“Try not to get worried, try not to turn on to problems that upset you, oh, don't you know everything's alright, yes, everything's fine, and we want you to sleep well tonight. Let the world turn without you tonight. If we try, we'll get by, so forget all about us tonight.”
As Kate and I went for a walk around the block this afternoon, this song from Andrew Lloyd Weber's “Jesus Christ Superstar” was rolling around in my head. As a kid, I would listen to this two album record on my dad's turntable over and over again.
The singer of this song is Mary, one of Jesus' closest friends and supporters, trying to calm and soothe Jesus into a good night's rest, all the while Jesus and Judas are arguing back and forth about the value of ointment “wasted” on Jesus rather than given to the poor.
As I witness tension and anxiety growing in our city, in our nation, and in our world, I'm finding this song is not diminishing, but seemingly growing louder in my ears, “Try not to get worried. Everything's alright.”
And yet, everything is not alright, right? People who are sick. People who have lost loved ones. People who have lost jobs. People who ignore the scientific guidance and put themselves (and others!) at risk. It seems difficult to say everything's fine, when the world feels anything but alright.
And yet, the song continues to play in my head, and it occurs to me, perhaps this is God's way of reminding me this is one more example of our lived Christian reality of “Already, but not yet.” With Jesus, the Kingdom has come, already, but not yet in fullness. The promise of new life in and through Jesus is realized already, but not yet in the life to come.
Even amidst the craziness of Covid-19, Everything's alright, already, but also not yet.
In times of high stress and anxiety, sometimes its really helpful to remember that things are ok, and things are going to be ok.
Saint Julian of Norwich in a deathly ill state saw a vision of Christ in which he said to her:
All shall be well.
And all shall be well.
And all manner of things shall be well.
If you too are feeling the high anxiety of the times, perhaps this can be a mantra for us, as we remember that Covid-19 shall pass and leave its mark upon us, but nothing except for God's love, grace, and redemption will have the final say. All shall be well. Everything's alright.
Holy Lord, when all is not well, help us to keep our focus on You and your grace abounding in this world. Help us to cast all our cares upon you, laying our burdens at your feet, and resting in the abundant of hope of your promise that all shall be well. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
- Pastor Andy Bartel