Checking In

By Kristina Roth Klinck

As Elsa sings in the new movie, Frozen 2, the unknown is a scary place. It can be anxiety provoking to have no control over the future and have no idea what it holds. We chose Brené Brown’s Braving the Wilderness with no understanding of the future. We had no idea that COVID-19 would cause a strain on so many people, the health care system, our economies, families, etc. How fitting that in a time of uncertainty, we are reading about how to brave the wilderness. 
 
Several weeks ago, my Holy pilgrimage to Italy was canceled. A few weeks after that, I was at the grocery store, and I began to feel afraid. People were frantically filling their carts with frozen items, bread, pasta, soup, frantically picking over what was left on the shelves. “Will we have enough food? Will there be enough for us? Are we going to fall ill?” Fear began to fill my head. All around me, I saw fear, fear of not having enough and fear of the other. People were afraid of their neighbor. Were their neighbors going to give them the virus? As the daughter of a hospital nurse, it is important to be health conscious and protected, but it is still very important to love our neighbor. 
 
In a space of unknown for the disciples, Jesus washes their feet, a very intimate act. Upon washing their feet, Jesus tells them to wash the feet of others. As the disciples entered into unknown territory, they were not direction-less. As a compass gives direction, Jesus gives direction for the disciples and for us as we wander through the wilderness. “Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” 
 
As we worship on this Holy Maundy Thursday, may we remember Jesus’s commandment to love one another. Even in a Global pandemic, we still must love one another. Whom have you checked in on? What phone calls have you made to your family, friends, and those most vulnerable? Maybe in a pandemic, checking in is “loving your neighbor as yourself.”