Once again we approach the end of our Lenten journey, Palm/Passion Sunday and Holy Week. This weekend we enter a week of contrasts, juxtapositions of conflicting thoughts and actions that challenge us, if not force us, to see ourselves as we are. Members of the crowd that wave palm branches and shout, “Hosanna!” on Palm Sunday later that week exclaim, “Crucify him!” and taunt a dying man. The disciples begin the week cheering Jesus and standing with him as he teaches in Jerusalem; then end it betraying, abandoning, and denying him. The Gospel narratives become even more distressing when we note who moves closer to and farther from Jesus as his last week unfolds. Watch Jesus’ movements as well. He begins the week atop a donkey, falls to his knees in anguished prayer in Gethsemane, stands before the authorities and Pilate, stumbles beneath the cross he carries through Jerusalem, is lifted high on a cross to die, and is laid lifeless in a borrowed tomb. As we follow him we enter the sunlight of his procession into Jerusalem, the darkness of Gethsemane, the torch-lit homes as authorities question him, the firelight of Peter’s denial, the daylight of the crucifixion, and the darkness of death. All power in this story appears to belong to the religious and secular authorities; yet, Jesus never bends. He kneels and stumbles, but never bends. During Holy Week true Power waits until others do their worst before offering the best.
We need our Holy Week journey because Jesus’ story belongs to us. It is our story not simply because Jesus calls us to follow him but because it reveals who we are. It is the story from which our faith emerges and in which our life converges. Like the crowds, our passions often run hot and cold, depending on which proves popular and convenient. Like the disciples, we experience moments so joyful that even stones seem to sing and moments scarred by failure when we most want to remain faithful. Like everyone in this story, we know sins so heavy that only grace can bear their burden and death so real that only new life can overcome it. The blessings of Holy Week impress the goodness of life on us; the bitterness points to life’s preciousness.
During Holy Week, please don’t simply watch Jesus. Walk with him. Experience the light and fullness, and the dark emptiness with him. Travel with him long enough to experience anew how much we depend on God for everything that matters. That, by the grace of God, prepares us for an Easter feast.
Grace and Peace,
LP
mwpc-church.org
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