Approaching Holy Week
On March 2, we observed Ash Wednesday marking the beginning of Lent. Ash Wednesday focuses our hearts on repentance and prayer. It is a time set aside each year for an intentional focus on Christ's ministry, sacrifice, and resurrection. I love that the ashes we used to mark the sign of the cross on people's foreheads were the remnants from palm branches used during previous Palm Sunday worships. "From dust you came, and from dust, you will return" are powerful words.
This Sunday is Palm Passion Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. Palm Sunday is the day Christians worldwide celebrate Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Jesus purposely rode on a donkey to express He comes in peace. The crowd welcomed him by spreading palm branches in His path. Many who greeted Him were convinced He was the Messiah, but others were confused by the event and asked, “Who is this?”
Jesus came to change our hearts and save us from our sins by His death and resurrection. He declared during his last week, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place. (John 18:36). It disappointed those who hoped He would throw out the hated Roman occupiers, and they may have disliked His demand that they repent. They were probably disappointed He refused to establish a political kingdom, but that wasn't his mission.
Things turned very somber on Thursday of that week, known as Maundy Thursday. Maundy comes from the Latin "mandatum," or "command," which refers to the instruction Jesus gave his disciples regarding the preparation of the Passover meal. That evening, Jesus told the disciples, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.” They were very sad and began to say to Him one after another, "Surely not I, Lord?” or “Is it I, Lord?” Jesus knew, of course, that Judas was the one betraying Him, but all of the disciples questioned their loyalty to Him and weren't certain He wasn't referring to them. While only one of the twelve betrayed Jesus directly, all the disciples abandoned Him as they feared for their lives.
Do you ever think about what it was like to be one of the twelve disciples? I certainly do, and I am not sure what my level of loyalty would have been. There was so much unknown and so much to lose. The twelve followed strictly in faith and not with the proven knowledge of the resurrection that we realize. We know the end of the story and are still guilty of betraying Him on some level. We verbalize how we are His disciple. How He is our Lord and Master, and how we love Him above everything else but do our actions match our words? Isn’t it true there are times we don’t follow Him? We let someone or something be our Lord and Master, love someone or something else more than Him. Are we afraid of being looked down upon or made fun of for our views? How we choose to act in certain situations tells the world exactly where our loyalty lies.
We should live as a follower of Jesus in all 52 weeks of the year, but Holy Week should be a week set aside to honor and remember the price Jesus paid for our sins and those of the world. When I spend quiet time remembering what Jesus experienced and did for me, it provides a new understanding and insight into the gift of grace. Thinking about the crucifixion and the hours of agony associated with such a torturous death, Easter Sunday becomes a celebration in the knowledge that Jesus lives and the tomb is empty.
“He is not here, He is Risen, just as He said.”
(Matthew 28:6)
Peggy Zumhofe
Executive Pastor
