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Years ago the late, great Karen Carpenter sang, “Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.”

As I sit and write this piece, it is a Monday, and a rainy one at that. But the late Ms. Carpenter never knew about quarantines.

These are days that get us down, whether they are rainy Mondays or sunny Saturdays. It’s a time to stay home, maybe go for a walk, or a run or bike ride. But it is not a time to go wandering through a grocery store, drop in on Grandma or plan your next party. There will be time for that, we hope, but that time is not now.

This is a time to carefully consider other people and keep our germs to ourselves. You might have the coronavirus, you might not. At this stage of the game, who knows? Better to be carefully considerate. Even when it gets us down.

For Christian churches this is the season of Easter – seven weeks between the great Resurrection day and the day of Pentecost. The Sunday after Easter is always the story of “Doubting Thomas,” the disciple who wasn’t there the first time around and who wouldn’t believe until he put his hands in the marks of Jesus’ wounds.

For me, these days, the big thing is not so much Thomas but Jesus. The disciples are afraid, fearful they will be the next ones on the cross. They are hiding behind locked doors and barred windows. They are there not to keep away from a virus but the religious authorities – those who are so sure they know God’s will in everything and want to keep everything under control.

In the midst of their fear – not when they get over it – Jesus comes. And Jesus comes to us not when the virus is over, not when the quarantines cease, but right now at this moment. Even if it’s a rainy Monday or a time when we can’t be with our grandkids to see them play and have fun. Even if it is a day when our loved ones who are healthcare workers are off trying to help those who are sick even at the risk of their own health. Even when we worry about our parents or special older ones, those whom we cannot reach out and touch for fear of getting them sick.

In the midst of our social isolations, Jesus comes. He comes and gives us the Spirit of God that we need to endure, to think of others besides ourselves, to reach out with a phone call, to get groceries. Maybe the only thing Jesus comes to give us is a peace that words cannot express. But isn’t that more than enough?

In this time full of days that get us down, Jesus still gets through our barriers to lift us up.

REV. DR. TOM ROBINSON is pastor of Farmville Presbyterian Church. He can be reached at pastorfpc@centurylink.net or (434) 808-3038.