Retracing the Steps

As I anticipate Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday I feel tired and sad. Tired and sad because of the relentless war in Ukraine and a dictator bent on expanding his empire, not unlike the Romans in Jesus’ day. Tired and sad because of increasing Covid case counts and lack of teachers, health workers and other critical workers off due to illness and stress. Tired and sad because, well, the events we need to revisit in these holy days are full of grief and other challenging emotions.

Wouldn’t it just be so much better if we could jump from Palm Sunday to Easter? If we gave passing mention to Jesus’ death but then could leap to the joy of His resurrection and all that it means for us? Even Easter is a bit sad for me as a woman, knowing that the first evangelists were female and because of their gender were not considered reliable witnesses. But that’s for another day. Still, here we are again looking at these brutal aspects of the last days of Jesus’ life. Not only is there the physical violence inflicted on Him, but there is the emotional cruelty, the treating Him as a threat and a nobody in the same breath by those in power and by those fearful of change and their faith tradition being challenged.

And then there are the questions we need to ask ourselves as we reflect on how the disciples responded - when have we not done what Jesus asked? when have we denied knowing Him? when have we fled in fear? when have we betrayed Him? And if we believe that He lives in us as brothers and sisters in Christ, when have we done these things to each other, denying the power of the risen Christ made manifest through us? When have we crucified each other and been unwilling to see the face of God in the one in front of us or on our screen? Because these times are just as political and divisive as His own were.

Perhaps this year the unsettling nature of Holy Saturday, the time that Jesus was dead in the tomb and all hope seemed gone, is a time we need to capitalize on more than usual. Rather than a day to prepare for Easter feasting or sleep or do fun activities, maybe we need to be in reflection about the questions above. Many churches are struggling with steep declines in attendance due to Covid but also as a trend apparent long before the pandemic. Maybe we need to reflect on that and what it will take to resurrect the body, perhaps in a new form. Maybe we need to consider when we have wounded others in the name of preserving what we thought most important. Maybe we need to consider what God is asking of us in this time of transformation in tombs and cocoons.

Let’s not rush to Easter but encounter Christ at each step along the way, embracing the emotions and seeing ourselves there. Let’s be willing to listen carefully and humbly for what these stories say about us and to us. Let’s open ourselves to experience how God wants to challenge and change us so that we can be resurrected with joy on Sunday, as individuals and as the body of Christ.