Holy Week We-eve

        For those of us associated with the Church, we are on the cusp of the most sacred and powerful week of the year, Holy Week.  It begins on Sunday with Palm/Passion Sunday, where in worship we begin with a celebration of Christ’s entrance into the city of Jerusalem.  Palms wave, songs sung, and children joyfully celebrate that the King has come.  But on the turn of a dime, the mood changes. 

The tables are turned in the temple, a final meal is shared, and Jesus reveals the servant way by washing feet.  He prays to avoid the inevitable in the Garden, but the answer comes through the betrayal of a kiss.  Led to a sham of a trial, tortured, beaten, mocked, and crucified, he dies on what we call “Good Friday.”  On Palm/Passion Sunday the celebration turns into a death watch that pushes us toward Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.

This week has been a busy week for me, which in itself has been interesting, because often the busy weeks are the ones that are most distracting.  But this week, though distracted by some things, I’ve actually found myself more focused on the Lenten Journey, and when I think more specifically about what that means, I realize that I’m more focused on what is on the horizon...what we will experience next week.
In a way, just as we celebrate “Christmas Eve,” this week could be categorized as “Holy Week ‘Weeve’.”  That is this is the week before Holy Week, and it is the last shot to get ourselves prepared for the stark reality that comes in just a few short days.
As I have gone through this Holy Week Weeve, I’ve realized that I have not been quite as focused this Lent.  I’ve been less deliberate and not nearly as disciplined as I had hoped, and yet despite myself the relationship with God and others has been solidified more deeply.  In many ways, I think this is the point of the season.

Though I won’t recount the whole Passion story, when we go back and examine it, we see that Jesus’ prep for Holy Week was about relationships as well. [John 12-19] The relationship to the People of God is solidified in His Triumphal Entry.  His relationships with His disciples is deepened as they experienced the Passover Feast and struggle in the Garden.  His relationships with the World are cemented for eternity in His death.  
Step after step, Jesus stepped deeper and deeper into relations with others and the world, and as He did, God’s relationship with the world for eternity was forever solidified, so that all might be saved by the grace of God.

In just a couple of days we will gather to hear and relive the story of God’s love for us.  It is a story of relationship.  It is a story of grace.  It is Christ’s story.  It is our story.  Will you be prepared to hear it?
Now is the time, it is Holy Week We-eve.

What are the last minute preparations you need to make for the Holy Week to come?