Courage of the Heart
It takes courage to enter this time of year again. We were a couple weeks into the liturgical season of Lent when everything shut down for COVID-19 in the U.S. three years ago. Here we are in Lent again. The problem is that in some ways it feels like we never left Lent from 2020. In the past three years, almost seven million people have died worldwide from COVID and life has permanently changed. We keep a stash of masks in our kitchen cabinet and hand sanitizer in our cars. When we get congested, we are more vigilant to monitor for any additional symptoms. When we run a fever, we automatically take a COVID test. My children’s school newsletter still runs a column about when to return to school after you’ve been sick. Hospitals and some doctors’ offices are still requiring masking. Life has changed, and I, for one, am a little uneasy about starting Lent again. Our collective mental health that bore the trauma of living through a pandemic has not recovered.
Both Psalm 27 and 31 include the encouragement to “Let your heart take courage.” Both psalms do so in the context of waiting. As you wait, while you wait, let your heart take courage. There are times when Lent seems like a waiting season. We use it to count down to Holy Week and Easter. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we know that the liturgical season of Lent coincides with the climate transition from winter to spring. We know what’s coming, but how do we get there from here? We’re waiting. In Spanish, the word for “to wait,” is the same word as “to hope.” There’s a built-in connection between waiting and hoping. Since waiting is tied to hoping, let your heart take courage.
The words “courage” and “heart” are also connected. The root of “courage” is “cor,” which is Latin for heart. In author/professor Brene Brown’s research on courage, she found that “...the original definition was to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart.” Courage is telling who you are with your whole heart. In both Black Panther movies, Queen Ramonda tells her children, “Show them who you are.” In other words, courage is refusing to hide who you are. Don’t be afraid to use your gifts and talents and lean into your strengths. Show who you are, with your whole heart. This takes courage in the modern sense: doing something that frightens you; strength in the face of pain or grief.
Let your heart take courage. Do not give in to fear. Be encouraged. We are in Lent again, and while it may sometimes feel like it, it will not last forever.