Lent & Holy Week During Covid 19
Wednesday, February 26, 2020, standing to receive the sign of the cross in ashes on my forehead feels like a moment from another era. Covid 19 felt afar off then. Now, it seems to be overtaking Lent and upcoming Holy Week like a huge amoeba smothering out healthy cells. While it is understandable that our attention and focus be on a world crisis, especially in order to pray for the life of the world, I’m wondering if the season of Lent, and the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has become a dim memory, a relic from an ancient past, with little relevance for today. Right now, we are restricted in what we can do and where we can go, our schedules and lives turned upside down. Today, many are wondering how they will pay the rent or bills hanging over their heads. Here and now we are in a world crisis. Why consider events from 2,000 plus years ago when we have more pressing matters at hand?
However, hasn’t this always been the case with our Christian faith? Even when Jesus was on earth, most people around him missed who He was and why He had come. The pressing concerns of the time–Roman occupation or if the rains would come for harvest so you could feed your family–must have dominated the minds of first century Jews. Jesus also tells us that at the end of the age people will be oblivious to what is actually happening around them. He warns us that we must pay attention to the times with the eyes of faith. “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matt. 24:44) Jesus’ question in Luke 18:8 seems most appropriate to our situation, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” What helps keep our faith in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ alive, our focus clear, especially now, when the Covid 19 crisis is dominating our attention?
What does faith on the earth look like right now? What does it look like for me each day? How can I remain immersed in this central season of our church calendar, accompanying Christ in his passion and death, opening myself to his resurrection life?
While personal times of prayer lay the foundation for this kind of abiding in faith, what about throughout the day when all conversations seem to inevitably circle around again to “Covid 19 talk”? Perhaps words from Frances de Sales’ devotional classic, Introduction to the Devout Life are in order here:
“Birds have nests in trees and can retire to them when need arises, and stags have bushes and thickets where they take cover, hide, and enjoy the cool shade during the summer. So also…our hearts should each day pick and choose some place, either on Mt. Calvary or within our Lord’s wounds or in some other place near him, as a retreat where they can retire at various times to refresh and restore themselves during their exterior occupations…
“Always remember, then, to retire at various times into the solitude of your own heart even while outwardly engaged in discussions or transactions with others.This mental solitude cannot be violated by the many people who surround you, since they are not standing around your heart but only around your body. Your heart remains alone in the presence of God.”
I wonder how this practice of returning to the shelter of the presence of God in our hearts might infiltrate the way we are living right now. Would it help to address distraction and fear that creep into our hearts and minds? De Sales continues to encourage us,
“Often during the day…see if you have your soul ‘in your hands’ or if some passion or fit of anxiety has robbed you of it. Consider whether you have command over your heart or if it has slipped out of your hands and into some disorderly passion…If it has gone astray, look for it before doing anything else and bring it quietly back into God’s presence, subjecting all your affections and desires to the obedience and direction of his divine will.”
What would it be like to frequently consider throughout the day whether we have our “souls in our hands,” offering them up again and again in love and service to God? How might bringing our hearts quietly and consistently back to God, open to his ways and thoughts, change the way we perceive life and interact with others? I wonder how we might see the Covid 19 situation differently.
Reflection & Practice:
Are you finding it difficult to focus on this season of the church calendar? Does the death and resurrection of Jesus seem afar off or even irrelevant?
Do you find that your soul is often “slipping out of your hands”? What might looking for it and bringing it quietly back to God look like during actual times of my day?
What is the shelter of God’s presence within you like? Does an image come to mind or a sense of peace? Are you drawn to de Sales’ suggestion to “choose some place near Christ” to which you can retire throughout the day?
Ask God how you might intentionally focus on Christ’s passion, death and resurrection during Holy Week.
Ancient Streams 