Shaken, and also Stirred

Palm Sunday: When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” Matthew 21:10

Good Friday: At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split Matthew 27:51

Easter Morning: The guards were so afraid of (the angel) that they shook and became like dead men. Matthew 28:4

Nerd Moment:

Within each of these Holy Week verses, there is the Koine Greek word ἐσείσθη (eseisthē) or ἐσείσθησαν (eseisthēsan) pronounced eh-SEE-sthee or eh-SAYTH-thee-sahn respectively. They are related to our word “seismic” as in earthquakes. (Note: Matthew 28:2 uses a different word σεισμὸς (SEISmos) that is almost always translated “earthquake” – which happened when the angel appeared at the tomb.)

Some of us have experienced literal earthquakes that broke the glass and moved the furniture and possibly caused bodily harm. And some of us have experienced figurative earthquakes when the person we’ve trusted most betrayed us or the glue that held our family together is gone, causing emotional and spiritual harm.

Some of us might be feeling particularly shaky these days for all kinds of personal and global reasons.

James Bond famously preferred his martini to be shaken, not stirred. Whatever. Reddit reports that there is no “right” way to enjoy a martini: “If you want your martini a little bit colder, more diluted, and with more liquid in the glass, shake it. If you want to taste the spirit more, stir it.” Again: whatever.

I’m struck by the seismic words in the Holy Week stories. We can all relate to being shaken and if we are most fortunate, these stories many of us have heard all our lives will jolt us a little bit upon hearing them again. However, I’m concerned that – because the stories are so familiar – we have lost the ability to understand the seismic realities of those moments: when the ground shook as Jesus entered Jerusalem and was later crucified, and still later when there was an earthquake at the empty tomb and the men guarding the tomb shook like leaves (or “dead men?”) when they saw an angel shining like lightning.

This is what Christians say we believe and yet it’s quite possible that this week will be like any other. We hear the Biblical stories read and we sort of pay attention. Maybe we find them comforting in their familiarity. And then we go out to brunch next Sunday afternoon.

My prayer this week is that we would not only remember that the world was shaken during that first Holy Week, but that we would subsequently be stirred emotionally to the point that something about us would be changed.

I am consistently stirred when I watch that scene in the movie “In and Out” when Kevin Kline’s character – who’s trying not be “be gay” cannot help but break out into a glorious dance to “I Will Survive.” I was stirred over the weekend when I heard Ibram X. Kendi speak at the No Kings event in Charlotte. (His new book is a must read for these shaky times.) A great sermon stirs me – especially a great funeral sermon. Something in my soul moves and I am inspired to take the next step: be a better person, change my priorities, see things more clearly.

My hope for this Holy Week is that we would be both shaken and stirred. Shaken by the power of the foundational stories of our faith. And then stirred to make necessary changes. May it be so.