It may be that you and I saw or heard some of the same observations made about this past year 2020. For one, that we would just as well not gain an extra hour of that year when we set our clocks back in the fall. Google “2020 meme.” There are so many such observations and while they often sought to bring some levity to the 2020 experience, they also memorialized for us that this was for many a strange and even unhappy period. Unfortunately, it is not over yet even with the rollout of two or more hopeful vaccines. And we do hope and expect that one day this virus will be under control and we can return to whatever was our normal pattern of life. However, let us not move on too quickly and fail to do the spiritual work that both heals the known and unknown wounds to our souls that this disruption has surely caused and that honors the life we have been given to live through this time.
In the book Joshua, the Israelites come to the bank of the Jordan and ready to cross into the promised land. Remember what their journey has been. Plagues in Egypt, scarcity in the desert, complaining against Moses and unfaithfulness to God, and forty years of 2020. Yet, God is with them and directs Joshua to have twelve men take up twelve stones from the bed of the Jordan river and to set them up as a memorial at Gilgal, the place where they make their first camp in the promised land. These stones were to serve as a reminder of God’s faithful presence and grace. The text of Joshua 4:6-7 reads “In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.” This is not a denial of hardship and loss. They have experienced much of that, but it is a recognition of those within a greater proclamation of deliverance. Loss and salvation can both be true at the same time. As you cross over into 2021, you may find it helpful to set up your own memorial marker to 2020 with stones representing what has been lost and what has been saved.
Finally, remembering and practicing the exhortation of Saint Paul in the fourth chapter of his letter to the Philippians can be healing. He is no stranger to hardship and suffering: five times receiving thirty nine lashes of the whip; three times beaten with rods; once stoned and left for dead; three times shipwrecked, and more. Yet, Paul says “Rejoice.” “Think about what is good and praiseworthy.” “Give thanks.” This is not to deny hardship and loss, but to see that those things do not overwhelm us and keep us from seeing the good that still fills our lives even in dark times. The active affirmation of those good things is our witness to God’s faithful presence and grace. So, before moving on to 2021, review 2020. What are the good and praiseworthy things and for what do you give thanks?
As you reflect upon, memorialize, and give thanks for 2020, may the peace of God that passes all understanding bless you and fill you with a renewed hope for 2021.
Fr. Bill+