This is a different kind of time. Businesses are closed.Store shelves have empty spaces. We are getting used to social distancing and being “safer at home.” This pandemic has turned most peoples’ lives in different and unexpected places. 

A disrupted schedule helps us see and experience life in some diverse ways. In the midst of these uncertain and in many ways frightening days, we still have today. What will we do with it? For some, routine is paramount. These people keep their lives with as many similarities as possible to their lives of just a month ago. There are limits to this, but the structure remains.

Others are taking this as opportunity to attend to things they did not make time for before. Many are cleaning closets and rooms. Some are taking stock of pantries and are preparing some items that were pushed to the back. People’s desire to create with art is rising. Connecting with others, whether it is family in our home or using social media, is also on the uptick. 

Grief and loss are also present. We miss some activities we enjoyed doing or watching. Sports and athletics define many lives and this absence is grieved by many. Opportunities for students, especially milestones, have been postponed or cancelled. Family celebrations, reunions and weddings are affected by the limits. These losses are real and felt. 

Even our grieving and the ways in which we say good bye has taken on new forms. Hospitals and nursing homes have become restrictive on visitors coming. Funerals, limited to 10 family members, have a different tenor. 

Obviously, this virus has caused the cancellation of masses, worship services and other activities. Many pastors and congregations are exploring new ways of ministry while sharing a story.

In the Church, this is a different kind of time. It is Holy Week. This Sunday we celebrate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Thursday, Jesus shared his final meal with the disciples and washed their feet. He was also betrayed and arrested. Early Friday, he was tried, beaten and sentenced to death. He was led outside the gates of Jerusalem and crucified. He died. For the Church, this week has always been one of breaking routines and addressing large human themes of joy and sorrow, love and hate, expectation and despair. Even though we are not able to gather, we are still experiencing these emotions. They are real and true and not to be taken lightly. 

On the other side of this emotional roller coaster is Easter, the promise of a new day and new life. Like those earliest disciples, we need to go through these uncertain and trying days. But unlike them, we know the end of the story that arrived on Easter morning.

— John Tabaka is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, Monroe.