Living Holy Week

Sunday will be filled with excitement, anticipation, and joy.  That is for the many people from our church who are heading somewhere warm for Spring Break.  However, the same will be true for us hearty souls who remain behind in the frozen tundra of the Midwest.  We will be celebrating Palm Sunday. 

Palm Sunday is one of great celebration in the church.  On Palm Sunday we are reminded of Jesus’ Triumphal entry into Jerusalem for Holy Week.  People heard about his coming and spread the word.  Soon a crowd had gathered at the entrance to Jerusalem lining the street and hailing him with palm branches as king.  All their hopes were in the Jesus basket.  He would somehow overthrow the oppressive Roman government and sit on the throne of King David in Jerusalem and return Israel to her rightful status as a world power.

That was how the week began.  But as the days progressed it became obvious that things weren’t going to work out that way.  In fact, the unspeakable took place.  Jesus not only didn’t occupy a throne, he occupied a cross, the most brutal and shameful death one could die.  All the hopes and dreams of Palm Sunday came crashing down by Friday.  The world went dark.

This is the rhythm of life.  We have moments when we sense God’s blessings poured out into our lives; our marriage is solid, our health is great, our kids are succeeding, and our work is satisfying.  However, in a few days, or hours all that can be overshadowed by a dark cloud; a test result reveals cancer, a child is injured in a car accident, a parent falls to a heart attack, or your boss reports that your job is a victim of cutbacks. 

And not unlike those in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago we wonder, “Why God?”, “What happened, God?”, “How could you let this take place, God?”  Our world goes dark.

This is the broad overview of Holy Week, a week we relive in our own lives, in our own way, frequently.  The Jesus followers who hailed him as Messiah on Palm Sunday, were shrouded in darkness on Friday, but received the powerful good news of the resurrection on Sunday.  It was a week of dramatic ups and downs. 

              

It is hard to think about resurrection and hope in the midst of darkness.  However, that is our advantage over those in Jerusalem when Jesus arrived. For us the resurrection is a fact.  No matter how dark our lives become, no matter how problematic the news we receive, no matter how devastating the diagnosis, we can cling to the hope of the resurrection.  Our greatest fear, death, has been defeated!

              

So, Holy Week, a week we relive regularly, begins.