The Deadliest Week?

Did Jesus know what would happen the week he entered Jerusalem?

We Christians start the week with palms and then move swiftly through the torture and death of Jesus, and then celebrate resurrection.  Boom.  Boom. Boom. So much happens so fast.

We’ve been commemorating this last week of Jesus’ life for so long that the whiplash from parade to cross to empty tomb doesn’t jolt us terribly much.  We know the end of the story.

We don’t know the end of the Covid-19 story.  (As a person of faith, I’m still going with resurrection, but the unknown between now and then can be stressful  – faith or no faith.)

And now the Surgeon General – that official person who advises us on the dangers of smoking – has warned us that this could be the deadliest week of our lives:

This is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans’ lives, quite frankly.  This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment, only it’s not going to be localized.  (Source)

So here we go.  Holy Week is going to be the deadliest week?

As we stay home and stay safe, it’s an amazing juxtaposition we face:  Long ago there was a deadly kiss. There was a leader who washed  his hands in front of a crowd.  There was fear and shame.

It’s an interesting time to ponder the deadliest week in Jesus’ life as we live through what’s could be the deadliest week in our communal life.  I hope we take time to connect the spiritual dots.