Welcome to Holy Week.
Christians recognize Christmas and Easter as the holiest days of the year. Easter is largely uncorrupted by the world system, or the “kosmos,” in Greek. Or so I thought.
Stores sell candy, clothes, bunnies, and eggs at Easter. Rabbits represent fertility. Eggs come from Babylonian legend. Supposedly the goddess Astarte, also called Easter, hatched from an egg that fell from the sky into the Euphrates River. This isn’t what Easter’s about. It’s about Jesus.
Palm Sunday ushers in Holy Week. Jesus rode a donkey’s colt into Jerusalem to shouts of “Hosanna!”. This means, “Lord, save us!”. The crowd looked for a political savior. They thought he’d rescue them from the Romans. Not so. He came to die.
Jesus’ death and resurrection span two emotional poles. Friday represents torture, death, and loss of hope. Sunday symbolizes resurrection, beauty, and restoration of hope. These events create the hope of all mankind: salvation and eternal life with Jesus.
Have you ever watched “Inside the Actor’s Studio?” Host James Lipton ends every interview with Bernard Pivot’s ten questions. One of these is “What is your favorite word?” Mine is “tranquil.” Then he asks, “What’s your least favorite word?” Mine is “torture.”
What is tranquil about Holy Week? Jesus told Peter and the other ten faithful disciples in the upper room, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27 NKJV)
Where may we find peace on Good Friday? Maybe stars twinkled over the garden at Gethsemane in the early morning hours. I imagine a silent night as Jesus prayed and disciples slept. Jesus seemed at peace after praying in the garden, knowing he was walking in God’s will, unfathomable as this is to me.
Early Easter morning when the women came to the tomb would’ve been quiet and dark. The racing, out-of-breath Peter and John would’ve arrived to a peaceful, empty tomb.
The torture of Good Friday is obvious. To Christians, the cross is beautiful. To the Romans and Jews, it symbolized torture, humiliation, and death. It’s the worst day of the year for me. I usually spend the day depressed and anxious, often plagued with guilt for my complicity in Jesus’ flogging and crucifixion.
Good Friday was the most horrifying day in history. When I imagine it, I hear a whip cracking over and over. I hear furious yelling, a hammer striking nails, and a wooden cross thumping into the ground, weighed down by our Lord.
I see lightning and the curtain in the temple ripping. I feel the earth quake as people rise from graves.
Jesus died willingly for me and for you. He died for Hitler and Mother Theresa, for Muhammad and Mary of Bethany.
Not all these accepted him, but I have. I hope you have, too. Your eternal life depends on it. Your acceptance doesn’t alter the truth that Jesus is God’s son and is the gate to heaven. But your refusal of him determines your eternal destination.
Pastor Dave Bell will offer Maundy Thursday service at 7 p.m. at Fallowfield United Methodist Church. Easter Sunrise service is at 7 a.m., with breakfast at 8 a.m. Sunday worship starts at 9 a.m.
I would love to have you join us. Pastor Dave is retiring in June, so this will be his final Easter service. I’m sure it will be beautiful.
Don’t limit Jesus to Christmas Eve, the last Sunday in Advent, and Easter. Attend church the next week, and the next, and every Sunday thereafter.
Seeing 200 people packed into church Easter and the fourth Sunday of Advent, and seeing 75 or 100 the rest of the year breaks my heart.
People make so many excuses for not being in church: sports, fatigue, and “It’s my only day off.” But these aren’t the true reasons they skip church. It’s a lack of commitment to Christ, plain and simple. Jesus committed to you. Commit to him.
May the Lord bless you this Holy Week.