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How has your life changed in the last month?
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Have you lost your job? Had trouble paying the bills? Learned something new about technology, including how to log-in to Zoom so your kids can go to school?
Life seemed normal this Lent.
Then everything changed.
As someone recently said, “This is the Lentiest Lent I’ve ever had! I’ve been stripped of so much – social interaction, physical touch, even the Eucharist.”
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The same was true for Jesus.
Life seemed normal. Then he was stripped of everything – his friends, his dignity, even his life.
Today on Palm Sunday people are chanting “Hosanna!” (Hail the king!), laying palm branches at his feet while he processes into Jerusalem.
But by Friday they will be shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Cheering as he’s beaten with reeds, scourged, and nailed to a cross.
Things changed quickly for Jesus, too.
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All of this leads me to question:
Can we ever consider life to be normal? Is it possible to let our guard down? Or do we always have to be prepared for disaster? Where’s the balance?
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I don’t know.
But one thing’s for sure.
We have much less control over our lives than we want. That’s a tough pill to swallow.
Just think about the havoc one virus has wreaked on us.
Over one million people have already contracted it around the world; thousands have died; millions of Americans have lost their jobs; children are learning from home; the economy has tanked; and our future remains uncertain.
If the Coronavirus – and, more importantly, Holy Week – teach us anything it’s that life is unpredictable.
We live in a constant state of change.
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But the one thing that should never change is our faith.
Throughout his life and ministry, Jesus shows us what it means to be faithful. From the age of twelve he’s found in the Temple doing, “his Father’s business.”
Even on the last night of his life, he cries out, “Father, not my will, but yours be done.”
Things changed quickly for Jesus. One day people wanted to crown him king. The next they wanted to crucify him.
But his trust in his Father never wavered.
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That’s the challenge for us, too. To never lose our faith.
But on a deeper level, to never lose our trust in God.
Faith makes me believe that Jesus died under Pontius Pilate and rose again from the dead.
Trust makes me hope that Jesus is still active in my own life; that he hears my pleas for help.
And not only me, but every person who says his name, particularly those with Coronavirus.
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Life is a gift. It’s beautiful.
But it’s also terribly fragile and unpredictable, which is why we need faith…and trust.
Our heavenly Father knows our needs, he hears our pleas for help, he sustains us with friends along the journey, and gives us our “daily bread.”
Then he promises life to come.
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As Saint Teresa of Avila once wrote:
Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away;
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things,
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.
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Life is beautiful and unpredictable. Things can change on a dime.
But whoever has God lacks nothing.
In these uncertain times, stay close to Jesus as he enters into Jerusalem. Cry out, “Hail the king! Hosanna in the highest!”
And stay trustingly by his side.
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Happy palm Sunday Father