And Still it Comes
Holy Week for you and for me...is almost here
It seems as if I barely took a breath and Holy Week is upon us. I hate to be one of those people who say in amazement, “Where did the time go?!” But seriously…where? My Lent was lacking. I have tasted the lents of quiet and contemplation and, given my choice, every year would be more of that. Yet, this year’s Lent held so much by way of work and deadlines and life, and, and, and. Some Lents are like that. But here is the good news…no matter the Lent, Holy Week comes just the same. Praise be.
Absolutely none of it hinges on me, or you. Still it comes. Year after year, an invitation to pay attention, to stay and witness the most important week in history. To see something new. To witness grief and miracles.
This year I am sharing my Holy Week reflections here in one place for you to take and use throughout the week rather than daily social posts. (you will find them at bottom of this post) Read them tonight or tomorrow as you prepare for the week ahead. Read a snippet each day to ground you in the timeline of all that is happening. How ever they serve, may they bless and challenge you as you stay and witness.
Additionally here are some of my favorite things to use as we celebrate these special days. God has something new for each one of us as we look at Holy Week with fresh eyes. I always hesitate to share a long list of resources as they can become more things to do or more things we feel guilty for not doing. So try some or one of these on and only if they feel right, keep it.
Resources
Last Supper Guide: Starting with my favorite thing to celebrate. This is a guide to walk you through the passover meal in the upper room, how Jesus used symbols of old to point to the new thing about to happen. It shows you what to say, what to eat, how to prepare. Its all there. And its not too much work at all to pull the whole thing off. $5 E-book download available here.
Timeline of Event on Good Friday: This was created for the release of Life Surrendered last year. To see the timing of the day is so impactful.
Good Friday Liturgy: Much of what happened on Good Friday happens during the day and this liturgy walks you through a few ways to stop and remember, to contemplate all that happened. You can get the download here.
Golgotha Album: it is breathtaking. Listen on Spotify. Listen on Apple Music.
Stay and Witness: reflections for Holy Week
PALM SUNDAY.
The day points to so much more than heralding the arrival of the Messiah to Jerusalem.Palm Sunday reminds us that our expectations can cloud our ability to see what is before us. They thought a political conquerer was coming, someone to overthrow the Romans and put them securely in a place of earthly power. Could they see that something far better had come?
What about us today? Do we think we know what is going to happen and in so doing block our ability to see the truth before us. Do we settle for less than what is truly offered to us because we yearn for ease?
We grieve the empty cries of Hosanna. We grieve the presumptions and clinging to power. We recognize the miracle of the king on a donkey.
We are called to stay and witness both grief and miracles. This is Holy Week. Grief and Miracles-may we welcome them both.
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MONDAY Jesus cleaned the temple.
This moment of Holy Week is often used as an example of Jesus’ righteous anger. I have come to understand it as something even bigger-the demonstration of his love for the Church. He could have crushed the whole thing, or could have left it to its own devices of destruction and deceit. But Jesus took the more complicated, more entangled and nuanced route. He flipped the tables and called the Church to be what it was designed to be.
I think we must do this. And we must do this with our own local churches. I can’t help but wonder how much healthier the whole Church would be if we each focused on our own local church. Love it well from the inside. Call it to be what it is designed to be.
The Church is truly a miracle. A group of flawed humans, working together to point the world to Jesus. Let it be so.
We grieve the ways in which the Church gets it wrong. We grieve the need of cleansing. We honor the miracle that we get to partner with God and be the light.
We are called to be witnesses to both grief and miracles. This is Holy Week. Grief and Miracles-may we welcome them both.
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TUESDAY. He taught. A lot.
A good majority of the parables we know of Jesus’ teachings came from this day. But something else happened. He welcomed the hard questions. And yes, the questions were designed to be a trap. Even still, he answered. And in Mark 12:24 Jesus explains to them why their trap isn’t working. “You don’t know the scriptures or the power of God.”
As teachers may we not shun a single question. May we be earnest and open. I have to imagine that in the Temple that day, while the leaders were throwing darts with their questions, there were countless others surrounding them and listening to the teacher who took every question and pointed out hypocrisy while pointing all to the Word and the power of God.
We grieve the teachers who are filled with pride and self-grandizing. We acknowledge the miracle of the power of God and the beauty of his word. May we welcome every question. May we let the Bible do the work. May we point others to the simple call to love God and to love one another. We are called to be witnesses to both grief and miracles. This is Holy Week. Grief and Miracles-may we welcome them both.
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WEDNESDAY. There is no record.
Traditionally the day is used to remember Judas’ betrayal yet this is not based on events. The reality is, there was no record. Perhaps it was a day of rest. Perhaps there was more teaching. The most memorable thing about this day is that, while surely, things happened, none were recorded. Imagine that.
Realizing there is a gap in the events gives us two opportunities. First, an opportunity to affirm that the Bible isn’t specific about this. Acknowledging this does not in any way compromise the inerrancy of scripture. I think this series of days we call Holy Week are filled with the most important things and among them we find this lack of information. This can’t possibly be on accident. Instead we get to see, that we just won’t know everything this side of heaven. The second opportunity we have is to welcome the notion that not all important things are recorded. In our current world, this is monumental. Important conversations, sweet moments of service, rest, joy, sorrow-it all happens, every single day, recorded or not.
When we look at Wednesday may we welcome the opportunities presented. We grieve the need we often feel to hide the unknown. We acknowledge that the recording of an event is not the only measure that it occurred. We marvel at the miracle of such relevant messages we find in these days of more than two thousand years ago. We are called to be witnesses to both grief and miracles. This is Holy Week. Grief and Miracles-may we welcome them both.
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THURSDAY. The Last Supper
Jesus starts the Last Supper by telling the disciples that he deeply desired to have this meal with them. The one and only time Jesus voiced desire. What happens next in the Upper Room is layer upon layer of beauty and goodness that have taken me years to unpack. But know this, your desire for community is echoed in the desires of Christ. His last hours were spent, just as he desired: challenging conversations, service, love, grief, paving the way for reconciliation with each other and with God, all around the table, with his closest friends. If we really look around the Upper Room we will see it all on beautiful display-a new way to relate to God and an example of how we do that, together.
May we be amazed at every opportunity to break bread together. May we truly see the miracles that happened in the Upper Room. May we grieve how easy it is to trivialize the bread and the wine, and the one who died for his friends. May we, more than anything, see that we are counted among them. We are called to be witnesses to both grief and miracles. This is Holy Week. Grief and Miracles-may we welcome them both.
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FRIDAY. The good day.
What happened today is simply too much to adequately describe in one post, one conversation, even one whole book. I won’t attempt to do that here. But how can this day, full of death, be called good?
During the passover he celebrated with the disciples just hours before, Jesus offered the fourth cup, called the cup of praise to the disciples but refused to drink it himself. He spoke of the new covenant coming from his blood, walked to the garden of Gethsemane and there, the events of this day began to unfold.
As he was about to die this is what happened: when Jesus knew that everything was now finished that the Scripture might be fulfilled, he said, “I’m thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was sitting there; so they fixed a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it up to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then bowing his head, he gave up his spirit. John 19: 28-30
Jesus offered praise. That thirst was quenched by the wine he refused to partake in at the Last Supper. The cup of praise for the finished works of the new covenant brought through his blood. He praised. And then declared, it is finished.
Jesus himself called this day Good.
May we welcome the miracles of this day. The world turned upside down. It is finished and it is good.
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SATURDAY.
What to make of this day. A day of rest. A day of silence. And yet, the world was being righted. Work was happening, even though it was unseen. And in the midst of it, life continued. Rest, life and liberation. Perhaps that is the ultimate sign that the kingdom of God is indeed here and available to all.
And as for us, we welcome the mystery of it all.
We grieve the dark tomb. We see that God is still working. We welcome the miracle of his love and the kingdom of God here on earth. We are called to be witnesses to both grief and miracles. This is Holy Week. Grief and Miracles-may we welcome them both.
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SUNDAY. Freedom.
Amen. Amen. Amen.
Thank you