Faith in a Time of Pandemic – Palm Sunday

XXII.
PALM SUNDAY
(4/5)
“Hosanna, blessed is the one who comes in the name of God” (Matthew 21:9)

Holy Week begins with celebration. Waving palms and shouts of joy, the crowd welcomes Jesus. For a moment, all is well with the world. For a moment, the way of Christ is triumphant. Trouble is on the horizon, but for this moment, the crowds need to sing and shout and imagine a better world.

Singing and dancing can be gifts in a time of conflict. The other night the grands, Kate, and I danced to the “oldies” – “Louie, Louie,” “Good Vibrations,” “Let’s Hang onto What We’ve God,” “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” and “Footloose.” It was a joyful island amid the pandemic.

We need to be realistic about the physical, emotional, and spiritual toll of this pandemic. We need to recognize our desire to deny and our tendency toward depression as persons and as a society. But there is also room for joy. There is room for moments of escape and experiences of self-transcendence in which the pandemic is not the only reality but one of many realities shaping our lives.

In my work with persons experiencing life-threatening illnesses, I remind them (and myself) that they are not just “cancer patients,” for example, but lovers of the Beatles, Bach, beaches, beer, beauty, and bedtime stories. The cancer is real, but we are so much more as we walk with a beloved pet, say “I love you” to a friend, spouse, or child, enjoy a good book, or gaze at the sunset over the Nantucket Sound.

We need time for joy, for waving palm branches, for celebration, of the life we have now and our lives beyond the pandemic. So, as you feel despair at the death tolls and the geographical contractions of our lives, make room for beauty, love, laughter, and delight. Make room for service and realistic imaginations of the future. Make room for change. You will be able to face the grief and despair with hope and courage, remembering it is not the only reality, but a portion of the much greater reality of God’s glorious universe.
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Keep me awake to joy and love. Let me rejoice in this day in its wonder and beauty. Let me grieve, but let my grief be part of a larger panorama of love and gratitude. Amen.

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Bruce Epperly is a Cape Cod pastor, professor, and author of over fifty books including FAITH IN A TIME OF PANDEMIC and GOD ONLINE: A MYSTIC’S GUIDE TO THE INTERNET.