Presencing the Message of Easter in the World of COVID19
John 16:33 “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
This week is holy week; the week before Jesus died. It was a week of Him sharing final teachings and goodbyes. A week dedicated to telling His disciples “I love you,” one last time.
It was a week filled with pain and promise, leading up to His one final, agonized proclamation:
“It is finished.”
With one last breath, Jesus became our final sacrifice. And because of His power over death, we can now become wholly alive.
The holy week in present time has a heightened relevance to the first Holy Week. COVID19 has disrupted and is disintegrating all facets of human life. “It is finished.” Each of us, all of humanity, is stilled in a sacred pause. This global pandemic crisis is calling us to be comforted by the Easter message in this present moment of death.
This holy week we can acknowledge that life as we’ve lived it is finished! In this time of remembering the Holy Week that led to our salvation we can ask Jesus for strength to live responsibly for all in our personal sacrifice, pain, and death. In this holy week we can surrender our powerlessness to the One Divine Power that is Jesus’ gift of salvation alive in each of us. In this holy week we can choose to follow the Powerful Light that lives in us all as One for the promise of being wholly alive. In this week we can pray for wisdom on how to nurture our Divine and human wholeness in self, and with other, and relationally with the interconnection of all humans, and our earth home. In this holy week, we can be comforted in our pain of sacrifice with the promise of rising again more wholly alive as Spiritual beings.
This Holy Week, set aside time each day reflecting on what the Easter message of Jesus’ sacrifice means to you in this time of COVID19. Pause, set your attention on the sacred, be present to Christ and open your heart to His promise to eternal life. My prayer is that you embrace God’s love for you, find peace in the promise of salvation, be powerfully wholly alive in Christ.
Peace be with you.
Submitted by Vicki O’Day
Unity of the Valley Spiritual Center invites blog submissions from members and friends that advance our spiritual, educational and inspirational mission as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We recognize One God . . . One Spirit . . . One Source and we acknowledge the many various Paths to the Divine. While we welcome diverse expressions and points of view, please note that the opinions or views expressed herein are those of the authors and are not to be attributed to Unity of the Valley nor its officers or staff.