Values to Guide Us

Based on 1 Peter 1:17-23
First delivered Apr. 26, 2020
Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr 

            As we move along the course of this pandemic, conversations are beginning to happen in earnest around how to safely reopen society, to get our economy started up again. Our government leaders are developing plans that suggest how to ease the stay-at-home orders in phases that protects our most vulnerable citizens but also gets businesses running and people back to work. Public schools are closed for the rest of this school year. Now, conversations are happening about how the fall semester may unfold. Earlier this week I listened in on a webinar from Ohio State for parents and families of students intending to enter as freshmen this year. Yes, my youngest will likely be a Buckeye. A lot of the questions people asked were about what might happen in the fall. Will classes be online only? Will the tuition be adjusted? What about housing? The only answer we got was that final decisions haven’t been made. But the conversations to answer those questions are taking place. Reopening society is much harder than closing it down, isn’t it?

            Conversations about how to restart public worship is also happening. Our bishop has called together a group of people who are tasked with working out some guidance on how to go about restarting public worship in ways that are safe. The lead teams of our churches and I are looking forward to that guidance. We are going to figure out together how best to proceed so that we can worship together again in our sanctuaries.

            Some church leaders are calling for this conversation around restarting to be about more than just restarting public worship. They suggest this can be a time to think about this as a relaunch of our church as a whole. What will we start back up and what will we decide not to restart? What will we continue doing that we started during this time of shutdown? These leaders are presenting an invitation to rethink what doing church will be like in a post-Covid 19 world. Rather than a return to normal, a return to how things were before, we are challenged to consider what church will be like going forward, a church that will be different from the way it was before the shutdown.

            Before we can answer questions like what will we restart, not restart, and continue doing, we need to consider a bigger question. That question is: what do we as a church value? What are we about? If we are clear about why we exist, this can help us in deciding what we as a church should keep doing and what perhaps we should let go. Where do we go for guidance to answer the question of what we value as a church?

            This passage from 1 Peter gives us some handles on what we value as a church, and how these values can ground what we do as a church as we move out of the pandemic and into the society we have that has been profoundly changed. Now, as I talk about values we hold as a church, I am mindful that there are people receiving this message who are not members of Westgate or Parkview. They may not even be members of any church. When I talk about values we hold as a church, I am thinking of church in its broadest meaning. I am talking about every person who consider themselves to be followers of Jesus. It doesn’t matter if you belong to the churches I serve as pastor, this message is going to be helpful for you, I hope.

            It is especially good to look at 1 Peter for guidance on what the church values because he is writing to a community of Jesus followers who are living in a society that, for them, has profoundly changed. They were all raised to practice the religion of their ancestors. They performed their obligations to give honor to their gods and goddesses. But now they have left behind the ways of their ancestors. They have rejected the religious practices of their community. They now affirm that there is only one God, whose Son Jesus was their Lord and Savior instead of Caesar. Having made this shift, they found themselves pushed to the margins of society, as you can imagine. They were a persecuted minority. They had become strangers in their own country. They could no longer live like they used to for as long as they stayed faithful to the way of Jesus. And they were all new to this, first generation Jesus followers. The Spirit had moved in their hearts and they said yes to the gospel. Everything had changed. Now what? Peter wrote them this letter of encouragement to share with them what this Jesus movement was all about. There are three values that Peter names in this passage from 1 Peter 1:17-23. Let’s take a look at them.

            It starts in vs. 17, where Peter says if you are calling God “Father”, the One who judges the deeds of people without prejudice, then live in reverent fear. The value here is that God is paying attention to how we live, what we say and do. I know there is some ambivalence about calling God “Father” because of how this has propped up the oppressive system of patriarchy. And not everyone has pleasant associations with the term “father”, and they overlay their experiences with the father they grew up on God, which can be a problem. That said, the point is that we have a relationship with God that is like that of a parent and a child. Yes, God is an impartial judge, but the relationship is one of parent and child, not of a stranger in a black robe rendering a judgment and then moving on to the next case in the docket. The other thing is that reverent fear is not the same as holy terror. Remember that God loves you perfectly. Perfect love drives out all fear. We are not to be afraid of God. Far from it. God is our rock, our shelter in the storm, the one whose love for us will never end. We need not fear losing God’s love or being disowned by God. God as father and God as judge is all in the context of a God who relates to us with love.

            The value that I see Peter lifting up here is that what we do matters. God, our heavenly father, who judges without partiality, is paying attention to what we do and say. God cares what we do. By extension, God cares about us. We matter to God. If we didn’t matter to God, why would God care what we do? So, that is what is really going on here. Peter is making it clear to these tentative and anxious Jesus followers that the one who loves them as a father loves his children doesn’t have favorites. God loves each of us the same. I say it again: God does not pick favorites. Each one of us matters to God. What we do and say, how we live, matters to God.

            What have you been doing in response to this pandemic? I know many of us have had the privilege of staying at home. We didn’t have to go out and put our health at risk. Some of us have had to keep working because our employment is essential. But all of us have adjusted to how we live our daily lives. And all of those acts have made a difference. Still, it may seem at times that the pandemic is so big, impacting us so much, that it is overwhelming. What can we do to make things better? Is there anything we can do to make a difference? Be assured, what we do and what we say does make a difference. It matters. It certainly matters to God. Because you matter. That means we all need to be thoughtful about what we do going forward.

            The second value is found in vs. 21 where Peter says, “in God we trust.” Does that sound familiar? It’s been stamped on our paper money since the 1950s, about the same time “under God” was added to the pledge of allegiance. Having trust in God was something that Peter had to learn. He and the rest of the disciples were convinced that Jesus was the messiah, the son of the living God. But then he was arrested and beaten. Peter bailed on him, denying that he even knew Jesus. All the rest of the disciples fled as well. Then Jesus was killed. Their hopes were dashed. They were confused. How could they have been wrong? Where was God in all of this?

            But then Sunday came, and the tomb was empty. They shouldn’t have counted God out. When it appeared that all was lost, God came through by raising Jesus from the dead. Not even death could prevent God from accomplishing what God wanted. In fact, the death of Jesus was part of the plan. The disciples learned to trust God after going through a situation that tested their faith in God like nothing else.

            Having had time to process the resurrection of Jesus, Peter was able to share with these Jesus followers that even before the world existed it was Jesus’ destiny to do what he did. After all these generations had gone by, thousands and thousands of years, in their own time Jesus fulfilled his destiny. They had the privilege to live in the time that Jesus accomplished his task. It took a long time, but finally what God intended for Jesus came to pass. Never count God out. God can be trusted. Nothing can ultimately stop God from accomplishing what God wants done.

            What is God accomplishing now during this pandemic? I wonder if there is something that God has been trying to accomplish in the church or in the world in which this pandemic is creating the space for that to happen. The Spirit is revealing to us how our society is structured, causing us to wonder if we can do better, have a society that is more just and environmentally sustainable. The Spirit is revealing what is most important about the church and pushing us to be creative in how we stay connected, worship together, and reach out to our community. I have heard a number of people say the pandemic has forced the church to move rapidly into the 21^st century by embracing the possibilities of modern technology like social media and digital communications. Could it be that in this pandemic God is at work bringing about the change in the church and in the world that God has intended? We can trust in God, that there are things happening right now that aligns with God’s intentions. We can trust that God is active in the midst of these challenging times. Don’t count God out. We can trust that God is up to something.

            The third value Peter lifts up is in verse 22: love one another deeply, from the heart. This goes back to verse 17 where Peter talks about what we do matters to God. But even further back to verse 15 Peter calls us to be holy because God is holy. God is holy and God is love. The two go together. Peter challenges us to live our lives shaped by who God is. That means living a life of love. As Jesus followers, Peter says, that’s what we do. Love for one another is a central value for us. People will know we are Christians by our love. What more can I add? This value speaks for itself. What we say and what we do is to be guided by the value of love for one another. It’s just that clear.

            As we think about moving forward into this changed society, as we reset our church, adapting to a different world, I invite all of us to live out these three values: what you do matters, trust God, and love deeply from the heart. We are going through a time of amazing possibility to shift how we live our lives, how our society is ordered, and how we do church. However we do church in the days to come, if we let these values shape our lives we will be able to move forward with a confident hope that we are living lives that are pleasing to God, lives that will make God proud. So, in the days to come, remember that you matter to God and what you do and say matters to God. Trust God. Love each other deeply from the heart.

The Foundation for Our Joy

Based on 1 Peter 1:3-9
First delivered April 19, 2020
Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr 

            Signs of hope are beginning to surface, pointing to the beginning of the lift of the stay-at-home order. Slowly, but surely, we are all making plans on how to re-enter society. The infection rate in Ohio appears to have plateaued. If everything goes according to plan, the infection rate should start declining, and then the rate increase of deaths will hopefully start going down. It’s not like we will get to where no one will catch the corona virus. And, unfortunately, there will continue to be those who die from it. But there are signs that what we have done has flattened the curve sufficiently that our hospitals will be able to manage. We will not see the horrific scenes that have come out of New York City and other places where the health care system was completely overrun. It looks like all of our sacrifice is paying off and we can start thinking about getting businesses, schools, and churches opened up.

            I wish we could just flip a switch. But that’s not how this will work. In fact, those who have underlying health risks will need to stay at home while everyone else starts venturing out more. And even when we do get to go back to restaurants, shops and churches, we will need to maintain that distance. But, if the process we are directed to follow gets done, and everything goes according to plan, we will be back in our sanctuaries sooner rather than later. We will avoid any spikes of infection that would cause us to go backwards. We will be on the path to some semblance of normal, whatever that will mean. At least most of us won’t be cooped up at home like we have been. Maybe schools will even get to have graduation ceremonies. We might even get to watch some baseball games on TV. We are getting there.

            Still, we won’t get back to how things were. There will still be physical distancing. Tables at restaurants will be spaced further apart. Fans at baseball games will be spread out a bit. We will see people wearing masks in public for quite some time. There still won’t be large gatherings of people packed in to small spaces. It’s a long road back to how things were. And even then, will it really be as it was? Won’t we all be extra cautious around each other? I wonder if waving to each other and bowing may become more common than shaking hands.

            Of course, as this time of physical separation has played out, frustration is building. We have seen protests spring up here and there, calling for the authorities to ease the stay-in-place guidelines and the closing of non-essential businesses. Our unemployment benefits system has been inundated, delaying much needed assistance. These checks we are supposed to get from the federal government is taking longer than originally hoped and some are finding that they will not be getting money. So many are struggling to make ends meet and there is real anxiety that a large number of people on the edge will fall into poverty. The closing down of much of the economy has generated a lot of stress and anxiety and frustration. So much suffering, not just among those who are sick with the virus.

            It’s important to remember that all these mitigation measures have been about saving lives. This is not some kind of big government power grab or conspiracy. It is the needed response to a vicious virus that is highly contagious and kills a lot of people. We have seen what happens when communities are not able to control the spread. We don’t want to experience that. So, we do what we do to save lives. And as we move toward re-opening our society, the central reason for all of this is to save lives. Economies will recover. Life is more valuable than money.

            Every life is precious and deserving of protection. So, it is not ok to just open everything up without worrying about the spread, anticipating the development of herd immunity at the expense of thousands upon thousands of deaths. That is irresponsible. Life is too precious to be ruthlessly sacrificed just so we can rush back to the way things were. Think about those essential workers who have been out there keeping the economy we have going, to all of a sudden be engulfed with crowded stores and bars and restaurants and workplaces again. These workers have already risked so much doing what they are already doing. And then we are just going to throw at them all of us who have had the privilege of staying at home? That disrespects the value of those workers who have already risked so much, who have themselves caught the virus and some who have died. This is what has to drive everything we do moving forward as a society: valuing the life of every person.

            This should not be hard for us. As Christians, we value all of life. We affirm that every person is created in the image and likeness of God. We affirm that every person is one for whom Christ died on the cross. As Christians, we resist the power of death. We reject the forces of evil in all forms. Our focus is on life, abundant life, for all people, not just in the life to come but in this life. The teachings of Jesus are all about manifesting abundant life in the here and now, of caring for the last and the least, sharing what we have, opening our hands instead of clenching our fists, making room for everyone. Jesus, who we follow, is the Lord of life.

            This is what we celebrate during Easter. We are celebrating the defeat of the power of death and the new life we have in Christ. We celebrate that although death will claim each of us, death will not hold us. The grip of death has been broken because of what Jesus has done. Jesus broke the chains of death by rising from the dead. Because of this, we have the promise of everlasting life. Death is not the end, but a moment of transition to new life. This is what we celebrate every Easter season. In fact, every Sunday is a day to celebrate the resurrection.

            This season of celebration should spark in us a desire to “rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy” as we read in 1 Peter 1:8. Easter is meant to be a season full of joy. But, have you felt that? Have you felt a lot of joy recently? I know I haven’t. I have felt a lot of things since last Sunday. Joy isn’t on the top of the list of feelings.

            I think we will be filled with joy when we gather together again. What a day of celebration that will be! There will be every temptation to embrace each other, which we won’t be able to do! But at least we will all be together in the same place. That will be a joyful time. But we aren’t there yet. How do we express joy right now, in this season of global pandemic? How do we “rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy” in this moment?

            This letter we call First Peter was written to a cluster of small churches throughout Asia Minor. These Christians were going through a time of persecution and suffering. This was not a government sponsored persecution. Instead, this was just informal harassment. Being adherents of a new religion, perceived by many as some weird cult, Christians were mocked, harassed, mistreated, discriminated against. Life was not easy for them.

            They felt like exiles in their own land. It’s not like they were some immigrant community that moved in from somewhere else. They were locals. They were born and raised there. But then they heard the gospel and came to believe in Jesus. They were baptized. They identified themselves as children of the one true God. They stopped worshiping the gods of their ancestors. They acknowledged Caesar, but claimed Jesus as their true lord. They claimed a new citizenship. They saw themselves as citizens of the kingdom of God. And all the people they grew up with, their friends and neighbors, and even some in their own family, thought they had lost their minds, swept up into a ridiculous cult that worshiped a crucified god. These Christians were pushed to the margins of their own communities. Becoming a Christian in those days was not a popular move. There came a real cost. Committing to the way of Jesus meant walking a road of suffering, even a road of exile.

            Peter wrote them a letter of encouragement. He wanted to remind them of who they are. They are children of God. And that means that they have promised for them an inheritance as children. This inheritance was waiting for them in heaven. It would not fade or be defiled. God held it in safekeeping. All of this was due to what God had done for them by an act of great mercy…the resurrection of Jesus. Because of Jesus, they were born again. They were once no people, but now are God’s people. Everything had changed. They had a hopeful future.

            These Christians were not living in a time of rainbows and unicorns. Anything but. Yet, Peter writes of their believing in Jesus with an “indescribable and glorious joy.” Well, I guess it would be indescribable. How do you describe having joy when you are in a season of suffering? How do people who feel like they are living a life of exile, filled with harassment and rejection, also express joy?

            Whatever joy they had was not founded on their present circumstances. Being persecuted, harassed, pushed to the margins, was not something they found to celebrate and be joyful about. No, the foundation of their joy was their faith in God’s promise. They believed that Jesus defeated death. They believed they had received new birth through baptism. They believed they had been claimed as God’s children. They believed they had waiting for them an inheritance in heaven which would not fade or be lost. In other words, these Christians believed they had a future with hope. And it was this belief, this faith, that provided the foundation for their joy even though they were living a life filled with suffering.

            We are living through a time of suffering that is very different. Christianity is not some new cult on the fringe of society. We have a place at the table. We have a space in the public square. It’s not the way it used to be, but Christianity has not been pushed to the margins, despite what some people might claim. The suffering we are enduring has many faces. But the main source, of course, is this common experience of the pandemic. All people, regardless of their faith or religious tradition, are suffering the impacts of the coronavirus.

            Our suffering is different from the suffering endured by those Christians in Asia Minor when Peter wrote that letter of encouragement. But the foundation of our hope can be the same as theirs. In the midst of the suffering we are all experiencing, we too can believe that Jesus defeated death. We can believe that we have received new birth through baptism. We can believe that we have been claimed as God’s children. We can believe that we have waiting for us an inheritance in heaven which will not fade or be lost. In other words, today, this very hour, we can believe that we have a future with hope. This can be the foundation of our joy in this time of suffering.

            Of course, we are not all suffering to the same degree. This pandemic has revealed how fragile our society is. How can you stay at home when you don’t have a home to stay in? What do you do when you live paycheck to paycheck, and then the paycheck is gone? It is telling that one of the first things our community did was organize for kids to still get school lunches because there are many kids in our community for which that was the only nutritious meal they were able to have each day. I have heard people say that the pandemic affects us all equally, regardless of class, race, gender, sexual orientation or however else we classify each other. But that is just not true. The pandemic is not affecting us equally. Some people, some groups and communities are suffering much more and are under much greater risk. I acknowledge my privilege of being able to work from home. And if I were to get sick, I have good health care options. But Syrians who live in a large refugee camp, or Palestinians contained in the West Bank where there are less than 100 ventilators are not as fortunate. Yes, this pandemic has been quite revelatory, of how fragile our economy is for many of us. And we are left with a lot to deal with in the wake of this transformative event.

            The main point I’m trying to make is that no matter how intense our suffering right now, Jesus is still the source of our hope. We are still God’s children. In God we still have new life. The power of death has still been defeated for us all. Our future remains secure. Our heavenly inheritance awaits us still. We still have hope. And this hope does not disappoint for it is a hope founded on God’s great mercy.

            Now, this is not a call for us to put our heads firmly in the clouds, or to stick our heads in cotton candy sand, and not be honest about the suffering that is all around us and within our own lives. We need to name the suffering we see and not turn away from it. I admit, there are some news stories that have come across my news feed that I skipped reading. I just didn’t want to face it. I didn’t want to read the descriptions. I didn’t want to see the pictures. And that’s ok. There is only so much we can process. I love what someone said recently about 24/7 access to news as something for our convenience and not for our consumption. So true. But when we see images of people in cars that stretch for miles waiting to access a food giveaway, or hear of how black and brown people are dying at a higher rate than white people as a consequence of structural racism, we need to let this sink in. We must resist the temptation to look the other way all the time. And we need to name our own struggles. This is not an easy time for anyone. We are all dealing with lots of stress. There’s no need to deny the obvious.

            We don’t have to turn our face away from suffering. We can face the reality of suffering and still have hope and not despair because of Jesus. It is possible to feel sorrow and joy at the same time…joyful sorrow.

            My feelings have been all over the place the past several weeks. Sometimes I feel energized and optimistic. I think about the new possibilities that are emerging around how to be church in an online world, for example. Other times, I feel discouraged and pessimistic. I see how this pandemic is impacting so many communities and vulnerable people, and I see how people are responding in ways that are not helpful. I wonder if we will have the capacity as a society to recover from this in healthy ways or if it will take us to a bad place. And a lot of times I feel tired and even a little numb over the whole situation. Maybe you have felt all kinds of ways during these past several weeks.

            I want to remind all of us that no matter how we feel at any given moment, the resurrection did happen. Jesus has defeated the power of death. We do have a future with hope. We are and will forever be God’s children. These are claims we hold by faith and they don’t change depending on how we feel. By the grace of God, we can hold on to our faith regardless of how we feel at any given moment. And even if our faith falters, God will never let us go. As the scriptures say, in Colossians 3:3, our lives are hidden with Christ in God. We have security in God, no matter how we feel or how insecure our health, livelihood or well-being may be.

            So, hold on to your faith. Keep trusting that what God has done through Jesus Christ is still in effect. In spite of the strange, even surreal, times we find ourselves in, this is still Easter season and we are still Easter people. Let this be the foundation of your joy.

            This joy we have may well be indescribable. It may even be indecipherable. But, deep down in our hearts, that joy is still there. And the time will come, hopefully soon, when that joy deep in our hearts will burst forth. We will express that joy when we are together again. And what a glorious joy that will be.

Easter Came Just the Same

          As I have thought about what to say this year for Easter, I keep thinking of the classic Christmas cartoon most of us have watched dozens of times: Dr. Seuss’s classic, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” In particular, I am thinking of near the end of the film. The Grinch is at the top of the mountain where his home is, his overloaded sled that was hauled up by his little dog with the antler tied to his head, filled to overflowing with all the stuff he took from the Whos of Whoville. The sun is rising. Christmas day is dawning. And the Grinch anticipates hearing all the Whos crying boo-hoo as they see all that had been taken away from them. The Grinch thought for sure he had ruined Christmas for the Whos in Whoville.

            But, what does he hear? What does he see? All the Whos of Whoville gather together in the public square, join hands to make a circle, like they always do, and sing with joy their Christmas song. The Grinch can’t understand it. Even though the Whos had no decorations, no packages, boxes, or bags, not even a can of Who hash, they still came together to sing. Christmas came. It came all the same.

            So here we are. And a grinch called the coronavirus has come to our town and taken from us what we have always had when we celebrate Easter. Of course, this grinch does not act out of spite and meanspiritedness like the Grinch of Dr. Seuss. The grinch, the coronavirus, just does what it does with no concern for us and our Easter traditions. Still, the effect of the coronavirus has kept us out of our churches. We aren’t at church wearing our Sunday best. Little boys and girls aren’t running around in their Easter dresses and suits. Not an Easter bonnet in sight. No Easter brunch at the restaurants. No Easter egg hunts. No gathering together to sing “Christ the Lord is Risen Today”, “He Lives” and “Up from the Grave He Arose.” We can’t go into the sanctuary to be overpowered by the fragrance of all the Easter lilies, while the pastor thinks, “Oops, I forgot to take some Benedryl.” No Easter cantatas. For myself, this is the first time in my life, all fifty-one years of it, that I did not enter a church sanctuary on Easter Sunday. Some of you reading or listening to this can claim an even longer time of attending church on Easter until this year. What traditions are you not having this year?

            The coronavirus, like the grinch, has taken much of what we have always had as part of our Easter celebrations. And yet…that doesn’t stop Easter from coming. Instead of gathering in our churches, we gather around computer screens or television screens. We hear those traditional Easter hymns in a different way. We might even sing along in our living rooms. We read again the scriptures that recount the resurrection of Jesus. Today’s Easter celebrations are certainly different. But we are still celebrating Easter. The coronavirus can’t take away our celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

            A few weeks ago, I was walking my dog. We were walking up the street and, as I looked around and saw all the dogwood and pear trees full of blossoms, and all the flowers popping up in everyone’s green lawns, I was struck by the fact that the coronavirus can’t stop springtime. New life, renewed life, emerges, even in the face of a pandemic. That gave me a real sense of comfort. Not everything was turned upside down. Not all was lost. Coronavirus is not all powerful. It can’t stop spring from coming. And on this day, as the sun rose, Easter came…it came just the same.

            I invite you to watch a special Easter presentation that some of my friends and I put together. Click on this link: https://youtu.be/jvI6xxvfZow .

            Over the next several weeks, as we remember and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, leading up to the Day of Pentecost, when we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, my hope for you is that in spite of all that has been taken from us in this season, we still have each other. We still have Jesus. We still have the promise of everlasting life. The Spirit of God remains in our midst. Nothing, not even the coronavirus, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our risen Lord.

            Christ is risen! Truly he is risen! So, in any way you can today…rejoice!

What is This?

Based on Matthew 21:1-11
First delivered April 5, 2020
Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr 

            What is this? We are going through confusing times. “Unprecedented” is a word we are hearing a lot these days. Yes, plans are made for pandemics. But, let’s be honest, none of us really know what to do until the time comes. And I am pretty confident that no one who is hearing this message had a pandemic plan for themselves or their families. Our churches didn’t have pandemic plans. We are all having to figure this out as we go along. And as we make it up, and look for guidance from others, it can get confusing. Should we wear masks when we go outside or not? Should we limit our shopping to once a week or should we go every few days so that we limit our time in the store? I’m sure you have had your questions about what to do or not do. Now small businesses and even churches are rushing to apply for the payroll protection program through the banks. What will that process look like? How long will it take until these businesses and churches can get that money? I think of so many people who, for the first time in their lives, are trying to apply for unemployment insurance. Last week, Ohio reported that in two weeks there were 100,000 more people who applied for unemployment than the total for all of last year. I can only imagine the strain that system is under. Then there is the confusing process of getting medical supplies where they belong to meet the need. The process of even identifying where resources are and how much there is and where it should go, I can only imagine how complex and confusing that is. I could go on and on, but I think the point is clear. These are times of confusion and uncertainty, causing us to wonder about the times we are living in, “what is this?”

            As Christians we are entering into Holy Week. Lent is over. How was your Lent? Mine was not what I thought it was going to be. What kind of Lent was this? And now we are trying to experience Holy Week without gathering in our churches to wave palm branches, having Holy Communion as we recall the Last Supper story, singing together “Were You There” at a Good Friday service. We are trying to figure out how to live in to the passion week in ways that many of us have never done before. As we move into Holy Week, we all are wondering, what is this?

            As we begin this confusing journey through Holy Week, we hear the story of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, with her colt trotting along beside her. Or maybe Jesus was riding on the colt. It’s unclear. In Matthew 21:7 we read that the disciples put their cloaks on the donkey and the colt and Jesus “sat on them.” I’m not sure how that’s possible. What are we to make of this? Did Jesus ride side saddle, sitting on the donkey with his legs draped over the colt who was basically strapped to the side of her mother? It’s confusing. But that’s just the start of what will be a confusing week for everyone in Jerusalem as the events unfold.

            As Jesus rides in on the donkey, a very large crowd throws their cloaks or palm branches on the road for the donkey to walk on, keeping the dust down I guess. It’s the royal treatment. And the crowd is shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” This sounds like a king riding into town. It is a spectacle. So much so that as Jesus enters into Jerusalem, surrounded by this large crowd of people shouting and calling the rider on the donkey the son of David, we read that the whole city was in turmoil. Turmoil! I don’t think we can fully appreciate the context which would stir up a city to be filled with turmoil because someone is riding into town on a donkey with a large crowd calling him the son of David, which means that this is the long awaited messiah, the true king. All we know is that what is happening with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem caused a great deal of turmoil which prompted the people of Jerusalem to ask, “who is this?” They aren’t asking about his name. They want to know who this person is, what does he represent, what are they dealing with. Something is happening, something unprecedented, and the people, filled with confusion and uncertainty, want to know what is happening.

            Of course, the people of Jerusalem by now should have known who this was. Jesus had been demonstrating who he was for a few years up to this point. He had been going around teaching, healing, working miracles. He had given off signs of who he is. For those who were paying attention, they would have known who Jesus is, just as Peter confessed, “You are the messiah, the son of the living God.” If we go back through Matthew, we will see all the places where Matthew mentions something about Jesus and says, “this took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet.” Over and over, Matthew points to all the prophecies about the messiah and how Jesus fulfills those prophecies. There were clues that the people of Jerusalem could have followed. They could have known who this is. But they didn’t see it. What had been predicted was being fulfilled right in front of them, and they were filled with turmoil and confusion. To be generous, perhaps there were those who knew in their heads who Jesus is. They had seen the signs and in their heads knew who he was. But now it’s happening. His arrival was about to turn everything upside down. What was known in theory is getting real. And that can cause a good deal of turmoil as well.

            What we are going through with this pandemic had been predicted. This is not the first pandemic to hit the world. SARS, MERS, Ebola, Spanish Flu, the Plague. We watched the effects of Covid-19 as it worked its way through China, then to different parts of the world. We know how infectious disease spreads and what mitigation efforts are needed to slow the spread so that our hospital systems don’t get overrun, and what happens when such efforts are not enough. The signs, the predictions, are being fulfilled in front of us. Whether we knew this ahead of time in theory or not, now it’s real. And it is generating a good deal of turmoil. We have a sense of what lays ahead. There are predictions of what the future looks like. And it turns everything upside down.

            Today marks the beginning of passion week. Jesus enters Jerusalem, starting a week of passion, as he and his disciples live out the last supper, the betrayal, the arrest in the garden, the trial, the scourging and the crown of thorns, the crucifixion, the body wrapped and placed in a tomb. It is a week filled with passion that touches us deeply in our hearts as we enter again into the story, a story that leads to the remembering of the glorious resurrection next Sunday. In different ways this year we will remember this story and allow it to work its way on us.

            But our journey through the passion of this pandemic is not a week long. This passion journey is going to go on for months. This is a passion journey that none of us have walked before. We have signs of what will come. We know that in the weeks ahead there will be much suffering. There will be much loss. There will be many deaths. Our lives are being upended. But as we journey through this passion, we can go forward with confidence that there will be for us a day of resurrection. Even now, if we look, we can see signs of new life. And I don’t mean the new life of flowers opening and trees budding out. I mean signs of people expressing their support for those who are out there on the front lines of this pandemic, or who are doing other essential jobs that keep our society functioning. We see it in how neighbors are looking out for each other. We see it in how people are adapting to new ways to stay in touch with each other. And one day we will be able to gather again, this pandemic having been defeated. It will be a day of great celebration, a celebration that will last for a long time.

            So, I invite us, as we move into Holy Week, this annual pilgrimage through the passion week that leads to the celebration of resurrection, that we look to Holy Week as our map through this season of pandemic passion, with confidence that, in spite of all the confusion and upheaval we are experiencing now, and perhaps a good deal of suffering and loss, we know how this journey will end. It will end with resurrection and renewed life. This is our confident expectation and hope as we journey through this time of passion.