying,” that we cannot control; while also praising and giving thanks for new things that are “rising” anew?
That’s our calling, friends.
Join us, as the next step in our journey as God’s people begins.
Eric Folkerth