Greetings friends, and blessings for a meaningful Holy Week.
As I mentioned in my article last week, and in my sermon this past Sunday, Holy Week is a great opportunity to experience the whole story of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection. This Sunday, we will hear from the Gospel of Mark and discuss how one evangelist ends the story. The women go to the tomb in the morning on the first day of the week. What did they expect to find? They walked into the garden and noticed the stone covering the tomb had been rolled away. What did they actually find? The conclusion of Mark’s gospel (at least what is understood as most scholars to be the conclusion) is a bit concerning. How did the women respond? What happened next?
This is Holy Week. We gathered for worship on Palm Sunday, today with our brothers and sisters at FUMCRC, and will gather again on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. There are occasions to invite friends, to worship in community, to reflect silently, to read, to wonder, and to marvel at the grace and goodness of God. But next Monday, the question will come to each of us: “How will we respond? What’s next?”
I encourage you to open the scriptures, to join us in church, or just take a walk (preferably when it’s not too cold outside), and ask God the question: “OK, what’s next? Now what?” Our experience of Holy Week isn’t intended to shock us into obedience, shame us into belief, or confuse our emotions to evoke a particular response. Holy Week is an opportunity to walk, watch, and then wait.
If the purpose of Easter Sunday is bunnies, eggs, and alleluias, then I think we’ve lost the plot. Easter maybe the next chapter in this story, but it’s not the end. Rather, for us as Christians, it is intended to be the beginning. May the “alleluias” of the Resurrection call us to a new alertness. God is at work. What’s next?
Blessings to you and your family, and I hope to see you soon.
Very truly,
Pastor Adam