This my column which appeared on the front page of The Arab Tribune on Thursday, April 9, 2020 during the Coronavirus pandemic.
These are strange times.
Just like almost everyone else, we have closed the church office, and all of us are working at home. I’m spending way more time on the phone and much less time in person. I’m about to completely wear out my house shoes.
For the first time I can remember, my phone starts feeling warm on my ear every day. I became an amateur aficionado of Zoom and got over my distaste and discomfort with selfie videos. Somebody has to record the sermon for online worship, and I might as well let other people stay home, right?
My son came back from Germany a few months early and self-quarantined in the teardrop camper parked in my garage. My daughter has been nursing in all-COVID units, and today she feels sick, so she is getting her second test since the first one came back negative. A member of my church got the Coronavirus after a heart procedure but, thank God, she is recovering and off the respirator. I can’t go see her, so phone calls will have to do. Every day I pray for those who take ill and for those who are on the front lines, for people whose lives are disrupted and for those who find themselves looking for a job.
All this brings me to the weirdest Holy Week we’ve ever known. The White House issued a statement warning that “one of the toughest weeks is ahead,” and this happens to be the week of all weeks.
I grew up in the Church and have been a pastor for over 30 years. It’s going to be strange not gathering in the building on Easter (or Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, for that matter). My congregation won’t be “in” church, though we’ll definitely be “at” church. Thank God we can worship online.
No matter how bizarre Holy Week is this year, in a way it’s a “tough” week every year because it is the week of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. But like my pastor friend says when giving his two word summary of the mystifying book of Revelation, “God wins.” And that keeps it all in perspective.
My wife and I were talking this morning over coffee, and I told her I’d been asked to write a column for Easter. Off the top of her head, she said there are four different perspectives we have on this journey. There’s the steering wheel, the windshield, the road ahead, and the horizon. She’s pretty intuitive, so I went with that.
The “steering wheel perspective” is about what’s right in front of you. You have to get food and medical supplies, as well as that extra roll of coveted toilet paper. You have to find what you need for a functioning household or get someone you love to the doctor. You download Zoom so your kids can go to school and spend time with them so they don’t go stir crazy. Sometimes your knuckles turn white holding onto the steering wheel, so it’s important to try and relax. But my wife makes me wipe my steering wheel with a napkin soaked in alcohol. It’s not always easy to keep focused on what’s right in front of you, but it’s all you’ve got in our hands. That’s “steering wheel” perspective.
The “windshield perspective” is how you perceive the larger world around you. How do you keep your windshield clean so you can see what do do next? You can’t keep it disinfected, but you have to clean off the coat of yellow pollen. It’s important to think about others on the road, not just what’s right in front of you. How do you get exercise without endangering anyone? Are you willing to wear a cloth mask? I have been disturbed by high-profile pastors who held public worship, defying the orders of government and the strong recommendations of health officials. For me, that’s not seeing the forest for the trees. My church has gone to online worship and we are finding new ways to be in community. Simply put, it’s the right thing to do. It’s not easy, but with a little creativity we can figure out how to do it together. That’s “windshield” perspective.
The “road ahead” perspective is to begin to see where all this is going and how you are going to get there. Most of us aren’t there yet, but after surprise after surprise has unrolled during the last few weeks, at some point you need to move from reacting to the latest stats to a long-term vision. Humanity is resilient and our country is strong, so there will be a way through. We’ve made it through through times before, but if you are going to look back on history and see this is as one of our finest hours (like Churchill famously said of England in World War II), it has to do with the direction we take in all this, not just what’s in right front of you. That’s “road ahead” perspective.
The “horizon” perspective is where Easter comes in. There is a bigger picture that lies at the end of the road and illuminates it along the way. Yes, you must deal with what’s right in front of you, operate with high regard for others, and find direction during tumultuous times. But this week is not just a “tough week ahead of us.” It’s a replay of the toughest and greatest week of all time.
Our faith reminds us that no matter what, our lives belong to God. Through the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ, we are given power over death and destruction. Easter is not just about bunnies, eggs, and springtime.
One of the serendipitous blessings of these strange times is that I get to hear friends preach online, and as a pastor friend in Ghana said this week, every healing, blessing, and deliverance you are seeking from God is imbedded in the Paschal Mystery ... in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ. That’s “horizon” perspective.
So keep your chin up. Look beyond the steering wheel, beyond the windshield, and even beyond the road ahead of you. There is a horizon up ahead.
Steve West is a husband, father, minister, musician, and writer who pastors Arab First United Methodist Church. His blog, “Musings of a Musical Preacher,” is at www.stevewestsmusings.blogspot.com.
