by Rev. Laura Folkwein
“Rainbows only come after the rain,” “Finish your dinner before you enjoy dessert,” “Finish your chores and then you can play.” I usually shrug through these sayings, so familiar that they fail to mean much. The general theme is that we often have to endure hard times to get back to good, or that slogging through some “yuck” is necessary before you get to enjoy the “yum” of life. A running buddy of mine used to remind me when I started to lag, “you will feel so good when it’s over.” It is true. The pride of accomplishment after hard work is worth the struggle. Sometimes, however, the hard stuff seems to pile up. Sometimes the suffering is distributed very unevenly and unfairly and there is no rainbow in sight.
The Christian practice of Holy Week--walking with Jesus through Jerusalem to the cross, is a time to remember our own griefs and to acknowledge all suffering as real and worthy of our care. Even if it is uncomfortable. I have heard some folks, especially those who are struggling mightily, say that they are grateful for Lent and Good Friday in church. Communal remembrances of our mortality and sorrow allow us to ALL feel sad and lost TOGETHER. No false cheerfulness or attunement to social norms of politeness are required as we experience the distress of the cross together. Sinking into the darkness of “Tenebrae” (Latin for darkness), in church can be a relief for some of us who are already there in the dark and usually feeling incredibly alone.
This season, I have found myself quite adamant, maybe even looking forward to observing Palm/Passion Sunday. I don’t want too many of us to skip from one high point of Palm Sunday with Jesus entering Jerusalem in a parade of his friends and followers, to the next high point of trumpets, lilies (floral trumpets) and the celebration of Easter. We must travel through the lonesome valley between palms and the empty tomb. The relief of good health or the pleasure of a sorrow-free moment is made all the sweeter for having been through a hard time. Though suffering is no requirement for our redemption or joy, the pain of this life is real and very necessary to attend to. We cannot thoroughly enjoy Easter morning without the depths of unknowing and sorrow that come with Good Friday. A somber Good Friday reminds us how to be together with one another in our pain. The hope and joy of Easter are even brighter because we have been to the cross. May you have a blessed Holy Week, beloveds.