What’s Lent like during a Pandemic?
Sermon on John 4:5-42
What a time of true, remarkable Lent!
If I had asked you last Sunday: What are you giving up for Lent? What would you have answered? Chocolate? Alcohol? Meat? Social Media? Food, drinks or habits that you really enjoy but feel like they might over-occupy you? Things you give up knowing that you will enjoy them even more and intensely after 40 days of fasting.
We give up something to win something else. Like more time with the family, more time to read a good book, more time to talk to friends. More time to read the bible and pray. More time to be who we really want to be.
What a time of true, remarkable Lent!
The entire world is slowing down. Some countries have shut down all their social life. Here in the Bay Area Theaters have canceled their shows through April, museums are closed. On BART I suddenly have more space than I would ever need.
Schools are going to be closed starting tomorrow for at least 3 weeks. Kids are going to be at home with their parents. Hopefully, these parents will be able to work from home and get some kind of paycheck. Hopefully, the parents who have to work have family, friends and neighbors to support them. There will be lots of family-time forced upon all of us. Whether we like it or not.
There will be lots of times when we think: Ok, what’s on for today? Whom can I visit or meet? What show is on? Which restaurant do I want to try out? And it will take some time to realize that the answer is: Today is a day that you will spend with your closest family. At home or maybe at a lonely beach or in a forest far away from anybody else. Whether we like it or not.
What a time of true, remarkable Lent!
“Social distancing” is what this is called and what we are asked to practice now. To prevent a large outbreak, like in parts of China or in Italy. Where an entire country has turned into a ghost-country for not only weeks but months. Because nobody took the virus serious enough. And once they did, it was already too late.
I want to be honest. I have never been a pastor during a pandemic. This is my very first time. And I am all set to look at this as a spiritual journey, wonderfully appropriate for Lent. I am also all set to do everything in my power to lower your risk of catching the virus.
In the church year, Lent is the time, when we are asked to prepare ourselves for the suffering and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are asked to do so by cleansing our body, our heart and our soul. By breaking with habits that keep us away from God. By longing for the living water like the strong, beautiful, sassy Samaritan woman from today’s Gospel.
I have to admit, I love her. She is simply amazing. A real conversation partner to Jesus. A woman who has been bent down so many times. A woman whom people look down at. But she keeps on walking with her head straight up. She might be considered weak, but she is strong. She talks back to a man like Jesus, she asks questions, she knows her history and then, finally, she goes and proclaims this Jesus who seems to know everything about her.
And Jesus? What does he actually give her? He promised her living water and she really wants it: “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
Instead of giving her a drink, Jesus starts a conversation about her husband. He seems to try to sidetrack her as if saying: Ah, come on. My little sermon about living water was just a metaphor.
And then, something beautiful happens. Jesus gives this Samaritan woman a large sip from the cup of truth. He tells her what she knows, what everyone in her village knows. But he tells her without judging her.
This woman is thirsty to hear the truth as a simple fact. Sometimes, that’s enough and still more than most people are able to do. Because we so like to have opinions and judge others. It’s just, who we are.
It’s not who we have to be though. “Social distancing” could be our Lenten practice to stop judging each other and to take some time to review facts before telling others our opinion. It could be a time to learn about things we have always wanted to learn but never had the time. It could be a time to deeply dwell on what’s important in our lives.
And then, the Samaritan woman asks Jesus a question, church leaders all over the world are praying over right now: Where is the right place to worship God? Where and how shall we worship, when gatherings of more than 100 people are forbidden? Ok, that’s not our problem. Would be great if it was.
But where and how shall we worship when no more than 10 people out of the risk group should be in one place? Looking at our congregation, very few of us are not at risk right now.
Jesus’ answer helps me to put this in perspective. He says:
“Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Isn’t that amazing that this is in today’s Gospel? I didn’t search for it, it’s just in there. Meant to be heard by us. Meant to be taken to our hearts. The hour is here, when the true worshiper will worship the Father in spirit and truth.
This time of Lent forces us to think outside of the box. For safety reasons we are not meeting in our fellowship hall right now. There is only 11 of us in here to worship. Pretty empty. Lot’s of space to spread out.
At the same time you are all out there, watching us live, listening to the words of the bible and praying with us. The hour is here, when the true worshiper will worship the Father in spirit and truth.
Isn’t that amazing? We are church together, even though we are all in different houses. Don’t get too comfortable on your couch though, we do want you to come back once we reopen our fellowship hall. 😊
When I asked you what you love about Christ the King, many of you said “the people”. And I have to admit, after only 2 weeks with you, I agree: You are wonderful.
So, how could fellowship look like when we are not able to gather in person for a while? How can we still care for each other? Can we start a phone-list to make sure we check in with each other daily? Can some of us help people at risk with daily essentials like shopping or running any kind of errands? What ways of communication are available to us and how can we use them best for a new way of fellowship?
Lent is always hard when one only thinks of it as to “what am I to give up”? But the reason we practice Lent is not to suffer, but to gain freedom. To think outside of the box. To come up with new ideas.
What a time of true, remarkable Lent!
We also won’t have communion for the next couple of weeks. Which is an important part of our spiritual life. As Lutherans, we believe in the power of the word that is nothing less than the sacrament of communion. Still, to live without communion will be a rather hard practice for Lent, but I am sure that it can help us feel what it means "to truly long for communion". To long for unity in Christ. To long for peace on earth.
We want to worship God in spirit and truth wherever we are. While watching the News at home. While buying gift certificates from stores that might otherwise not survive the next month. While washing our hands for 20 seconds. By the way: That’s exactly how long it takes to pray the Lord’s prayer. Washing my hands has become a spiritual practice for me and I don’t think I have ever prayed the Lord’s prayer as often in a day before. It’s wonderful. Try it.
The world is full of opportunities to worship God in spirit and truth. Even if we have to stay home for a couple of weeks. God is with us.
What a time of true, remarkable Lent! Amen.
