Our anxiety drives us to act in ways that override morality. We spend our money based on fear rather than stewardship. We make political decisions based on fear rather than the common good. We view our neighbors based on fear and not their divine image. We view people who are differ from us in color, nationality, or culture based on fear and not the love that God has for them. We participate in religious life based on fear rather than love.

Covid entered the sheep pen, and so the enemy cannot be Covid – or the death and poverty that resulted. No, the enemy in the bundle of things that want to come with it – the despair, the hopelessness, the fear, the crippling anxiety, the negligence towards our neighbors, the selfishness, and the fragmentation of society into two hostile groups along ideological lines that we are increasingly experiencing. The Good Shepherd taunts these things because they don’t have that power. Sure, we may get sick, of course, we may suffer in debilitating and devastating ways, but we can never be snatched away from the love and the ultimate protection of the Good Shepherd.

When we get to Emmaus, when we reach our destination on the other side of Covid, we will say, “He was with us all the time, and we never knew it. He has taken us to the place of salvation” Oh, he took the scenic route, he was in no kind hurry, he didn’t us a GPS, but he got us there. The place of resurrection awaits. We’re on our way, step by step.

Oh please don’t say all this suffering was for nothing. That tens of thousands of people died, that countless families were rocked by loss, that billions around the globe had their lives upended, their futures altered, their hopes dashed, their dreams strangled, and it was all for nothing. That we just went back to normality after a few months. That cannot be an option. It’s Easter Day, Christ is risen, and resuscitation is just not good enough. We want Resurrection. We must be transformed.

Blessings are for giving away. We are blessed in order to bless.

It may be the blessing of money – or it may be the blessing of time, of energy, of intellect, of education, of experience, of love, your creativity, your leadership skills, your business acumen. Hear the Word of the Lord: we have been blessed; but not to stockpile our blessings, not to hoard our riches be they material, mental, physical or spiritual, but to bless others. Eco-systems exist because of flow.

Just as the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness, so the Spirit pushes us into this desert. Yes, we will be tested and tried and tempted. But for good reasons – to grow, to become stronger, to gain wisdom, to be more complete in our self-awareness and our God-awareness. Can you handle this desert? Yes, you can. What kind of God leads his beloved into places where they will inevitably fail, where they will be harmed, where they will become worse people?

Sometimes the cloud can descend in a doctor's office. It can appear out of nowhere with a phone call, or an email, or the boss wanting to have a word with you. Life is enjoyable, God seems close, circumstances are happy, the sun is shining. Then the cloud descends. Chaos gatecrashes the place where contentment lived, and we know that we must go down the mountain. So where is our hope?

Religious rules can stop me killing people or cheating on my spouse, but, they won’t change my heart. Deep down in the dark secret place - that is where God wants to do his work, the place where my motives are hatched, and my urges are birthed. Get to the place where the seed falls and let God work on it before it sprouts, takes root, grows, and eventually leads to a horror that destroys my life and other peoples’.

you ARE the salt of the earth. Hear the Word of the Lord: ‘Get out of the saltshaker and into the world.’ This place needs us – it needs you. We are to season this world that is often bland and frequently tasteless. You are the seasoning in your workplace, your school, your social circles, your online communities. Get out of the saltshaker and into the world.

Anna and Simeon have probably experienced failure, because that is vital if people are to gain wisdom. They have almost certainly let themselves down at times, because that is essential if we are to get a true knowledge of who we are. They have probably been stripped of things they once held dear, because that must happen if we are to find peace and contentment. Experience is something you gain just after you needed it, and they have gained it in spades.