Tag Archives: Covid

He is Risen! Risen Indeed!

1 Reply
what is easter, easter meaning

As Christians celebrate Easter, it’s important to remember that Easter is the fundamental truth upon which Christianity rests. As such, we Christians should be Easter Christians daily, and not rest upon one day a year to celebrate our hope and salvation. Many have suffered losses worldwide during the Covid pandemic, especially losses of loved ones. Our strength lies in the blessed hope we shall see them once again in the earth made new, and Easter emboldens that hope.

At Easter time, I perennially share the beautiful N.T. Wright quote from his book “Surprised by Hope” for it inspires a true re-examination of the way we celebrate Easter.

“Easter week itself ought not to be the time when all the clergy sigh with relief and go on holiday,” Wright says, “It ought to be an eight-day festival, with champagne served after morning prayer or even before, with lots of alleluias and extra hymns and spectacular anthems. Is it any wonder people find it hard to believe in the resurrection of Jesus if we don’t throw our hats in the air? Is it any wonder we find it hard to live the resurrection if we don’t do it exuberantly in our liturgies? Is it any wonder the world doesn’t take much notice if Easter is celebrated as simply the one-day happy ending tacked on to forty days of fasting and gloom?”

A beautiful poem, Easter Us, by renowned Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann is attached. Click here to view.

Blessings to all this glorious Easter!

ct

Good Friday – 2021 – Time to Reflect

Leave a reply


It’s Covid Good Friday again. So many of us have been through the terrible scourge of pain, deprivation, lack of family contact, death of friends, and all the other disturbances that have marked our year plus of Covid. As we journey through Good Friday, it is important to reminisce about the terrible exile we’ve endured this past year as we contemplate the exile from the Father Jesus endured on our behalf.

Exile
(Poem by Walter Brueggemann from Prayers for a Privileged People)

Like the ancients, we know about ashes,
and smoldering ruins,
and collapse of dreams,
and loss of treasure,
and failed faith,
and dislocation,
and anxiety, and anger, and self-pity.
For we have watched the certitude and
entitlements
of our world evaporate.

Like the ancients, we are a
mix of perpetrators,
knowing that we have brought this on
ourselves, and a
mix of victims,
assaulted by others who rage against us.

Like the ancients, we weep in honesty
at a world lost
and the dread silence of your absence.
We know and keep busy in denial,
but we know.

Like the ancients, we refuse the ashes,
and watch for newness.
Like them, we ask,
“Can these bones live?”

Like the ancients, we ask,
“Is the hand of the Lord shortened,
that the Lord cannot save?”

Like the ancients, we ask,
“Will you at this time restore what was?”

And then we wait:
We wait through the crackling of fire,
the smash of buildings,
and the mounting body count,
and the failed fabric of
medicine and justice and education.
We wait in a land of strangeness,
but there we sing, songs of sadness,
songs of absence,
belatedly songs of praise,
acts of hope,
gestures of Easter,
gifts you have yet to give.

Paperback

Kindle

Lent 2021 – What Next in the Year of COVID?

Leave a reply
Photo by Annika Gordon on Unsplash

Tomorrow, February 17, 2021, is the start of the season of Lent for non-Orthodox Christians. However, according to research, 76% of Americans do not observe Lent. However, 61% of Catholics, 28% of Evangelicals, and 20% of Protestants do.

Lent is traditional started with the giving the mark of the cross in ashes on ones forehead, tomorrow, Ash Wednesday. This starts a six-week season to prepare oneself for Easter Sunday. Many of these give up something during the period, such as food or activities. Food tops the list of give-ups.

The last year has been extremely difficult for many Christians, and it is difficult to imagine extending this period of suffering for another six-weeks. However, I suggest it is a great time to focus on the value of life. The overall direction of Lent is to reimagine the last days of Jesus, and prepare one’s heart to celebrate the joy of the salvation he brings to all. As churches begin to cautiously open to offer ashes, and meet in smaller capacities, this is also a time to celebrate that things are beginning to improve.

However, it’s also wise to keep in mind that the golden rule should be our guide. I can’t imagine any Christian who would knowingly treat their neighbor less than theirself.

An internet search using the terms “Ash Wednesday Services Anchorage” will reveal a large number of congregations offering in-person or in-car ashes.

Lenten blessings to my readers.

ct

The Power of Lament During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Leave a reply

As we approach 2021, we are recovering from significant amounts of celebration during Christmas. Praise and celebration certainly have a rightful place in the Christian life, but during the pandemic, too much of the wrong kind of celebration is driving rates of infection through the roof. As mentioned in a recent post, lament is not much considered in the average Christian’s life. However, in perspective, one-third of the Psalms are focused on lament. I discovered a beautiful prayer of lament on the rzim.org website today to draw focus to the beauty of presenting lament to our creator.

A Prayer of Lament over the Coronavirus Pandemic
Trina Doffelmyer

Hear our cry, Almighty God. Listen to our prayer. How long will we have to hide in our homes from this invisible enemy? Where will it strike next? And whom? And what if…? Our screens relay a continuous escalation of suffering and death around the world. Panic and anxiety abounds. Our souls are weary from the strain of the life-altering unknowns.

Heavenly Father, from the depths of our pain and confusion, we cry out to You. From fear-filled hearts and anxious minds, we plead with You. Rescue us, Father of compassion and grace. We lift up our eyes to You, Lord God, the One who sits enthroned in heaven.

On all who have contracted the virus

Lord have mercy

On all who have lost loved ones to this sickness and are in mourning and anguish

Lord have mercy

On all who are unable to earn an income because their jobs have been suspended

Lord have mercy

We cry out for healing and needed resources

We cry out for comfort and peace

On all medical professionals and caretakers attending to those infected with the virus

Christ have mercy

On all scientists and technologists striving to find a vaccine and to make it available

Christ have mercy

On all leaders of institutions and governments as they make decisions to try and contain the virus

Christ have mercy

We pray for strength in the long and exhausting hours of labor

We pray for wisdom in the research and difficult decisions

On all who have not yet contracted the virus

Lord have mercy

On the most vulnerable of our society who are unable to buy extra food or get proper medical attention

Lord have mercy

On all disciples of Jesus Christ discerning how to reflect His love to others within this crisis

Lord have mercy

We plead for protection of health

We plead for all to remain calm and kind

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the expanse of the universe. And yet this earth is no longer as You created it to be. Holy Father, our earth groans from the devastation caused by the curse of the Fall. My God, Your Word is true. One day You will liberate creation from its bondage to decay and death.

Life is sacred and precious in your sight. You are the God Who sees us and sustains us.Nothing can separate us from the Father’s unfailing love and kindness, not even sickness or the fear of tomorrow. You are our Light as we walk in this darkness. We will remember to celebrate the beautiful gifts You have given us in this present moment.

Almighty God, You are our Rock, our Refuge from the enemy, our hiding place.

You calm our frantic thoughts and fill our despairing hearts with joy and strength.

In Your Presence living water springs forth in the wilderness.

You restore our souls.

*Please note: this prayer may also be personalized by using “I” and “my” instead of “we” and “our.”

ct