Holy Week

It is Holy Week in the Christian calendar. We are in the midst of remembering the betrayal, crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It is the central series events in our faith story. Remembering and re-telling is essential to our spiritual life.

In my experience as a pastor I have noted the tendency on the part of Protestant Christians (read “Presbyterians”) to jump quickly to the story of Easter morning. Of course, this is understandable. We like the happy ending, and don’t want to spend too much time on the pain. Too morbid. We are positive, optimistic people, and many of us see no need to dwell on the negative side of the story. Since it all comes out right in the end, why not just go there?

For many years this is how I operated. I have no memory of anything other than Easter morning in my early religious training. No Maundy Thursday or Good Friday. My earliest impressions of Easter are of chocolate eggs, bright new clothes, and baked ham for lunch.

Only later did the more grim aspects of the story come into my experience. Part of it was simply growing older and experiencing some of the strains of living. But it was also a more intentional observance of the time. To go through the process of seeing Jesus betrayed by his disciples, jeered and rejected by the mob, judged by the system, and killed cruelly made the proclamation of Easter Sunday morning all the more thrilling. I have since come to believe that our Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and other more liturgically minded friends have an advantage over us on this one. They go through the process by ritual every year, and know the story better than we do.

My strong recommendation is that you allow yourself to fully experience the events of Holy Week. Be a part of our Maundy Thursday service if at all possible. Read and pray your way through the crucifixion texts on Friday, and allow them to affect you. Let Saturday be a day of reflection. Don’t jump ahead. If you approach this weekend carefully, the arrival of Sunday morning will be a joyous time for you. The message of Christian faith will be again planted in your heart, where it belongs.