written by
Rev. Melinda Giese, Summit UMC
My husband, Tom, went out to get the mail last week and came back with a large, rectangular box. He asked me, “What IS this?” I took one look and knew without opening it - that box held palms for Palm Sunday. I ordered them weeks ago, back when I was still planning for Palm Sunday and Holy Week and Easter in the usual ways. In fact, so much has happened in the intervening weeks, I’d completely forgotten about them until the palms showed up on my doorstep. So much for the benefits of planning ahead this year!
As we look toward Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week, I’ve been thinking about the ways in which this particularly difficult Lent has changed me. I’ve read many comments on social media along the lines of, “I never imagined giving up this much for Lent.” This season of COVID-19 restrictions has stripped away more than we would dream of giving up voluntarily: employment, school, church services, weddings, funerals, birthday parties, family gatherings, hugs, the ability to plan more than a few weeks out, restaurants…the list goes on. And as we mourn our losses, we also mourn with all the families who have experienced the deaths of loved ones during this health crisis.
I also wonder if this is the first Lent in quite some time to require Christians in wealthy nations to make real sacrifices. We didn’t give up chocolate; we gave up believing that health crises were something that happened in other countries. We didn’t give up coffee; we gave up our sense of invulnerability. And as we gave these deeper things up, we felt both our dependence on one another and our dependence on God’s love and care.
It’s quite possible we have walked further with Jesus in his Lenten journey to the cross this year. We’ve sacrificed more, most likely prayed more, and maybe even loved one another more. We’ve stopped taking so much for granted, from our own health and the health of loved ones to our ability to get toilet paper at the grocery store. We’ve witnessed ordinary people willing to sacrifice their own health to save the lives of others, living out Jesus’ commandment to love one another as he loved us. We’ve seen that in times of crisis, our work of loving God and our neighbors sustains us and gives us strength.
As we move toward Palm Sunday, I encourage you to consider the ways in which this particular Lent has shaped and grounded your own faith in God’s unfailing love. What has this Lent showed you about God’s faithfulness in times of difficulty? Where has God’s presence been there to guide you through? How has this Lent changed or deepened your own faith journey? In our reflections, may we see and feel the loving presence of God within this Lenten season of giving up and letting go.