"HOLY WEEK AND CORONAVIRUS"

“HOLY WEEK AND CORONAVIRUS”

            Holy Week began yesterday, and I am glad that I am retired and not in charge of worship services anymore.  Here’s a shout-out to all the pastors and other religious leaders having to help communities of faith negotiate this difficult territory of communal worship when the community cannot be present together physically.  It is a fundamental lessening of the meaning of incarnation, and yet it is necessary in these days of Covid-19.

            Holy Week begins with Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem in the last week of his life on earth.  This week will take us through his rejection, his arrest and the scattering of his followers in dismay and despair.  It will also pass through the excruciating execution of Jesus as a dangerous revolutionary by the Roman Empire.  Then, at the start of the next week comes the stunning Resurrection.  If you are a Christian, or if you were raised in the church and have left, the story of these events is familiar.  They are the high holy days for the church.

            Ordinarily, most of us in American culture would pause a moment or two to note this religious week.  In the machinations of our routine worship of materialism and all its benefits, we would usually slow down a moment to acknowledge this week.  We might wish that the religious leaders had accepted the radical vision that Jesus was bringing.  We might sigh and wonder why the women and men who followed Jesus didn’t get it better.  A few of us would take it deadly seriously – the vision that fired Jesus and called him out to find others was a matter of life and death.  At the end of the week, we might revel in the promise of life after death in the Resurrection.

            The context for Holy Week this year, however, is a radical break from our usual tradition.  The coming of Covid-19 has dramatically changed our view of life, of ourselves, and of others.  Those of us who are comfortably middle class and above now have the opportunity to grasp the instability in which the followers of Jesus lived.  We might even catch a glimpse of the vision that Jesus brought to his followers, a vision that we have previously missed because we were blinded by materialism and the neoliberalism that dominate our lives.  Prior to Covid-19, those of us who are comfortable often used our faith as an add-on to our lives.  It was a nice vision to contemplate – especially that part about life after death – but generally we knew that our lives were centered on income, retirement funds, military might and general imperial power.  Many of us still believe that, but in all the madness and suffering of Covid-19, there is a slight opening in the window of our souls for us to consider a new vision, based not on materialism and its benefits, but rather on God’s love, justice and equity.

Though some of his followers were wealthy, the vast majority were not.  They lived their lives under the control of the Roman Empire, of demonic powers, and of a day-to-day existence for survival.  Jesus promised them – and demonstrated to them – a different way of life.  Oh, Rome would still have absolute power over their bodies.  But, Jesus showed them that Rome did not own their souls.  Some of them were hungry enough and visionary enough to begin to receive and believe that vision.  That’s what led them to change their view and change their lives.  It brought many of them to Jerusalem to begin that Holy Week.

Holy Week is not just an occasion to remember our captivity and the cost of that captivity.  It is rather a Holy Drama - offering us a glimpse of the truth of our lives, of the cost of that truth, and of the possible redemption of our lives.  I don’t know if Covid-19 is akin to the Crucifixion in that it will call into question all that we hold dear.  Right now it feels like it, with April looking like a terrible month.  We’re not in control; we don’t know if we are next; we don’t know if we have a future.  All of these terrible emotions and experiences are at the heart of Holy Week, and here we are. 

The promise of the drama of Holy Week is that it is holy.  In this week, and in this time of Covid-19, we are all asked to touch those deep fears and hopes and dreams at our heart of hearts.  God is in our midst, even in terrible times like these. Like those first followers of Jesus on Palm Sunday, we had a vision, and during Holy Week it is shattered.  None of the first followers of Jesus fared very well at the Crucifixion – all the men scattered, and only a few women remained loyal.  And yet, the power of that vision of justice and compassion and equity came through.  We don’t know what the future will be with Covid-19 – Holy Week gives us the opportunity to consider our lives and our souls, no matter what the virus does.  To whom do we belong?  What gives us life?  Let us join those first disciples in considering these fundamental issues in this Holy Week.