Friends,

I write this to you on Monday of Holy Week while waiting in the lobby of a car dealership while the windshield of my car gets replaced. My insurance is covering the vast majority of the cost for which I am insanely thankful. I didn’t even realize that was something they would do! There is a grocery store nearby that seems to specialize the Ethiopian food. I walked there for lunch and on the way back, I was accosted by a pair of geese outside of a Porsche dealership. Throughout this whole experience, I have had to call people to have conversations about Holy Week and Easter preparations. I just assumed that everyone from the Ethiopian cashier to the mechanic, to the geese would all be mindful of the time we are living in. Don’t they see the gray world start to have pastel streaks of color that foreshadow the colorful eggs that will appear after Church on the Feast Day of the Resurrection of our Lord?

It is a stark reminder that after going through an imposed spiritual journey throughout Lent, and traversing the emotional roller coaster of Holy Week, the world is still normal. The day Jesus died on the cross, babies needed to be fed, water was fetched, temptations persisted, and chores needed to be done. Miles away from Jerusalem, life went on as normal when the empty tomb was discovered. The world does not stop, especially when the most important things happen. I live in a bubble where everyone is freaking out about Easter just as I am or at least respects that this is a big deal for me and those in my community. But the geese will hiss at me as I walk past next week, just as they did today, oblivious to our spiritual elation.

Like me, many of you may have given something up for Lent, and you may gladly indulge in that vice when Easter arrives. You may have even tried to make a step to live life differently during this season by trying on who you could be if you gave up that one thing. Ascribing a special time to give these things up makes the task easier. When it comes to these holy tasks around change, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday feel exactly the same. Our task becomes, taking a step back and deciding if and how we will let this season change us. In a world of grace and mercy, you are not being held hostage. If you succeeded in your Lenten goals, then maybe it’s time to bring those changes to everyday life. If you failed, then maybe that’s a sign you should keep on practicing. Not for you? That is ok too. The door is there for you to walk through when you are ready.

Sitting here in this carefully arranged show room, watching everyone go about their tasks, I feel that I am a passive observer on a different world. They’ve already sold me my car over a year ago. No one is performing. I’ve been here for hours, and I think I have become part of their background. They have cares, agendas, and someone who cares for them outside of their ability to sell stuff, but right now they need to sell these cars and are very much focused on that task. Across the world, the most important thing in the history of humanity could be happening, and all of us here in the showroom would be oblivious.

It’s not that every day is mundane, void of significance. The terrifying truth is realizing that every day carries the weight of the world, and we must still feed the babies, dodge the angry geese, and make a living.

Sunday is going to be a big day. Put on those colorful clothes and neglect your to-do list, because everything has changed.

Blessings,

Nick