Few would argue that we have been severely shaken in 2020. The Corona virus pandemic has turned lives upside down and inside out all over the world. Ironically, 2020 is also the designation for optimal clearness and sharpness of vision. 2020 means we see with vision unhampered by imperfection, not distorted by irregularities, subjective perceptions, desires or diseases that lead to blindness.
How does being shaken help move us to grow in visual acuity or the way we perceive life? How does being shaken affect our vision of living and our understanding of the life, death and resurrection of Christ?
Jesus wept in the garden of Gethsemane the night before he was to suffer horrific abuse, ridicule, torture and agonizing death on a cross. His world and the world of his disciples would be turned upside down in horrific events and the tragedy of essential death in order for our sins to be nailed to that cross and forgiven for all eternity. In one moment, the weight of a darkened world was shaken, turned upside down, and offered up in a love far greater, more eternal, and more powerful than any human suffering or even death itself. A fear as great as any, wrenching tears of blood on the face of God made man, Jesus pleaded in his human frailty to be released from the task.
Essential shakings can paralyze us or move us out of our comfort and complacency. When life gets too comfortable, we don’t need help, we don’t need others, we don’t need prayer and we don’t need God.
How will you “prepare to be shaken” this Holy Week?
