Note: I wrote this reflection last week, on Palm Sunday, and shared it with friends on my Facebook page. As I sat down this past Thursday to come up with a relevant Easter column for Spirit Matters, this seemed about as applicable as any, this year. May you all have a Happy and Blessed Easter. ~ Jerrilyn

Recently, I saw a meme on Facebook that pretty much sums it up for those of us who observe Lent, the 40-day penitential period before Easter.

This is the Lentiest Lent Ive ever Lented.

I laughed, but those words are so true.

This Lent has been different than any other, because to me, I have felt the discomfort of feeling as though God is absent, while I have been trying to navigate soooo many competing emotions.

I know God hasnt been absent.

His Presence, for me anyway, has just been clouded by all the anxiety and fear that is blowing in the wind.

I havent really been able to find a firm footing this whole time, although I have tried to continue a regular prayer practice, at least as far as I could. I have been gentle with myself, not expecting myself to be perfect in all my practices or even getting anything done on any given day.

I think that is important for all of us. This is an unprecedented time. If we dont get all the things checked off our list that we are supposed to do, that is okay.

Our routine has been shattered.

In fact, this morning, Palm Sunday, I woke up and felt a fresh desire to really give myself to walking with Jesus during this Holy Week. I watched Mass online, and felt a spiritual connection with the countless others who were watching Church services online today. I could feel how all those watching with me had been brought to their knees in a new way, and had returned rending their garments, mourning and weeping, to the only God who could make any sense of what we are experiencing.

After Mass, everything changed for me.

I was finally able to put a name on what all of this chaos we have been experiencing is.

These past weeks, the world has experienced a spiritual earthquake.

Religious observance aside, the spirits of human beings everywhere, have been completely obliterated as they try to make sense of this new normal.

Nothing is the same as it was before.

I dont claim to know the mind of God, and I am not willing to say this virus is something God handed down as a punishment.

I dont believe that is the way God works.

However, this virus and all the uncertainty that goes with it has certainly knocked every one of us to the ground.

As we walk through the wilderness and try to figure this all out, we are scared, frantic, anxious, disturbed, frightened, helpless, you name it.

****

Just before I started to write this tonight, I read todays Gospel, the Passion according to Matthew.

As I was reading through it, probably a little too quickly, I was intrigued to come across these words:

And behold, the veil of the sanctuarywas torn in two from top to bottom.The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened,and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised.And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection,they entered the holy city and appeared to many.The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesusfeared greatly when they saw the earthquakeand all that was happening, and they said,Truly, this was the Son of God!.

I honestly had not thought about or seen the word earthquake in todays gospel when I thought of our current circumstances as a spiritual earthquake. It was only as I read through the Gospel, that I made the connection and saw the word as sort of an affirmation from the Holy Spirit that I might be on to something.

Upon Jesuss death on the cross, the earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many. The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus feared greatly when they saw the earthquake and all that was happening, and they said, Truly, this was the Son of God!

It wasnt until the earth quaked when Jesus died and nature went wild with mourning, that those who persecuted and crucified Jesus were humbled enough to see Reality as it was.

The Creator of the Universe had spoken, as he mourned the death of his Son, who had come into this world to Love every single one of us into Eternal Life.

Perhaps at this moment in time, during this spiritual earthquake, we are being given the opportunity to see Reality as it isto recognize the harm we are doing to one another in our thoughts, our words, our actions, our bickering our complete ignoring of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To step back and see how, while we are trapped in our houses, nature continues to gift us with Her wonder as we look out our windows and doors and see Spring come alive again. To see that no, we are not to dominate nature as it was graciously given to us by the Creator, but to be good stewards of that Creation, living in harmony with all other Life on the planet.

Rather than seeing all of this chaos as just that, I choose to see this spiritual earthquake as an opportunity to reorient myself to what really matters.

To Reality as it Is.

And as I begin this walk through Holy Week, remembering the suffering, death and crucifixion of the Son of God, I comfort myself, knowing how the story ends.

See you next Sunday.

SPIRIT MATTERSis a weekly column that examines spirituality in the area. Contact Jerrilyn Zavada at jzblue33@yahoo.com to share how you engage your spirit in your life and in your community.

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SPIRIT MATTERS: The earth quaked, physically and spiritually - MyWebTimes.com