The road to Easter
We all want to be part of the palms procession...
We all want to stand at the Empty tomb when it's time to shout our Halleluiahs
BUT - this week is different. This is the road that we are called to walk.
This week we share the journey - a little bit - but it can feel rushed.
Let’s start with the Palms. YAY! Jesus is coming! get the donkey, wave the palms, party party party.
And then - VERY quickly - we get the passion. The betrayal, the questions, the crucifiction. That's not the gospel we want to hear though. We want to race into next Sunday's scriptures.
But I challenge us to sit here. To be fully present. To recognise the juxtaposition of these narratives.
And to bring their messages into our own lives. To put ourselves in the story. To consider our own spiritual journey as one that lasts days, not minutes.
So let’s start with the liturgy that we acknowledge today: the palms. The people are excited - they see a change coming, a new messiah (the chosen one!) will save them. Sure, in an era of rapid change where everyone thinks their live will suddenly get better, why not cut down your neighbour's tree? Why not empty your closet to let a donkey step all over it? Why NOT get caught up in the crowd mentality that is living just for the moment?
Who doesn't like a party, right?
And then we get a different crowd. We get the bloodlust crowd. The people who are feeling let-down. The people who are living in fear and violence - who can be satisfied with the lowest common denominator: the angry folks, the bullies, the cruelty – it’s there.
If we're not careful, we can get so easily swayed - in any direction. Caught up in the moment, in the instant-gratification, in the 'everybody wants to be a part of this!' way of thinking and acting. Whether the party is a fun one (think of how excited people get watching a parade, or cheering for celebrities?) Or whether it’s a grim one (think of crowds who jeer violent actions, who stand around and watch – and these days film or photograph – riots. Or so-called sporting events where the goal is to draw blood. These are crowd-gathering events.
And when the adrenaline rushes, when the energy surges, when the emotions take over rational thinking… we all want to say we were there! But if we're so caught up in that, in reaching the destination, in being at the heart of it all… are we really benefitting from the journey?
So here’s a question for you, as we begin our Holy Week:
Are you on the fast race towards next Easter?
or are you journeying along the road of Holy Week?
This is the holiest of weeks in the Christian calendar. It is busy in its commitment to prayer, to worship, to the collective journey.
It is a week where we are called to simply BE in the moment - not to rush to the next step, but to live in the here and the now; to be reflective and self-aware enough to know why we are doing what we are doing. It's not about buying the chocolate eggs, it's about thinking what the palms and cloaks mean to us now. It's about making worship a priority this week to move through the richness of our daily prayer:
the service of shadows,
the foot washing,
the stripping of the altar,
the solemn liturgy,
the stations of the cross,
the fasting.
And then – THEN – when we have taken ourselves on such a spiritual journey that we feel we cannot possibly go any further, THEN, At that point, we re-emerge:
with the new flame,
with the renewal of our baptism,
with the remembering of our shared journey,
Then we will honour that we have made a journey of profound spiritual depth and breadth. That our spirits are truly prepared for the next steps. That we have deeply and carefully engaged with the true meaning of what this journey, this way, is intended to be for us – not as a narrative from a book, but as an active reality in our lives.
So I pray for us all this week:
May your Holy Week be Holy.
May your journey be intentionally prayerful.
May your soul find its peace in the promises this journey affords.
This is the holiest of weeks in the Christian calendar. It is busy in its commitment to prayer, to worship, to the collective journey.
It is a week where we are called to simply BE in the moment - not to rush to the next step, but to live in the here and the now; to be reflective and self-aware enough to know why we are doing what we are doing. It's not about buying the chocolate eggs, it's about thinking what the palms and cloaks mean to us now. It's about making worship a priority this week to move through the richness of our daily prayer:
the service of shadows,
the foot washing,
the stripping of the altar,
the solemn liturgy,
the stations of the cross,
the fasting.
And then – THEN – when we have taken ourselves on such a spiritual journey that we feel we cannot possibly go any further, THEN, At that point, we re-emerge:
with the new flame,
with the renewal of our baptism,
with the remembering of our shared journey,
Then we will honour that we have made a journey of profound spiritual depth and breadth. That our spirits are truly prepared for the next steps. That we have deeply and carefully engaged with the true meaning of what this journey, this way, is intended to be for us – not as a narrative from a book, but as an active reality in our lives.
So I pray for us all this week:
May your Holy Week be Holy.
May your journey be intentionally prayerful.
May your soul find its peace in the promises this journey affords.
