Were You There?
In a time when we are all “here” in our homes, in our small living spaces, we are asked this Resurrection day to be “there.”
This points to a reality that is beyond us, and should, I think, be nearer to the Christian of 2020. The reality of that event, its confusion, its pain, and its grief has had a defining impact on all history in both directions, as prophets like Moses, Job, Daniel, Isaiah, and the Psalms all looked forward to the cross, and as we all look backwards to it.
COVID-19 is a great example of a situation that caught the world off guard. And strangely enough it came with warning. First through the healthcare workers in Wuhan who sought to emphasize its danger before the virus multiplied. And then as America watched the spectacle increase through various countries, we yet took little heed to it. So are many of the situations and storms of our lives–they come with warning, and yet catch us off guard.
This traditional song calls Christians to be in a place that physically we don’t occupy, but speaks a deep truth–that on that Good Friday so long ago, we truly died, and on that Sunday, we lived.
Most people could not imagine that our schools and work places would be closed this month, and that we would be seeking new ways to do normal life. Many of us are grateful for the connections we have online. And whether or not we do have this access, and whether or not the global internet connection remains, yet as Christians we are called to be there, and here, together in the One who overcame sin and death, and promised never to leave nor forsake his own.
_____
Check out more of Jason Harms’s music at https://jasonharms.squarespace.com/