Just after midnight on Palm Sunday, I was lying awake in bed thinking. I had just taken the puppy outside and finished up with the dishes. Well, it wasn’t really Palm Sunday anymore, it was early on Monday. I was thinking about Holy Week and how sometimes I really do wonder: What Would Jesus Do?

Perhaps he would sit quietly with the old confused people I work with at the memory care facility. They could all use some more love and patience. Perhaps he would wonder why everyone is staring at a screen and tapping it with their thumbs all the time. (instead of looking at each other)

What would Jesus get mad about? Probably the same things he got mad about over 2000 years ago, but in a different context. Making money using His name? The treatment and exploitation of the poor? The treatment and exploitation of the land? Pervasive selfishness and wastefulness?

Over 2000 years ago the masses killed the messenger because the message terrified them. I think the same thing would happen today. Then, on the third day, the messenger reminds us he cannot be killed. On Easter we celebrate the resurrection. God is with us even after we tried to kill him.

Most people I know will only celebrate with chocolate bunnies, dyed eggs and a ham this Sunday. They may not even mention the reason for this season. There are so many other things to think about at the beginning of Spring. New life is popping up all over the place and the air smells of blossoms. It is time to plant and time to clean. Is there time to think about God and ourselves? It is so much easier at Christmas time when we have a story about the baby Jesus coming into the world. During Holy Week we have the story of what happened to the baby Jesus when he grew up and then we killed him. I say “we” as general statement about what humans do. We gang up on each other, we kill each other, we fear what is different, we fear change, we resist being told we must change our ways. Seems like not much has changed in the last 2000 years, other than gaining several more distractions, in the ways of humans.

Is there hope for us? I like to think there is hope for us. Hope is in the little things. Hope is in doing what is right even when no one is looking, even without telling anyone or being rewarded. For me, I need to remember to be kinder to those closest to me, not just the people I care for at work. Hope is when life finds a way through the cracks in the pavement, through the fallen logs in the forest and out of the empty tomb.